City cracks down on violations in student-heavy neighbourhoods
Fanshawe students living off campus better watch where they park their cars and how they put out their garbage, because city by-law enforcers are on the lookout for violations.
The area around Fanshawe, where of-campus students tend to rent houses, will be subjected to “proactive enforcement” of by-law violations. In other words, by-law enforcement officers will be patrolling the neighbourhoods three to four days a week in search of cars parked on lawns and garbage violations, instead of relying solely on complaints.
According to Orest Katolyk, Manager of By-law Enforcement for the City of London, 40 per cent of one by-law officer's complaints were from the area surrounding Fanshawe.
“We have a lot of complaints on Fleming and Thurman Circle,” said Katolyk, whose office handles about 3,000 complaints a year.
A similar proactive model has been in place for Western's student housing areas since 1996, but this is the first year the city has expanded to include the area surrounding Fanshawe.
When an officer finds a property that violates a by-law they will either send a letter advising the property owner that they have one to two weeks to comply. They may also lay a charge or order an immediate property clean up at the property owner's expense.
Even though a landlord is responsible for the overall upkeep of their rented property, a tenet can be issued a ticket for $125 if a vehicle is parked on the lawn or garbage is not disposed of properly.
Glen Matthews, Housing Mediation Officer for both Fanshawe and Western, said between the two schools there are 30,000 new off campus students moving into London neighbourhoods each year and they need to be educated on the city's by-laws.
“Part of what we do is try to educate people as much as possible,” said Matthews, who has prepared students by mailing out packages and holding information sessions.
Both Katolyk and Matthews said the by-law enforcement has proven effective within the Western community.
“I have had calls from other municipalities looking at implementing a similar [program],” Katolyk said about the proactive enforcement of city by-laws.
The area around Fanshawe, where of-campus students tend to rent houses, will be subjected to “proactive enforcement” of by-law violations. In other words, by-law enforcement officers will be patrolling the neighbourhoods three to four days a week in search of cars parked on lawns and garbage violations, instead of relying solely on complaints.
According to Orest Katolyk, Manager of By-law Enforcement for the City of London, 40 per cent of one by-law officer's complaints were from the area surrounding Fanshawe.
“We have a lot of complaints on Fleming and Thurman Circle,” said Katolyk, whose office handles about 3,000 complaints a year.
A similar proactive model has been in place for Western's student housing areas since 1996, but this is the first year the city has expanded to include the area surrounding Fanshawe.
When an officer finds a property that violates a by-law they will either send a letter advising the property owner that they have one to two weeks to comply. They may also lay a charge or order an immediate property clean up at the property owner's expense.
Even though a landlord is responsible for the overall upkeep of their rented property, a tenet can be issued a ticket for $125 if a vehicle is parked on the lawn or garbage is not disposed of properly.
Glen Matthews, Housing Mediation Officer for both Fanshawe and Western, said between the two schools there are 30,000 new off campus students moving into London neighbourhoods each year and they need to be educated on the city's by-laws.
“Part of what we do is try to educate people as much as possible,” said Matthews, who has prepared students by mailing out packages and holding information sessions.
Both Katolyk and Matthews said the by-law enforcement has proven effective within the Western community.
“I have had calls from other municipalities looking at implementing a similar [program],” Katolyk said about the proactive enforcement of city by-laws.
