Community Standards Bylaw

Whereas the City is a single-tier municipality incorporated pursuant to an order made under section 25.2 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

The powers of a municipality must be exercised by its council (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 5 (1));

A municipal power must be exercised by bylaw unless the municipality is specifically authorized to do otherwise (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 5 (3));

A single tier municipality may provide any service or thing that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for the public (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 10 (1));

A single-tier municipality may pass bylaws respecting:

1. economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality, including respecting climate change;
2. health, safety and well-being of persons;
3. protection of persons and property, including consumer protection;
4. structures, including fences and signs; and
5. business licensing,

(Municipal Act, 2001, s. 10 (2));

A municipality may delegate its powers and duties under the Municipal Act, 2001 to a person or body subject to the restrictions set out in Part II of the Municipal Act, 2001 (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 23.1);

A municipality may require the owner or occupant of land to clean and clear the land, or to clear refuse or debris from the land, and may regulate when and how those matters shall be done (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 127);

A municipality may prohibit and regulate with respect to public nuisances, including matters that, in the opinion of council, are or could become or cause public nuisances (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 128 (1)); and

A municipality may prohibit and regulate with respect to noise, vibration, odour, dust and outdoor illumination, including indoor lighting that can be seen outdoors (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 129).

Therefore, Council enacts:

1.1 This bylaw may be cited as the Community Standards Bylaw.

1.2 In this bylaw:

Administrative penalty means an administrative penalty that a person is required to pay pursuant to the Administrative Penalty Bylaw;

Administrative Penalty Bylaw means City of Kingston Bylaw Number 2020-69, "A Bylaw to Establish a Process for Administrative Penalties";

Agricultural equipment means equipment that is operated on an agricultural property;

Agricultural property means a property that is zoned for agricultural use in the zoning bylaw;

Boat means a ship or any other description of vessel or floating craft designed, used or capable of being used for navigation and that is not propelled by oars, and includes a boat used exclusively for towing purposes, a water taxi and a boat used on water for living purposes;

Bridge means a bridge forming part of a highway or on, over or across which a highway passes;

Building materials means all material or debris associated with construction activities, and includes expanded/extruded polystyrene (EPS) foam, wood, gypsum board, roofing materials, pipes, wiring, siding, metal, and packaging materials, but does not include dust;

Bus means a school bus, tour bus, or motor coach, but does not include a Kingston Transit vehicle;

City means The Corporation of the City of Kingston;

City property means any premises that is owned, occupied or managed by the City, and includes a highway and a Kingston Transit vehicle;

Construction activities means anything done in the construction, erection, installation, extension, or material alteration or repair of a premises, including decorative stonework, landscaping, retaining walls, and walkways;

Council means the council of the City;

Director means the Director of the Licensing and Enforcement Department, the Director’s designate, or, in the event of organizational changes, the director of the successor division or department responsible for the administration of this bylaw;

Domestic animal means an animal that is kept as a household pet, including a hen kept pursuant to a hen coop permit and a pigeon kept pursuant to a pigeon loft permit, all in accordance with City of Kingston By-law Number 2021-166, Animal Control By-law;

Drive-thru means the use of a premises, or a part of a premises, to provide or dispense products or services, either wholly or in part, through an attendant or a window or an automated machine, to persons remaining in vehicles that are in a lane dedicated by signs for that purpose;

Drug paraphernalia means equipment, products or accessories intended or modified for using a controlled substance, as defined or described in Schedules I, II or III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 1996 chapter 19;

Dust means solid particles which may become or be airborne as a result of construction activities, including trimming, blasting, drilling, crushing, sandblasting, grinding, sawing, screening, cutting, altering or moving of clay, mortar, stone, rock, stucco, concrete, tile, and insulation;

Environmental Protection Act means the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19;

Fight means any confrontation involving violent physical contact between two or more persons;

Flyer means any unaddressed printed or written matter, including a circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet, postcard, or any other printed or otherwise reproduced matter of literature, that: (a) advertises or otherwise promotes any merchandise, product or commodity; or (b) directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment, for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interests thereof; or (c) directs attention to or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind for which an admission is charged for the purpose of commercial gain or profit;

Food means anything that can be consumed by an animal for sustenance, but does not include composting materials kept in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations and bylaws, and landscaping materials or plants, trees or shrubs (including shrubs, berries on shrubs, trees, herbs, vegetables on vegetable plants, and fruit on trees);

Highway means a common and public highway and includes any bridge, trestle, viaduct or other structure forming part of the highway and includes a sidewalk and a portion of a highway;

