Lorraine Johnson has shared her presentation on Oct 1, 2022 through the David Suzuki Foundation. Butterflyway Webinar: Municipal bylaws (1.5hrs)
Other links to legislation, and related articles.
| Ontario Court of Justice ruling (Sandra Elizabeth Bell v. Toronto) decision: PDF file created from a TIFF image by tiff2pdf (thebrooksinstitute.org) Superior Court ruling (Counter v. Toronto): http://www.canlii.org/on/cas/onsc/2002/2002onsc10323.html Court of Appeal ruling (Counter v. Toronto): http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2003/2003canlii48374/2003canlii48374.htm “Bogged Down: Water-wise Gardeners Get the Flush,” by Lorraine Johnson: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/606c9e7dc06e361edcf23d6e/t/6192d7898546bf14211dfc1d/1637013385667/Bogged+Down+essay+in+HtO.pdf David Donnelly of Donnelly Law is a lawyer with much expertise in defense of those charged (or threatened with charges) under grass and weeds bylaws. David has prepared a template letter that he makes available to people dealing with grass and weeds bylaw enforcement. https://www.donnellylaw.ca The Ecological Design Lab (www.ecologicaldesignlab.ca), Nina-Marie Lister’s lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, includes numerous resources related to grass and weeds bylaws and reform on its website. i) Final report “Cultivating Support Through Municipal Codes”: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/site/uploads/2022/03/Urban-Biodiversity-Cultivating-Support-Through-Municipal-Codes-March-7-Update-2.pdf ii) “Enhancing Biodiversity in Private Property: A Toolkit for Local Governments”: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/site/uploads/2022/03/Enhancing-Biodiversity-in-Private-Property-A-Toolkit-for-Local-Governments-March-10-Update.pdf-2.pdf iii) Bylaws for Biodiversity: Re-Modelling City of Toronto’s Municipal Code Chapter 489, Grass and Weeds, major research paper by Carly Murphy: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/project/bylaws-for-biodiversity iv) Model bylaw developed by Carly Murphy: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/site/uploads/2021/06/Model-By-law-1.pdf For resources on recent community efforts to reform the grass and weeds bylaw in Waterloo, see https://sites.google.com/view/beeyondnomowmay/home OpEd by Lorraine Johnson and Nina-Marie Lister regarding grass and weeds bylaws, published in the Toronto Star, September 1, 2020: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/09/01/battle-over-front-yard-meadow-thick-with-irony.html Webinar “Barriers, By-laws, and the Biophilic City: Advancing Natural Gardens and Native Plants in Our Cities!” hosted by Ecological Design Lab, with panelists Nina-Marie Lister, David Donnelly and Lorraine Johnson in conversation, and guests Mark Cullen and Patricia Landry, December 17, 2021: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/communications/videos Webinar by Nina-Marie Lister, “Challenging Lawn Order: Barriers, Bylaws & the Biophilic City,” March 10, 2021: https://vimeo.com/522500495 For more information on the Sinclair case in Smiths Falls, see: i) https://lorrainejohnson.ca/blog/a-naturalized-garden-goes-to-court ii) Link to recording of Smiths Falls Property Standards Appeal Committee hearing, January 25, 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYIbrlHASC0&t=4411s iii) Link to Lorraine Johnson’s letter to Smiths Falls Town Council urging them to withdraw the Orders to Comply for the Sinclairs’ garden and to reform the grass and weeds bylaw: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/606c9e7dc06e361edcf23d6e/t/6192dcb2ee39bb5ab8c5710c/1637014706901/To+Smiths+Falls+Mayor+and+Council+from+Lorraine+Johnson+re+Property+Standards+and+8+St.+Lawrence+Street+copy.pdf Excellent article by Joyce Hostyn, Rideau 1000 Islands Master Gardeners, “Challenging Bylaw Complaints”: https://rideau1000islandsmastergardeners.com/2021/02/22/challenging-bylaw-complaints The Local Scoop, a news digest of info related to native plants and affiliated with the North American Native Plant Society, has written extensively on grass and weeds bylaws and the legal rulings. https://thelocalscoop.org/2010-04-scoop.php Allan Greenbaum’s dissertation “Lawn as a Site of Environmental Conflict” (2000) is full of great information and analysis of the lawn, especially in the context of pesticide regulation and also includes some analysis of the Sandy Bell case. Link to the dissertation Introduction (where you can find links to all the chapters and bibliography): https://www.academia.edu/19947890/Lawn_as_a_Site_of_Environmental_Conflict_Introduction “7 Gardens Brought Before the Law” essay, by Lorraine Johnson: https://lorrainejohnson.ca/essays “Garden Regulations: Rethinking Milkweed” article by Lorraine Johnson regarding the 2018 case in Burlington in which gardener Doreen Nicoll was ordered to remove the milkweed from her garden and she fought back: https://www.oala.ca/ground_articles/garden-regulations |