Complaints about the steep $500 fine issued to homeowners caught with their waste carts left out before collection day have prompted city staff to request a change to the solid waste bylaw.
If approved by council, the change would mean first-time offenders can have the fine reduced to $250, instead of $400, if it's paid within 14 days.
"The base fine remains the same, and there is no change to the importance council and the city places on this issue," said Steffanie Warriner, manager of environmental services. "The objective is compliance, and changing peoples' behaviour with the priority being public safety and reducing potential bear and human conflicts."
The trouble, however, is that despite the threat of a hefty fine and widespread education efforts, as well as a high-profile incident in August in which a little girl was attacked by a mother bear in Coquitlam River Park, Coquitlam residents still aren't getting the message.
A report presented to council on Monday noted that following the incident staff ramped up their outreach efforts and neighbourhood patrols and skipped warnings in favour of moving straight to issuing tickets in the highest-risk areas of Coquitlam.
"Despite the very wide publicity that has ensued, staff has continued to observe an alarmingly high rate of violations, with approximately 140 tickets having been issued just since the Aug. 13 incident," the report stated.
Since the beginning of the year Coquitlam has issued about 1,400 warnings and 225 tickets.
Most residents who receive the tickets are disputing them — not because of the infraction itself, for which the evidence is clear, but "because they feel the amount of the fine is disproportionate to the offence and unnecessarily punitive" given the fine is the same whether a bear has accessed the waste or not.
Reducing the fine to $400 if paid within two weeks has done little to discourage the disputes, staff noted, and leaves them with limited enforcement options to address issues of varying severity.
The bylaw amendment, which received second and third readings on Monday, would discount fines from $500 to $250 for early payment of the fine for setting a waste cart out before 5:30 a.m. on collection day. The change does not apply to the section of the bylaw that also sees a $500 fine issued for feeding wildlife.
Warriner noted the reduction applies only to a first-time offence and any subsequent tickets will not be eligible for the reduction.
Council will give fourth and final reading of the bylaw amendment at its Oct. 17 meeting.
spayne@tricitynews.com
@spayneTC
BY THE NUMBERS
Each of the Tri-Cities handles bylaw enforcement when it comes to bear attractants a little differently, with Coquitlam doling out the steepest fines.
• Coquitlam
Fine: $500, reduced to $400 if paid within two weeks (or $250 pending council approval of a bylaw amendment)
• Port Coquitlam
Fine: $150 for unsecured garbage or green waste
• Port Moody
Fine: warning (first offence), $50 (second offence), $100 (third offence), $150 (fourth offence) for setting collection cart out before 5:30 a.m. on collection day
• B.C. Conservation Officer Service
Fine: $230
