Image: City of Abbotsford / Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens (centre) with council members. The City of Abbotsford says it has modernized its Good Neighbour bylaw following the consolidation of two 20-year-old bylaws meant to promote community well-being and comprehensive problem-solving among neighbourhoods.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

City of Abbotsford updates bylaw

City of Abbotsford OK’s sweeping changes to Good Neighbour bylaw, includes strict rules around vacant properties

Oct 30, 2024 | 9:36 AM

ABBOTSFORD — The City of Abbotsford says it has modernized its Good Neighbour bylaw following the consolidation of two 20-year-old bylaws meant to promote community well-being and comprehensive problem-solving among neighbourhoods.

The city posted on its website Tuesday (Oct. 29) that the new bylaw guidelines underscore its commitment to keeping Abbotsford safe, healthy and a great place to live, work and play.

“As a City Council it is our mission to continually improve the quality of life in our community. This new Good Neighbour Bylaw will help make Abbotsford a safer, cleaner and more peaceful place to live, work and play,” the City of Abbtosford said.

Merging the two bylaws, notably the Good Neighbour Bylaw of 2003 and the Controlled Substance Property Bylaw of 2006, streamlines and ensures increased clarity to these regulations, while simplifying the municipality’s approach to maintaining property standards and controlled substances and enhancing enforcement efficiency.

For example, one of the key changes to the new Good Neighbour bylaw requires outdoor lights to be shielded to avoid disturbing others, with exemptions for streetlights, vehicle lights, and certain seasonal and recreational lights.

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Another pivotal component of the new bylaw expands dumping prohibitions to include discarded materials and garbage on private property, and requires prompt removal and mitigation by offenders.

On the subject of infrastructure aesthetics, updated regulations require that buildings and fences are free of decay or instability, thereby improving the look and feel of neighbourhood appearances. In addition, property owners are mandated to prevent and eliminate noxious weeds to comply with provincial and federal regulations.

In accordance with the Good Neighbour bylaw, the City of Abbotsford will now require vacant properties to be secured with structural barriers, security fencing, alarms and patrols.

When it comes to controlled substance regulations, the City of Abbotsford says there will be enhanced coordination around safety inspections with applicable authorities to facilitate timely identification of hazardous conditions to support the execution of criminal investigation warrants and prompt responses to emergency calls. The city says the definition of a controlled substance has been updated to better align with federal regulations, including the scope of lawful possession as authorized by the Minister of Health.

The modernized Good Neighbour bylaw is available here.

The City’s approach to bylaw compliance will emphasize educating the public and promoting facilitated compliance, followed by coordinated communication through its social media channels, and tailored efforts by its bylaw staff to work with residents to bring them into compliance.