Pelham Town Council heard during their regularly scheduled October 3 meeting that the Town already effectively prohibits the keeping of live poultry in the urban zones of Fonthill and Fenwick and on any rural property smaller than 0.4 hectares.
The matter arose out of Ward 2 Councillor John Wink’s proposal to ban such birds in these areas, and a subsequent staff report that proposes clarifications and alterations to the rules.
Wink has heard complaints of late from residents regarding neighbours keeping both chickens and ducks. Loose feed for such poultry is known to attract vermin, with one Strathcona Drive resident telling the Voice they have spotted rats recently.
“There really isn’t an excuse to have poultry in the urban area,” Marvin Junkin said, citing the existing ability for residents to travel a short distance to rural zones to acquire both farm-fresh eggs and free-range birds.
“We’ll have to do a better job of enforcing it I believe,” the Mayor added.
Many areas in Ontario have seen a spike in “urban agriculture” as some people look to raise their own livestock for cost and health reasons. Several parts of Toronto, for instance, permit live chickens in enclosed yards.
“[The] problem is the province is mandating higher density, and the ability to put up hen houses is not a desirable thing to do,” Wink said.
The staff report recommended council endorse “Option 2,” which would also regulate poultry on rural properties between 0.4 and two hectares. However, Ward 3 Councillor Lisa Haun pointed out that this would be excessive, given such properties may not have close neighbours. Junkin agreed.
Wink also said that the new bylaw should apply to all kept fowl, clarifying that both female chickens and ducks of a certain age qualify as hens.
“That’s why you got an ‘A’ in biology,” Junkin joked.
Director of Community Planning and Development Barb Wiens said a revised staff report would come back.
Paper trail
Council unanimously deferred a bylaw proposal to regulate the delivery of unsolicited newspapers and advertising materials to Pelham residents. The matter arose from residents complaints regarding flyers and the free Niagara This Week newspaper creating litter in inclement weather conditions. While there is no intent to ban delivery of those periodicals, Junkin and Wink met with representatives from Niagara This Week this summer to see if delivery methods could be improved so as to cut down on debris.
Wink led the deferral charge so that the company could review their approach. (Niagara This Week and all the Niagara daily newpapers are owned by the mass media giant Torstar, and managed from outside Niagara.) Outgoing Ward 2 Councillor Ron Kore then asked if large chain retailers could also be included in any review discussions.
“I’m thinking about businesses like Shoppers Drug Mart, Giant Tiger, Food Basics,” Kore said. “They spend a lot of money [on advertising] and this is a lifeblood of their businesses.”
Kore, the franchisee of the Fonthill Sobeys, made a point earlier of saying he had consulted with the Integrity Commissioner to ensure he didn’t have a pecuniary interest in the matter.
“I just want to be transparent, I’m a businessman who uses one of the papers … they assured me I could participate in this debate,” he said.
Wink responded that the intent really had nothing to do with advertisers.
“It’s not so much it being delivered, it’s how it’s being delivered,” the Ward 2 councillor said. “To just throw the papers all over the place is not appropriate. We’re not trying to affect the businesses … what we’re trying to do is come up with a suitable solution to deliver these papers.”
(Voice carriers are instructed to deliver the paper to mailboxes or front stoops.)
Lame Duck Councillor Haun, like Kore a vocal critic of the Voice, then asked if Niagara This Week could be distributed in Town facilities.
“I know we have the other,” she said, referring to the Voice. “Is this one also available? Because this would mean another means of distribution.”
After staff replied that Niagara This Week is not currently distributed at Town facilities, Haun said it should be.
“I think it’s only fair, if you should have one, you should have the other,” she said.
Newspaper distribution is at the discretion of their publishing companies. Niagara This Week did not immediately respond to a Voice request for comment as to why their paper was not delivered to Pelham municipal facilities.
Haun also pushed for more “stakeholders” to be involved. CAO David Cribbs said perhaps the local chamber of commerce can be consulted.
Let the vegetation grow
Council unanimously endorsed a staff report to enhance safety around the stormwater management pond in the River Estates subdivision, choosing an option to let existing vegetation mature around the pond, and until then keep a temporary snow fence up. The option was the least expensive in the staff report. The matter was initiated by Kore, who voiced concern over the summer about the danger of children entering the pond.
Odds and ends
Council was notified of staff’s intention to initiate a ward boundary review report. Pelham has had three municipal wards since the Town was initially amalgamated in 1970, with Ward 1 covering Fenwick and much of the Town’s rural area, with Wards 2 and 3 covering Ridgeville and Fonthill. The official census population of Pelham was 18,192 in 2021, an increase of 1,594 from a decade earlier. Accelerated growth is expected in the future.
Lame Duck Ward 1 Councillor Marianne Stewart gave notice of motion to push for an upgraded school safety crossing on Canboro Road for the nearby Wellington Heights school. She expects to price tag to be in the vicinity of $20,000.
With council holding its first meeting since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, attendees of the mostly virtual meeting held a moment of silence. In an ironic example of the never-ending complexities of modern life, it was immediately followed by council’s usual Indigenous land acknowledgment statement.
