More enforcement needed for open air burning, residents say

BY BILL BRADLEY

Open air burning will be a hot topic this week in Greater Sudbury.

Greater Sudbury Fire Services Chief Donald Donaldson is asking the community to come out to the nearest public consultation session on the review of Bylaw 2004-160 regulating open air burning.

“The municipal open air burning bylaw regulates outdoor fires, including types of materials that can be burned, containers and locations for burning, times for setting and extinguishing, and other requirements to protect life and property throughout the city,” said Donaldson in a  news release last week.

More than 100 mostly central core residents filled seats at Tom Davies Square Monday night for the first public session.

Perhaps because the public consultation was held in the city core where city lots are small, the prevailing opinion from multiple presentations was divided.

Wayne Poitras from the West End of the city said there was obviously a lot of upset people, but he said the solution was to provide more enforcement of the existing bylaw.

“What is needed here is more respect by neighbours of each other. I know a lot of people enjoy having a fire outside with their children, toasting marshmallows for example. Perhaps some small changes are needed to the bylaw such as restricting fires after 1 am,” said Poitras.

Some of the existing restrictions include: only property owners or those with written permission from property owners can set fires; outdoor fires are restricted to overnight hours, 30 minutes before sunset and ending 30 minutes after sunrise; brush fires or crop residue fires require a permit; balcony barbecues and outdoor fireplaces and lawn thatch fires are not allowed; and material that results in dense smoke is prohibited.

Poitras mentioned that people are burning all kinds of materials in garage stoves.

“Why not start with a crack-down on garages first. They have no controls whatsoever,” he said.

Brian Martin of Minnow Lake said that in his neighbourhood, respect is widespread.

“When I bought my house there already was a fire pit and most of my neighbours have  one too. I pay close attention to an elderly neighbour and monitor the wind so that she does not have to suffer from any excess smoke. I burn clean dry wood and I find no problem with enforcement in my area,” said Martin.

Pat Rogerson from the West End said the density of the housing in the area was a factor.

“Look we need a good bylaw in this city. Most lots in the older part of the city are smaller than  50 by 100 feet, this results in the issue of finding a safe space for burning that is far away from flammable objects. Sudbury has one of the highest incidents of asthma in Ontario. So you can expect there to people in your neighbourhood who would be adversely affected by smoke.”

Citizens are invited to attend public input sessions to provide comment on proposed amendments to existing regulations. All public input sessions begin at 7 pm at the following locations:

Thursday, Jan. 17
Chelmsford Community Centre/Arena
215 Edward Ave., Chelmsford

Monday, Jan. 21
T.M. Davies Community Centre/Arena
325 Anderson Dr., Lively

Tuesday Jan. 22
Howard Johnson Recreation Centre
4040 Elmview Dr., Hanmer

For more information, visit www.greatersudbury.ca or call 3-1-1.