Prince George, B.C. – Prince George is more than  70 communities in the province that is looking to  adopt  a “Bylaw Notice Enforcement bylaw”.Council has unanimously approved three readings of the bylaw that will change the way  some  tickets can be challenged.

Manager of Bylaw Services ,Fred Crittenden says  adoption of this  system will  create a more efficient  means of  dealing with  violation tickets,  it will also  allow for  people who are ticketed under this system  better process and dispute resolution  says Crittenden as it would take the ticketing out of the courts and puts it into  the  adjudication system.

Not all   bylaw violations   will be covered  by this system,  to start,   the  bylaws that will be covered  will be:

• Animal Control
• Noise Control, Parks and Open  Spaces
• Water Bylaw,
• Garbage Collection,
• Property Maintenance
•  Parking  and Traffic  as well as Off Street Parking
• Snow  and Ice Control Route restriction
• Highways Bylaw

Those who have been cited for a violation  under any of the preceding bylaws  could face additional  dollars  added to their fines if they miss the payment deadline.   In  some cases,   the  violator  could see the fine reduced if they enter into a  compliance agreement.  The new bylaw  also sets the stage for  the matter to be resolved through an adjudication process rather than  heading to court.

“It cuts down on costs for the  person ticketed. they are not required to attend in person  as they would be in court.  They can submit  a written  statement to the adjudicator”  says  Crittenden.  it will also save  dollars for the City  as  submissions will be made through documentation including sworn statements.

Adjudicators  have been identified by the Province,   and the fee is $400 per day, the City will  cover the adjudication fees.

Crittenden says this program has been well received in other communities.  In some communities,  such as the Okanagan, they  have a  weekly  adjudication  date  to handle all cases from the area.

Several of the bylaws that would be covered by this system  will have to be tweaked to allow for this  stream of  dispute resolution.

The changes to the bylaws  will be done by  the end of this year, so the new system can be  up and running as of January 1st, 2017