Bylaw complaints about house yards, snow removal and other property standards matters were by the far the most common in 2025 – but also the quickest to resolve.
The year-end numbers were presented recently to Southgate council.
These sometimes show just part of a picture, since complaints may have started earlier and continue to be unresolved. Others may have begun in late 2025, and have been resolved in 2026, which doesn’t show until next year’s report.
The report showed 73 new property standards complaints in 2025, with 68 complaints being resolved during the year and five remaining unresolved.
The next highest categories were 18 noise complaints and 17 related to zoning. There were 13 new complaints about vehicles on properties, with 14 resolved in 2025.
In most cases, noise complaints were resolved after staff spoke to residents, the report said.
When it comes to compliance with the fill bylaw, there were two new complaints and two matters resolved.
Over the course of 2025, bylaw personnel made 31 court appearances.
There were five court summonses issued over the year, three of which were in November and December.
Looking at the steps bylaw enforcement officers take after trying to get people to comply voluntarily, there were nine property standards letters and 23 property standards orders. For zoning violation matters, there were two letters and 13 orders. Zoning matters are the most likely to end up in the court system with residents not complying with orders.
Canine enforcement came under attention at council following a dog biting a student in Dundalk.
Staff responded to the problem of dogs being off-leash by going straight to a fine without the usual warning. The report said that three fines were issued, and there were fewer canine incidents.
The report showed that there was a total of about $1,700 collected from nine fines over the year. About $12,400 was listed as being collected from dog tag sales.
There were 16 dogs that spent time in the pound. Of these about half were sent to the shelter when the owner could not be identified, and half returned to the owner.
Out of almost 100 canine calls, 44 were in Dundalk and 52 in the rest of the township.
Southgate has 21 active kennels. Two others applied for kennel licences, but did not meet qualification and the report said they were “under enforcement action” at the time of the report.
Fees for kennel owners were contested and then waived in 2025, because of a duplicate requirement for inspections, both by bylaw enforcement and the owner’s own vet. The report said that invoices to kennels will be prepared for 2026.
Another bylaw area that got council’s attention in 2025 was abandoned couches and other bulky waste items being left out by the side of the road. There is no municipal pick-up for these items in Southgate.
Last August, council passed a provision to allow bylaw to enforce the bulky waste without a complaint from the public, on observation only. From September to December, there were 25 reports, with eight complying, and in three cases bulky waste was removed by the township and the owner was invoiced within 2025. The snow has prevented checks for compliance by staff.
By M.T. Fernandes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Feb 19, 2026 at 18:08
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