Bylaw complaints increase as population pressures rise
Haldimand County is monitoring the situation in the municipality regarding problem Airbnb rentals.
April 19, staff told Haldimand council it is collecting bylaws from other municipalities for the regulation of rentals that are chronically disruptive to the surrounding neighbourhood.
A possibility, said Mike Evers, Haldimand’s general manager of community and development services, is a municipal licensing requirement for property owners who wish to engage in short-term rentals to third parties.
“Across the province, we’re seeing a lot of fallout over ‘Airbnb party shacks’ and what’s going on with them – parking, noise and – the last one I’m hearing about – guns were involved,” Dunnville Coun. Bernie Corbett said. “It concerns me.
“I’d like to see us be proactive. It’s coming. It’s here and we should be prepared to deal with it when we get these complaints.”
Rowdyism during the nice weather has been an increasingly serious problem in Haldimand County in recent years.
Corbett said there were issues in the Port Maitland area near Dunnville last year regarding disruptive parties in traditionally quiet areas.
For his part, Hagersville Coun. Tony Dalimonte said bush-party culture in the quarry areas west of town continues to be a problem despite the county’s best efforts to discourage it.
In a review of his department’s activities in 2021, Evers said these and other problems are indicative of a larger issue in Haldimand, namely explosive growth across the municipality in areas that aren’t used to seeing it. Evers cited statistics from departments within his division that all point to a municipality on the move.
These include 2,472 bylaw complaints last year, which is up significantly from the five-year average of 2,039. Haldimand’s bylaw division also issued 1,077 parking tickets last year. This is 243 more than the county’s five-year average of 834.
Statistics from Haldimand’s building and planning departments in 2021 also tell a tale of explosive growth.
In his presentation, Evers said Haldimand issued a record 1,782 building permits last year. The previous record high set in 2017 was 1,586 while the five-year rolling average is 1,262.
Evers added that Haldimand collected $2.8 million in building permit revenue last year. This is $1 million more than the five-year average. As well, the total value of new construction in Haldimand last year was $266 million. This compares with the five-year average of $142 million.
“In building services, it was a year like no other,” Evers said. “We issued almost 1,800 building permits. That’s an all-time high for Haldimand County – almost 200 more than our previous record. We are very much in a period of significant growth.”
Haldimand’s planning department experienced a similar trend in 2021. Evers said county planners reviewed 221 planning applications last year. This compares with the five-year rolling average in Haldimand of 169.
Haldimand planners also reviewed 526 engineering reports connected to new development proposals. The five-year average in this area is 255.
Evers added that 1,453 new residential units were built in Haldimand last year. Planning application fees, all in, totaled $776,200. This is $251,700 more than the county’s five-year average of $524,500.
“Clearly, the theme developing here is that it was a busy and productive year,” Evers said.
Other highlights from Evers’ year-end report include:
- The Haldimand County Fire Department responded to 1,034 incidents in 2021. This compares with the five-year average of 987.
- Haldimand County paramedic services responded to 10,384 calls last year. The five-year average in Haldimand is 10,163.