A new bylaw to deal with air conditioning units in Bradford West Gwillimbury will aim to cool off years of heated complaints by residents.
BWG council approved this week a Committee of the Whole recommendation to remove air-conditioning units from zoning bylaw regulations.
This means there would be no more required interior yard setbacks for the placement of units, residents would have greater flexibility in their units, and the number of complaints to the town would be slashed, according to a town staff report.
Bylaw enforcement officers would still have power to address other air-conditioning concerns, including drainage and noise, the report noted.
However, any units installed over property lines would no longer be enforced by bylaw officers, rather become a civil dispute between neighbours.
Council must still formally approve all the exact details of a new bylaw at a later date.
Air conditioning has become a hot topic in BWG in recent years.
Several local residents had to re-install their air-conditioning units after the town’s enforcement officers got involved when some third-party contractors installed the units incorrectly under the town’s zoning bylaws.
If the town simply changed the setback requirements, there would still be a number of non-compliant homes, said Ryan Windle, the town’s manager of community planning.
Air-conditioning rules in BWG would now be similar to Innisfil and Barrie, which do not have interior side yard setback requirements in their bylaws, added the report.