Idle or idling means the operation of the engine of a boat or vehicle while the vehicle or boat is not in motion and not being used to operate auxiliary equipment that is essential to the basic function of the vehicle or boat;

Kingston Transit vehicle means a vehicle used as part of a passenger transportation system established, operated or maintained by the City;

Licensing and Enforcement Department means the Licensing and Enforcement Department or in the event of organizational changes, the successor division or department responsible for the administration of this bylaw;

Loiter means to use or occupy a space other than for its intended purpose or to occupy a space such that it is not usable by others;

Motor vehicle means an automobile, truck or other vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular power, including a motorcycle;

Municipal Act, 2001 means the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25;

Offensive odours means an odour which emanates from a premises onto another premises and unreasonably disturbs the comfort of neighbours or residents;

Owner includes with respect to premises, the registered owner, occupant, tenant, or the person managing or receiving the rent of the premises;

Park means any premises owned, leased, or controlled by the City or a school board and designated or used as parkland or as a trail, including gardens, playgrounds, sports fields, skate parks, splash parks, pools and beach areas;

Penalty notice means a notice given pursuant to subsections 2.2 and 2.4 of the Administrative Penalty Bylaw;

Person includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, and an association;

Premises means land or a structure;

Provincial Offences Act means the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33;

Provincial offences officer has the meaning given to it in the Provincial Offences Act;

Public place means a place outdoors to which the public is ordinarily invited or permitted access, and includes highways, parking lots, parks, conservation areas, school grounds, and outdoor City property;

Retail establishment means a business, property or person that owns or provides shopping carts to its customers for use on its business premises;

Shopping cart means a device made available by a retail establishment for the purpose of allowing customers to convey goods purchased from the business while on the business premises or in the associated parking area;

Textile collection site means an area accessible to the public, which is marked by signs identifying the name of the textile collector and identifying the area for the collection of donated goods, and which contains a receptacle or bin for the collection of donated goods;

Tour boat means a boat that carries paying passengers on a regular route, including a cruise ship, but excluding a ferry boat;

Treasurer means the individual appointed by the City as treasurer or the treasurer’s designate;

Unsafe disposal means throwing, dropping, placing, or otherwise depositing or permitting to be deposited needles or syringes, or any part thereof, in a manner other than in needle disposal containers made available for that purpose;

Vehicle includes a motor vehicle, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of non-muscular power, but does not include cars of electric or diesel electric railways running only upon rails;

Vehicle with power take-off means a vehicle containing work equipment that must be powered by the vehicle engine;

Wildlife means an animal that belongs to a species that is wild by nature and includes coyotes, foxes, deer, wild rabbits, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, skunks and pests, but does not include domestic animals; and

Zoning bylaw means City of Kingston Zoning Bylaw Number 2022–62 or the applicable zoning bylaw that is in effect in respect of the subject premises.

1.3 For the purposes of interpreting this bylaw:

1. a reference to any legislation, regulation, or bylaw or to a provision thereof includes a reference to any legislation, regulation or bylaw enacted, made or passed in substitution thereof or amendment thereof;
2. any reference to legislation or bylaws includes all of the regulations made thereunder; and
3. "include", "includes" and "including" indicate that the subsequent list is

1.4 This bylaw will not be interpreted as exempting any person from the requirement to comply with any other City bylaw or federal or provincial legislation. In the event of conflict between the provisions of this bylaw and any other City bylaw, the provision that establishes the higher standard of health, safety and well-being of persons and protection of persons will apply.

2.1 The Director is responsible for the administration of this bylaw.

2.2 Where this bylaw provides that the Director may do an act, the Director may, when doing the act, seek and consider information or documents from any person, and may consult with other City employees, legal counsel, or other advisors, all as the Director considers necessary.

2.3 Where this bylaw provides that the Director may do an act, it may be done by an individual authorized by the Director to do the act.

3.1 The purpose of this bylaw is to promote a healthy, safe and vibrant community for all residents and visitors in the City of Kingston by regulating and prohibiting activities or conditions that interfere with the public’s right to use and enjoy public spaces or that negatively impact the safety, comfort or wellbeing of the community.

3.2 This bylaw conveys to the Director all necessary and proper powers to abate the activities and conditions described in subsection 3.1, while recognizing that enforcement action may be undertaken through various means.

4.1 No person will keep on any premises:

1. refuse, garbage receptacles, animal excrement or compost in a manner that becomes a nuisance by creating offensive odours or attracting wildlife or pests, including vermin, rodents or termites; or
2. any substance or materials stored in a manner that becomes a nuisance by emitting offensive odours.

