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4278 To prohibit graffiti on private property and to require owners and occupiers of the property to remove graffiti in the Town of TillsonburgTHE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF TILLSONBURG BY-LAW NUMBER 4278 A BY-LAW to prohibit graffiti on private property and to require owners and occupiers of the property to remove graffiti in the Town of Tillsonburg. WHEREAS subsection 5(3) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, as amended, provides that a municipal power shall be exercised by by-law; AND WHEREAS Section 11 (3) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 states that a lower-tier municipality may pass by-laws, respecting matters within certain spheres of jurisdiction; AND WHEREAS sections 8,9 and 10 of the Municipal Act, 2001 provides that a municipality may provide any service or thing that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for the public and in particular paragraphs 5,6,8 and 9 of subsection 10 (2) authorize by-laws respecting the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality; the health, safety and well-being of persons; the protection of persons and property; and animals. AND WHEREAS section 128 of the Municipal Act, 2001 provides that a municipality may prohibit and regulate with respect to public nuisances, including matters that, in the opinion of Council are or could become a public nuisances; AND WHEREAS section 128 (2) of the Municipal Act, 2001 that the opinion of Council under section 128, if arrived at in good faith, is not subject to review by any court; AND WHEREAS the Council for the Town of Tillsonburg desires to prohibit or regulate graffiti within the Town of Tillsonburg. AND WHEREAS Section 391 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001 c. 25 states that section 11 authorizes a municipality to impose fees or charges on persons, for services or activities provided or done by the municipality. NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Town of Tillsonburg hereby enacts the following: SECTION 1 SCOPE OF BY-LAW 1.1 SHORT TITLE This By-law and any amendments thereto shall be known as the "Graffiti By-Law." 1.2 INTENT AND SCOPE The purpose of this By-law is to prohibit and regulate graffiti within the corporate limits of the Town of Tillsonburg. 1.3 CONTENT OF BY-LAW All references in the By-law to sections, regulations, exceptions, tables, figures, schedules and maps, refer to those in this By-law unless otherwise indicated. SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION 2.1 DEFINITIONS The terms set out below shall have the following meanings in this By-law: "COUNCIL" means the Municipal Council of the Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg. "GRAFFITI" means one or more letters, symbols, depictions, marks, etchings, pictorial representations, messages or slogans, howsoever made, that disfigures or defaces a property, but does not include signs as regulated by the Town's Sign By-Law, a public notice, or traffic control mark authorized by the Town or County. "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER" means a Police Officer, a Provincial Offences Officer and Municipal Law Enforcement Officer. "OWNER" means a registered owner of land, or any person in control of land, including a leasee or an occupant thereof. "PERSON" means an individual, firm, proprietorship, partnership, association, syndicate, trust, corporation, department, bureau, and agency; and includes an owner. "PROPERTY" shall mean a building or structure or part of a building or structure and includes the lands and premises appurtenant thereto and mobile homes, mobile buildings, mobile structures, outbuildings, fences and erections thereon whether heretofore or hereafter erected and includes vacant property, real property and personal property. "SIGN BY-LAW" shall mean the Town Sign By-Law regulating authorized signs within the Town, as amended. "TOWN" means the Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg. SECTION 3 GENERAL PROHIBITONS 3.1 No person shall place or cause or permit graffiti to be placed on any property within the Town ofTillsonburg. 3.2 The owner of any property in the Town of Tillsonburg shall keep their property free of graffiti at all times. SECTION4 INTERIOR SPACES 4.1 Section 3 does not apply to the interior of any walls of any building that are not visible from a roadway. 5.1 Enforcement Authorization SECTION 5 ADMINISTRATION This by-law shall be enforced by Law Enforcement Officers. For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this By-law, Law Enforcement Officers may at all reasonable times enter upon and inspect any land to determine whether the following is being complied with: a) The provisions of this by-law b) An Order made under this by-law 5.2 Enforcement and Inspection A Law Enforcement Officer may, for the purpose of inspection: a) Require the production for inspection of documents or things relevant to the inspection b) Inspect and remove documents or things relevant to the inspection for the purpose of making copies or extracts c) Require information from any person concerning a matter related to the inspection d) Alone or in conjunction with a person possessing special or expert knowledge, make examinations or take tests, samples or photographs necessary for the purpose of the inspection i) Any cost incurred from this will be at the owner's expense. ii) No person shall hinder or obstruct, or attempt to hinder or obstruct, any Law Enforcement Officer exercising a power or performing a duty under this by-law. 5.3 Order A Law Enforcement Officer may by written Order, sent by regular mail to the last known address (last revised tax assessment roll), posted on site or personally delivered to the owner or owners of property, within the time specified_ in the Order to: a) Discontinue the contravening activity, and/or b) Do work to correct the contravention, and/or c) If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the graffiti may incite hatred or violence against any person or identifiable group or contain profane, vulgar or offensive language, an Order may be issued requiring the graffiti to be removed immediately. 5.4 Contents of the Order The Order will state: a) the section that is in contravention of the by-law b) the location/address of the contravention c) reasonable particulars of the contravention d) the work to be completed e) the date by which the work must be completed 5.5 Failure to Comply with an Order Where an owner fails to comply with an Order, the Law Enforcement Officer may without any further notice, cause the work to correct the contravention be done at the owner's expense. Without limitation, the Law Enforcement Officer may retain such persons to assist in completing the work as the Law Enforcement Officer determines appropriate. All costs incurred by the Town in relation to such work may be recovered by the Town by being added to the tax roll and collected in the same manner as property taxes. An administrative fee will also be added as per the Annual Rates and Fees By-law. If this by-law is contravened and a conviction entered, in addition to any other remedy and to any penalty imposed by the by-law, the court in which the conviction has been entered and any court competent jurisdiction thereafter may make an Order, a) prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the offence by the person convicted; and b) requiring the person convicted to correct the contravention in the manner and within the period that the court considers appropriate SECTION 6 PENALTIES 6.1 Contraventions The following applies to any person deemed to have contravened any provision of this by-law: a) Every person who contravenes a provision of this By-law, including an order issued under this By-law, is guilty of an offence. b) If an order has been issued under this By-law, and the order has not been complied with, the contravention of the order shall be deemed to be a continuing offence for each day or part of a day that the order is not complied with. c) Every person who is guilty of an offence under this By-law shall be subject to the following penalties: i) upon a first conviction, shall be liable to a fine of not more than $50,000; ii) upon second or subsequent conviction for the same offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000; iii) upon conviction for a continuing offence, to a fine of not more than $10,000 for each day or part of a day that the offence continues. The total of the daily fines may exceed $100,000; iv) upon conviction of a multiple offence, for each offence included in the multiple offence, to a fine of more than $10,000. The total of all fines for each included offence is not limited to $100,000. d) For the purposes of this By-law, "multiple offence" means an offence in respect of two or more acts or omissions each of which separately constitutes an offence and is a contravention of the same provision of this By-law. e) For the purposes of this By-law, an offence is a second or subsequent offence if the act giving rise to the offence occurred after a conviction had been entered at an earlier date for the same offence. SECTION 7 SEVERABILITY Where a court of competent jurisdiction declares any section or part of a section of this by-law invalid, the remainder of this by-law shall continue in force unless the Court makes an Order to the contrary. SECTION 8 EFFECTIVE DATE THAT this By-Law shall become effective upon the passing thereof and upon the approval of the set fines by the Regional Senior Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice. COND TIME THIS 2th DAY OF MAY, 2019. READ A T,... .... uAND FINAL TIME AND PASSED THIS 2th DAY OF MAY, 2019 TOWN CLERK -Donna Wilson