After public consultations last month about complaints against AIM Recycling at 997 Carpin Beach Road, city officials aren't ready to immediately introduce a bylaw to license salvage yard operations.
"After conducting the consultations, it is evident that further consultations need to take place," says Jenna Ricard, a solicitor and prosecutor from the city's legal department.
"City staff have determined there may be several unintended consequences of proceeding with a licensing bylaw as currently proposed," Ricard said in a report prepared for Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors.
Neighbours of AIM Recycling complain almost daily to the city and provincial environment officials about issues including:
- shaking of their houses including windows
- vibration
- excessive crashing
- excessive banging
- berm unpredictable as noise travels with the weather especially wind
- safety concerns for children
The Carpin Beach road residents are asking that AIM's hours of operation be limited to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. until noon.
Stakeholders from the metal salvaging industry are concerned that those hours of operation would be too restrictive for corporations that operate 24 hours a day.
"There are concerns that once Algoma Steel’s arc furnace is implemented, that other businesses may require an expansion of their operating hours to ensure no disruption in the supply of scrap metal," Ricard said.
Seeing that most of the complaints about AIM are noise-related, Ricard told a city council meeting this week that city staff would like to consider a noise bylaw instead of a licensing bylaw.
Consideration may also be given to granting exemptions to normal operating hours under special circumstances.
Another idea is a tiered approach outlining requirements for each type of scrap metal facility.
"There are other industries that have scrap metal as a small percentage of their operations that will also get captured under the proposed licensing by-law. These businesses have expressed concerns with having to get a licence given how small scrap metal is to their operations," Ricard says.
"Salvage yards that also operate as a towing company expressed concerns regarding the hours of operation. These businesses are requesting that the hours of operation do not include towing vehicles off roadways.
"A local towing company has advised that there are vehicles, both scrap vehicles and non-scrap vehicles that are abandoned and sit at their property as a result of them waiting for insurance companies to respond or bailiffs to release the loans."
City lawyers are also concerned that if the city tries to legislate an area that's under the authority of the province, it opens itself up to a jurisdictional challenge.
"City staff does not currently have the expertise to conduct or adequately peer review these acoustic assessments," Ricard says.
Ricard will conduct further research to determine how to proceed and whether there might be better avenues to address the issues involved.