2021 has been a busy year for the Lumby bylaw office.
“It has been the year in (the) history of Lumby for bylaw complaints,” said bylaw enforcement officer Lee Elliott in a report to council dated Oct. 8.
Bylaw has received 165 complaints this past quarter (July to September), up from 92 during the same period last year and 47 in 2019.
“This represents a very large increase in complaints over last year again and has more than tripled since 2019,” Elliott said, adding complaints from this quarter equate to about 3.3 complaints per day.
The majority of complaints concern the village’s Good Neighbour bylaw, which came into effect in June 2020 and governs activities ranging from fireworks to panhandling. Of the 165 c0mplaints this quarter, 132 were Good Neighbour complaints.
This time last year, village staff said education on the new Good Neighbour bylaw was a priority and an ongoing process.
Another new bylaw that came into effect in 2020 — the cemetery bylaw — saw 12 complaints this past quarter.
“Approximately 56 complaints have not been addressed at this time due to the overwhelming call volume,” Elliott said. “Priority has been given to those that will have the most impact on the public as a whole and those that are safety-related.”
READ MORE: Lumby bylaw complaints skyrocket in 2020
READ MORE: Summerland’s Good Neighbour Bylaw to address unsightly properties