4.2 Subsection 4.1 does not apply to:

1. agricultural properties or to any normal farm practice, as determined pursuant to the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 1; and
2. activities that are prescribed by section 2 of Ontario Regulation 1/17 filed under the Environmental Protection Act.

5.1 An owner of premises engaged in construction activities will ensure that building materials on the premises are removed or contained and secured in such a manner that prevents such building materials from being blown off or scattered from the premises.

5.2 No person will cause or permit dust that occurs as a result of construction activities to escape a premises onto another premises.

5.3 Subsection 5.2 does not apply if reasonable preventative measures were taken to prevent dust from escaping a premises. Reasonable preventative measures must include one or a combination of the following dust control measures, to the satisfaction of the Director:

1. wetting the building materials;
2. using a wet saw;
3. tarping or otherwise containing the source of the dust;
4. (d) installing wind fencing or a fence filter at the height of and surrounding the work area;
5. using a vacuum attachment when cutting, grinding, sanding or scraping; or
6. any other preventative measure deemed by the Director to be adequate in the mitigation of dust escaping a premises based on the nature of the activity.

5.4 Subsection 5.2 does not apply to:

1. construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance processes using construction equipment conducted by, or on behalf of the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, a company operating as a utilities provider, or any of their respective agencies or agents;
2. emergency measures undertaken for the immediate health, safety or welfare of inhabitants;
3. any normal farm practice, as determined pursuant to the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 1;
4. construction activities that are governed by the Aggregate Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.8; or
5. activities that are prescribed by section 2 of Ontario Regulation 1/17 filed under the Environmental Protection Act.

5.5 If a corporation:

1. is convicted of an offence under this section 5; or
2. receives two or more penalty notices in any consecutive period under this section 5 that are not cancelled pursuant to the Administrative Penalty Bylaw,

the Director may publish, cause to be published, or otherwise make available to the general public the name of the corporation, a description of the offence or penalty notice, the date of the conviction or penalty notice and the corporation’s sentence or the amount of the administrative penalty. The authority to publish under this subsection 5.5 includes authority to publish on the Internet, including on a website or in a report to Council.

6.1 No person will cause or permit a vehicle or boat to idle for more than one minute in a 60-minute period.

6.2 Subsection 6.1 does not apply to the following:

1. police, fire, ambulance or provincial offences officer vehicles or police or fire boats engaged in their ordinary duties, but not where idling is substantially for the convenience of one or more of the operator of or a passenger in the vehicle or boat;
2. Kingston Transit vehicles;
3. vehicles or boats assisting in an emergency activity;
4. a vehicle with power take-off while it is in the course of being performed
5. ferry boats operated by the Province of Ontario or the County of Frontenac;
6. armoured vehicles where a person remains inside the vehicle while guarding the contents of the vehicle or while the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded;
7. vehicles or boats engaged in the course of a parade or race or any other event authorized by the City;
8. vehicles that are operating on the travelled portion of a drive-thru lane;
9. vehicles or boats that remain motionless because of an emergency over which the driver has no control, or because of mechanical difficulties over which the driver has no control;
10. vehicles or boats where idling is required to repair or prepare the vehicle or boat for service; or
11. agricultural equipment while being operated on agricultural property;
12. buses, but only when passengers are embarking or disembarking; or
13. occupied vehicles where the ambient outside temperature is more than 27 degrees Celsius or less than five degrees Celsius, as measured by

6.3 Despite subsection 6.1, no person will cause or permit a tour boat to idle for more than five minutes in a 60-minute period.

6.4 Where a vehicle has been left stopped in contravention of this bylaw, the owner of the vehicle, even though the owner was not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the contravention of the bylaw, is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine in accordance with the provisions of the Provincial Offences Act, unless at the time of the offence the vehicle was in the possession of some person other than the owner without the owner’s consent.

