Deep River’s new “clean and clear yards” bylaw is coming under fire from a local resident.
The bylaw regulates the keeping of private property, exclusive of buildings, “in a safe, tidy and visually-pleasing manner.”
Among other things, it narrowed the definition of “naturalized” gardens in order to distinguish them from neglected gardens.
The bylaw was also updated last year with the addition of a regulation preventing noxious weeds, as well as a regulation stipulating where compost bins can be placed.
It also tacked on regulations regarding discarded appliances, vehicles and equipment, and put restrictions on the placement of compost bins, which the new bylaw prohibits in front yards, side yards and exterior side yards.
But a letter on the agenda of this week’s council meeting from Lesley Barry questions why, when the bylaw was passed in June of last year, the town failed to repeal the bylaw it replaced, which originally came into effect 10 years ago.
She also questions the new bylaw’s logic of restricting the placement of compost bins exclusively to back yards.
“Neither of the two staff reports (from last year) mention considering the potential effect of the new restriction on residents with disabilities.
“Depending on the location of entrances and stairs, the back yard may not be as safe or easy to access as the side yard, especially during the snow and ice of the winter months,” Barry states in her letter.
“For residents who have had a compost container set in a legal and easy-to-access place for many years (ours has been in the same place for over 30 years), and discovered that overnight it became illegal, the staff reports provide no reason for the change.”
Barry goes on to question why compost bins are being singled out in the new bylaw.
“If the new restriction in compost bin placement bins is about aesthetics, it’s strange that naturalized gardens, which are still controversial for many people, are allowed, but compost bins suddenly need to be kept at the back.
“Are compost bins, among all the items that can accrue next to a dwelling such as condenser units, residential propane tanks and standby generators, really that much of an eyesore?” she questions.
“And how does this work for those properties on Birch, Maple and Glendale, where the back yards face the street?
“The overall effect is of a new restriction on residential composting for no clear reason, when arguably council should be supporting it, given its benefits: reducing landfill waste; reducing methane emissions; improving soil quality; and saving residents money on fertilizers.”
While council is expected to discuss Barry’s concerns about composting at this week’s meeting, a separate bylaw on the table addresses her first concern, in that it calls for the repeal of the original 2016 Clean and Clear Yards bylaw.
By Vance Gutzman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 20, 2026 at 15:02
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