Report from the Chairperson of the Plan 24 Committee For the AGM July 7, 2012.

At our AGM last year, our newly elected Councillors, Dave Maguire and Doug Bonesteel were invited to speak to us about what they had accomplished on Council since their election. After their presentation, they held a question and answer period. It was then they learned of the frustrations of the property owners in Plan 24! They attended a meeting of our Committee at the end of July and gathered our documentation. They presented a report to Council August 8th and the Short Term Rental Accommodations Committee was born. The committee met in August, September and October. Dave Maguire was interviewed by CBC News in September and the Committee held a Meet and Greet for the public in early October. Their first report to Council was presented December 19th with public input at a meeting in January 2012. A Mid-Way Report was presented to Council in March 2012. They have been very busy over the last year and some of their proposals included an amalgamation of bylaws into a new Noise and Nuisance Bylaw, meeting with Bylaw and OPP Officers for their input, an education letter to property owners in the spring of 2012 and the purchase of decibel meters for use in the summer of 2012. They also had the Municipal property at the corner of Centre and Woodward and on Shady Lane surveyed last fall. In the March Mid-Way Report, the Committee asked Council to confirm its commitment to enforcement of the bylaws and requested an additional $5000.00 be added to the bylaw enforcement budget. The report noted that the public was advised that officers would continue to log calls for service (as would OPP) and would use decibel readers this summer for information and data collection purposes only. On last report, the letter was sent out to Plan 24 residents the last week of June and the decibel meters have not been purchased. In response to some of these initiatives, the Lambton Shores Community Association informed Council last fall that ENFORCEMENT of current bylaws rather than the drafting of new bylaws was imperative. This spring we drafted and distributed the Record of Calls for Service Form and a poster called Please Call for our members for documentation to be compiled at the end of this summer season. Report Card Time! The reports from property owners and from personal observations indicate that, overall, things are calmer at the Woodward and Centre corner. My husband and I have been to our cottage 5 times this summer so far and have stayed over 3 times. We can say that on the whole, we have enjoyed our time there. This is in contrast to not staying over for the last three years.

However, property owners do have some concerns: 1. There seems to be more noise in other areas and at other cottages. I have requested documentation as to how many noise violations charges have been laid in Plan 24 this summer, and at 11 and 13 Woodward, specifically. I do not have that information as yet. 2. Last year there was a complaint regarding the extra high fences around the properties at 11 and 13 Woodward Avenue which in effect created a compound in our single family residential area. The owners were advised to apply for a minor variance, even though the fences were twice as high as the Bylaw allows. After two Committee of Adjustment hearings it was ruled that the application was refused and the fences were to be made to comply with the By-laws; that is, the maximum height at the interior and rear yards is to be 6 feet and the front yard and exterior side yards is to be 3 feet. There has been no compliance as yet. 3. Regarding the parking of vehicles at 11 and 13 Woodward, residents have been told by our Bylaw Officer, that he is allowing the cars to be parked there because he has to make concessions to this owner. Where the vehicles are being allowed to park contravenes the Parking Bylaws on two counts! Also, a number of property owners witnessed the members of the STRA Committee, state to the owners that there would be no parking on Centre or Woodward, as there was no room for vehicles to park on their property there. 4. Property owners also witnessed Committee members tell these owners that having their gates open inward contravenes the fire code and they must alter them for safety reasons. This also has not been done. 5. Residents feel that they should not have to complain to get a response; if noise and disturbances are obvious to police and bylaw officers, they should act. In conclusion, property owners are pleased that Council is addressing our long time frustrations with owners of short term rental accommodations, and with their efforts to control the noise and nuisance behaviour of tenants, but we have serious concerns about vigilant and consistent enforcement of our bylaws! Report submitted by Sandra Cronk, Secretary for the Lambton Shores Community Association Chairperson for the Committee representing property owners in Plan 24