PLEASE PROTECT OUR CHILDREN & OUR HARD EARNED RIGHTS AS HOMEOWNERS in FORT McMURRAY. Support this upcoming petition to Council. How? 1 - post on facebook page “Eagle Ridge Happenings” I SUPPORT BYLAW REVISIONS TO BAN RESIDENTIAL FRONT YARD PLAYGROUNDS 2 - via email to YMMBeauty@outlook with subject line: I SUPPORT BYLAW REVISIONS TO BAN RESIDENTIAL FRONT YARD PLAYGROUNDS The Municipal Development Plan was created as a tool for use in having Wood Buffalo emerge as a global model for sustainable living in the north. One of its goals is to protect and enhance established neighbourhoods, Another is to support “best practices” proven effective elsewhere. Yet another is to take safety seriously. Private citizens will petition Council in the near future to update the Land Use Bylaw 99/059 (currently under revision) to incorporate a change which addresses all of these goals, by amending Section 76.1 to include a ban of playground equipment installations in urban residential front yards. They eyesore they create is not an enhancement to any neighbourhood, but the safety issues they create are bigger reasons to support this petition for change. A swing set on a front yard, not necessarily well maintained and near passing roadway traffic, is an accident waiting to happen. Liability to the property owner, to abutting property owners and to the Municipality arise with front yard play equipment installations, not to mention the opportunity for vandalism they invite. A simple revision to our Land Use Bylaw can effectively address these concerns. On the subject of ‘best practices’, Edmonton’s Land Use bylaw 15643, for example, restricts playground equipment, for all residential uses, to “an amenity area other than a front yard”. Further from home, but in a place with property values more comparable to Fort McMurray’s, the City of Toronto bylaws restrict all residential classes of children’s play areas to fully fenced spaces, and to spaces a minimum of 6.0 metres from a roadway. Community playgrounds are incorporated into urban planning for good reason – so that a property owner has a choice whether or not to purchase beside one, for starters. And unlike a front yard, designated playgrounds are fittingly buffered to protect users from vehicle traffic. Their equipment, always readily accessible to all members of the public, meets safety standards and gets regular maintenance. Private play equipment does not. Front yard play equipment is vulnerable to vandalism, and the children using them are vulnerable to traffic and equipment safety issues. Physical separation between urban residential lots has grown considerably smaller with the very noticeable reduction in lot sizes. The visual impact of what one’s neighbor does with his lawn, therefore, is magnified by this fact. Our town’s City Centre Redevelopment Plan had urban planners put considerable emphasis on ‘view corridors’ in our new Lower Town Site. This petition asserts that each property owner’s right to have their personal ‘view corridor’, is equally important, and restricting playground equipment to a rear yard protects it. To summarize - one of Fort McMurray’s most often heard mottos is”Safety First”. A recommendation to control access to private playground equipment by banning it from front yards is an important safety issue for our entire community - one easily resolved by updating the relevant bylaws. PLEASE PROTECT OUR CHILDREN & OUR HARD EARNED RIGHTS AS PROPERTY OWNERS. SUPPORT THIS PETITION. How? 1 - SUBMIT an email to YMMBeauty@outlook Subject Line: I SUPPORT BYLAW REVISIONS TO BAN FRONT YARD PLAYGROUNDS. NOT REQUIRED, but preferred - include your name and address /neighbourhood . 2 – Post on Facebook page “Eagle Ridge Happenings” : I SUPPORT BYLAW REVISIONS TO BAN FRONT YARD PLAYGROUNDS.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 23:07:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015