7.1 No person will feed or permit the feeding of wildlife, or leave food that is accessible by wildlife.

7.2 Subsection 7.1 does not apply to the following:

1. agricultural property;
2. a person leaving food for a feral cat colony for the purposes of a trap, neuter or spay and release program;
3. a person leaving food as bait to trap vermin or rodents;
4. an officer, licensed trapper, authorized wildlife rehabilitator or employee of a licensed pest management operator or exterminator leaving food as bait to catch wildlife as part of their professional duties;
5. a person feeding wildlife as part of a research program undertaken by a university, college, government research body or wildlife research institution;
6. a person fishing or hunting in accordance with a valid provincial licence and in compliance with any prescribed regulations;
7. a person participating in a cultural or spiritual practice outdoors, provided the person cleans all food from the outdoor location at the conclusion of the practice;
8. a person feeding birds by hand at a designated feeding area provided by the City, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, or any conservation authority; or
9. a person feeding birds from a bird feeding device as follows:
   1. the bird feeding device is located on private property, and the owner has given permission for the installation and use of the bird feeding device; and
   2. the bird feeding device is kept in sanitary condition and in good working order to prevent spillage of the food.
   For purposes of subsection (h) and (i), a bird does not include waterfowl that are wildlife.

8.1 No person will disturb any goods located at a textile collection site.

8.2 No person will leave donated goods at a textile collection site except within a designated receptacle or bin.

8.3 No person will deposit a flyer at or on a premises where a sign or notice has been posted, and which is visible at the entrance of the premises, indicating that flyers are not wanted, provided that this subsection does not apply to:

1. any elections advertising material which is permitted to be transmitted or delivered pursuant to any applicable federal, provincial or municipal legislation;
2. newspapers containing news, occurrences, pictures or illustrations, which are printed and published periodically;
3. community association newsletters or newspapers; or
4. information circulars produced by a federal, provincial or municipal government or an agency of such government.

9.1 No person will engage in or permit conduct in a public place that is likely to disturb or interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of another person in a public place by:

1. causing a public disturbance, including by using abusive or threatening language; or
2. communicating with a person in a manner that could reasonably cause offence or intimidation including any conduct, comment, or action that refers to the person’s race, religious beliefs, colour, disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

9.2 No person will urinate or defecate in a public place, except in a facility designed and intended for such use.

9.3 No person will participate in a fight or similar physical confrontation in any public place, provided that this subsection 9.3 does not apply to participants in a sanctioned organized sporting event who are governed by the rules of conduct of that sporting event.

9.4 No person will loiter on a highway, including a sidewalk, in a manner that impedes the free movement of pedestrians on the highway or the access to or use of any premises, or that poses a danger to the safety of other persons using the highway.

9.5 No person will loiter in any public place washroom or change-room.

9.6 No person will engage in lewd sexual activity, including masturbation, in a public place.

9.7 No person will use or display drug paraphernalia in a park or in any public place that is within 15 metres of a park.

9.8 No person will engage in or permit the unsafe disposal of needles or syringes in a public place.

9.9 No person who is transporting earth, sand, stone or other material in a vehicle will load or drive the vehicle in a manner that causes or permits the material to be deposited on a highway.

9.10 No person will drive a vehicle on a highway unless the person has removed, as completely as is reasonably possible, all mud, clay, oil, sand, stone or other material from the wheels of the vehicle that is likely to:

1. cause an obstruction or dangerous condition on the highway; or
2. damage the surface of the highway.

9.11 No person will move a vehicle that is equipped with metal cleats, including cleats with rubber inserts or pads, flanges or tracks on its wheels or roller onto or along the highway unless:

1. the vehicle is being carried on a float or trailer; or
2. a preventative pad is laid across the portion of the highway to be crossed; or
3. the City’s Director of Engineering Services, or their designate, has otherwise approved the movement of the vehicle.

9.12 No person will jump, dive or otherwise propel themselves from any bridge.

10.1 Every retail establishment will take reasonable measures to prevent shopping carts from being removed from the business premises. Reasonable measures might include cart corrals with built in coin chains, signage, security gates, or any other services or measures designed to deter theft.

10.2 Every retail establishment will have a written shopping cart retrieval program in place to retrieve abandoned shopping carts and respond to complaints from the public in a reasonable timeframe, subject to safety considerations.

10.3 Every retail establishment will ensure that its shopping carts are locked or otherwise secured when the retail establishment is not open for business.

10.4 Every retail establishment will post removal warning signage at all entrances to the retail establishment containing a statement to the effect that the unauthorized removal of a shopping cart from a retail establishment is a criminal offence.

11.1 No person will vandalize City property by removing, destroying, damaging, tampering with, mutilating, or altering the appearance of any City property, including any characteristic or feature thereof.

12.1 This bylaw may be enforced by a provincial offences officer or other authorized employee or agent of the City.

12.2 No person will obstruct or hinder or attempt to obstruct or hinder the Director, provincial offences officer or other authorized employee or agent of the City in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty under this bylaw.

12.3 The Director and every provincial offences officer may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001, enter on land to conduct an inspection to determine whether the provisions of this bylaw are being complied with.

