by EVAN MATTHEWS
Those wanting to burn slash piles in the Village will now face more restrictions, thanks to a new updated burn permit.
At the April 11th Council meeting, Village CAO Adam Davey brought the permit changes to council for informational purposes.
The person applying for a burn permit must now initial two documents – a declaration and a checklist.
The statutory declaration states that the applicant has exhausted all other options before burning and that they will abide by all open-air burning laws.
The checklist requires the applicant to agree to 11 conditions, including safety and clean burning requirements.
The checklist also asks the applicant to confirm they have looked into alternative disposal methods such as wood chipping, composting, mulching, trench burning and offsite disposal and confirmed these are “unavailable, unreasonable or cost-prohibitive.”
“The intent is to provide redundancy, increased bureaucracy and greater public safety that will begin encouraging owners to exhaust all other options prior to burning,” Davey’s report reads, adding that signing off on the checklist conditions will ensure the applicant is crystal clear on expectations.
The amendment adds legal protections to the Village, Davey says, as the statutory declaration legally binds the applicant.
The statutory declaration is only required for land clearing debris, not for backyard waste ” provided the pile is no larger than 1 meter in diameter and height.
