A Yarmouth man’s campaign against what he calls an unfair bylaw appears to have prompted some action.
A town bylaw says residents are responsible for broken or burst lateral pipes that hook to the main sewer line.
It also forces homeowners to pay for any repairs to the street or sidewalks that may have to be torn up to fix the laterals.
It happened to Rodney Crowe and he and other citizens have been fighting to have the bylaw repealed or at least changed.
The town of Yarmouth’s Committee of the Whole voted to recommend changes in the bylaw.
Mayor Pam Mood says one proposed amendment would lift responsiblity for the cost of repairing streets, sidewalks and curbing, resulting from lateral sewer pipe damage, from homeowners and place it on the town.
Mood says another proposed amendment would see the elimination of the deposit system for sewer lateral replacement.
It would allow the town to place a lien on the homeowner’s property.
“To cover any cost of repairing sub-standard work for 12 months following the issuing of a Street Disturbance. Right now we charge a deposit. We’re not going to charge that anymore but if the work isn’t done properly of course we will have a way to recoup those costs.”
Mayor Mood says council will discuss the proposed amendments at it’s meeting later this month.
Click on link below to see Town of Yarmouth Bylaws:
https://www.townofyarmouth.ca/government/by-laws.html
(Photo: Rodney Crowe speaks to Yarmouth Town Council on June 8 about the Sewer Bylaw-CJLS Photo)