12.4 For the purposes of conducting an inspection of land pursuant to subsection 12.3, the Director or a provincial offences officer may:

1. require the production for inspection of documents or things relevant to the inspection;
2. inspect and remove documents or things relevant to the inspection for the purpose of making copies or extracts;
3. require information from any person concerning a matter related to the inspection; and
4. alone or in conjunction with an individual possessing special or expert knowledge, make examinations or take tests or photographs necessary for the purposes of the inspection.

12.5 For clarity, a person exercising a power of entry on behalf of the City pursuant to subsection 12.4 shall not enter or remain in any room or place actually being used as a dwelling, except as otherwise permitted under the Municipal Act, 2001.

13.1 Every person is guilty of an offence as provided for in the Provincial Offences Act if the person:

1. contravenes any provision of this bylaw;
2. hinders, obstructs or interferes with the Director or a provincial offences officer in the exercise of the Director’s or the provincial offences officer’s powers and duties; or
3. hinders, obstructs or interferes with a person authorized by the Director to do an act in the exercise of that person’s authority to do the act.

13.2 Every officer or director of a corporation who knowingly concurs in the contravention of any provision of this bylaw is guilty of an offence as provided for in the Provincial Offences Act.

13.3 Every person who fails to comply with any provision of this bylaw will, upon issuance of a penalty notice, be required to pay an administrative penalty, and the Administrative Penalty Bylaw applies to each administrative penalty imposed pursuant to this bylaw.

13.4 If a person is required to pay an administrative penalty under subsection 13.3 in respect of a contravention of this bylaw, the person will not be charged with an offence in respect of the same contravention.

13.5 Every person who is convicted of an offence under this bylaw is liable to a minimum fine of $500 and to a maximum fine of $100,000 pursuant to subsections 429 (1) and (3) of the Municipal Act, 2001.

13.6 A person who is convicted of an offence under this bylaw is liable, for each day or part of a day that the offence continues, to a minimum fine of $500 and a maximum fine of $10,000, and the total of all daily fines for the offence is not limited to $100,000 as provided for in section 429 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

13.7 When a person has been convicted of an offence under this bylaw, the Ontario Court of Justice or any court of competent jurisdiction may, in addition to any other penalty imposed on the person convicted, make an order:

1. prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the offence by the person convicted; and
2. requiring the person convicted to correct the contravention in the manner and within the period that the court considers appropriate.

13.8 The City may collect unpaid fines for a contravention of this bylaw in accordance with the following:

1. the treasurer may give notice that if any part of a fine for a contravention of this bylaw remains unpaid after the fine becomes due and payable under section 66 of the Provincial Offences Act, including any extension of time for payment under section 66 or 66.0.1 of the Provincial Offences Act, the treasurer may give the person against whom the fine was imposed a written notice specifying the amount of the fine payable and the final date one which it is payable, which must be not less than 21 days after the date of the notice;
2. if the fine remains unpaid after the final date specified in the notice, the fine is deemed to be unpaid taxes for the purposes of section 351 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

14.1 If the Director is satisfied that a contravention of this bylaw has occurred, the Director may make an order requiring the person who contravened this bylaw, or who caused or permitted the contravention, or the owner of the land on which the contravention occurred, to do work to correct the contravention.

14.2 An order under subsection 14.1 will set out:

1. reasonable particulars of the contravention adequate to identify the contravention and the location of the land on which the contravention occurred; and
2. the work to be done and the date by which the work must be done.

14.3 Any person who contravenes an order under subsection 14.1 is guilty of offence.

14.4 Where a person is in default of the requirement to do any matter or thing this bylaw, the City may do the matter or thing at the person’s expense.

14.5 For the purposes of subsection 14.4, the City may enter upon land at any reasonable time.

14.6 The City may recover the costs of doing a matter or thing under subsection from the person directed or required to do it by action or by adding the costs to the tax roll, together with interest calculated at a rate of 15%, calculated for the period commencing on the day the City incurs the costs and ending on the day the costs, including the interest, are paid in full.

15.1 If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision, or any part of a provision, of this bylaw to be invalid, or to be of no force and effect, it is the intention of Council in enacting this bylaw that each and every provision of this bylaw authorized by law be applied and enforced in accordance with its terms to the extent possible according to law.

15.2 Bylaw 2008-95, "A Bylaw of The Corporation of the City of Kingston to Control the Idling of Vehicles and Boats", is repealed in its entirety as of the date that this bylaw comes into force.

15.3 This bylaw will come into force and take effect on May 1, 2024.