Chatham-Kent bylaw enforcement officials are investigating complaints that woodlots in East Kent are being cleared in violation of the municipality’s temporary bylaw to prohibit the Clear Cutting of Woodlots, Woodlands and parts of Woodlots or Woodlands
“BDS can confirm that these latest allegations of clear cutting at the end of last week have been reported to the Municipality and By-law Enforcement staff are investigating these matters further,” stated Paul Lacina, Chatham-Kent Director of Building Development Services, in a media release.
“As these are active investigations, further public comments cannot be made at this time.”
On April 26, 2021, Council adopted a temporary clear-cutting by-law that would have expired on August 24, 2021.
On August 23, 2021 Council extended the expiration date of the Temporary Clear-Cutting By-law to December 14, 2021.
On December 6, 2021, the by-law was further extended by Council until April 30, 2022.
Since the by-law was originally passed, the By-law Enforcement/Building Development Services Office (BDS) has investigated several reported incidents, but none of these investigations have resulted in any charges to date, Municipal officials say.
BDS has also worked with several woodlot management companies to ensure that any proposed work would not be in contravention of the by-law before the work started.
The Temporary Clear-Cutting By‐law Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that answers a number of questions regarding the by-law can be found, here.
To report an incident or for any further inquiries on the Temporary Clear-Cutting By-law please contact Shelley Bechard in Building Development Services at 519-360-1998 x 3242 or email shelleyb@chatham-kent.ca.
Anyone who is intending to undertake some selective harvesting is also encouraged to contact the Municipality before beginning the work.
