In response to a plea from the owners of Lavender Falls, Clearview councillors have agreed to erect no-parking signs on its side of the Mulmur-Nottawasaga Townline.
In an effort to protect the falls, property owners Allan and Esther Wargon had requested both Mulmur and Clearview install no-parking signs as a way of deterring trespassing.
On April 11, by motion of councillor Shawn Davidson, council voted to erect no-parking signs on the Clearview side of the Mulmur-Nottawasaga Townline and place the signs at the discretion of staff with a cost not to exceed $400. They also directed the clerk to draft a bylaw for council’s consideration.
“This was strictly a compassionate and political action on our part. The difficulty is going to be enforcing it… because of the limitations we have with staffing within our department but there are some law abiding citizens out there who, when they see a sign, they obey it,” said Davidson.
Once upon a time, the Wargons didn’t object to local people visiting the falls but after the attraction was erroneously published on a Bruce Trail map and with the location spreading on the internet, more and more people have been trespassing at the falls, causing damage to the sensitive ecology of the area and being abusive to the property owners.
Mulmur responded to the request by putting up signs on their side of the road last fall.
Mayor Paul Mills said the OPP has been notified and the hope is they will patrol that area when the hiking season begins.
“Lavender Falls is on the Clearview side of the townline and we maintain that part of the road through an agreement with Clearview and we know it’s a special place down there and we thought, any support we could give them, we would and that’s what we decided to do, was put up the no-parking signs,” said Mills.
Last month, Allan Wargon came before council to present a petition and ask once more for no-parking signs on the Clearview side.
“The posting of no-parking signs is but a step in helping to preserve one of the most beautiful natural features of Clearview, equally appreciated by adjoining townships,” Allan told The Echo this week. “Future generations will be grateful to the present administrations of Clearview and Mulmur for their initiative in helping to halt the trespassing, destruction and vandalism that has occurred, particularly since unrestrained display appeared on the internet. Although the falls property is and always has been privately held, fundamentally its unusual beauty is a heritage and trust that all people should protect.”
The challenge is in that while the OPP enforce the laws of Mulmur, Clearview has one full-time bylaw officer and one part-time bylaw officer who enforce the town’s bylaws and they do not have the necessary manpower to be pro-active in that area.
“Council had asked staff to attempt to have the OPP take over the issuance of tickets in the area in question and perhaps alleviate the situation,” reported Clearview’s general manager of transportation and drainage, Gerry LeMay. “In conversations with the OPP they are not about to take over the bylaw control situation and presently would not like to open this door. The OPP did however state they would ticket for people obstructing the roadway as this is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act. Clearview does not have the staff to accommodate the request for continued bylaw enforcement in this area.”
For that reason, Councillor Robert Walker said he could not support the motion.
“If we aren’t going to enforce, the signs shouldn’t go up,” he said.
There was concern from staff that even if tickets were issued, they could be challenged in court, further depleting staff resources.
Councillor Kevin Elwood also opposed the motion saying he would rather see an agreement with Mulmur, and the OPP explored.