City Clarifies Storm Pond Enforcement jurisdiction

Questions on the enforcement authority of the city’s peace officers have been clarified since council’s Feb. 20 decision on storm pond use.
In the decision prohibiting the use of storm ponds for recreation questions were raised as to the enforcement authority of the city’s peace officers on Chestermere Utility Inc. (CUI) owned storm ponds.
During deliberations, city administration believed that the bylaw officer who removed skaters from the Kinniburgh storm pond on Jan. 2 may have been acting beyond his authority.
After consultation with the city’s legal councilor Chestermere’s Corporate Strategy Officer Chen Peng confirmed that the Municipal Government Act (MGA) gives Community Peace Officers powers of enforcement on the storms ponds.
“Although the current City’s Community Standards Bylaw has room for improvement, the Community Pease Officer had the broad bylaw authority based on the MGA to pursue the enforcement,” said Corporate Strategy Officer Chen Peng.
Section 7 of the MGA gives the city the authority to create bylaws respecting, “people, activities and things in, on or near a public place or place that is open to the public.”
Peng said that although the Kinniburgh Storm Pond is owned by CUI since they are unfenced and open to the public peace officers have the ability to enforce the bylaw.
“Skating on the pond is unsafe,” she said, “In addition, the CUI’s signage on the pond states activities on the pond is prohibited.”
In addition to the authority provided by the MGA, part of council’s Feb. 20 decision was to make changes to the community standards bylaw that clarifies and improves its authority.