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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife business owner says city bylaws lack common sense.

Dan Hayward stands outside his Franklin Avenue shop with his most recent $100 ticket. The business owner says it seems that bylaw officers are trying to put him "out of business." - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

Dan Hayward, owner of Dan's Place, was fined $100 by the city's bylaw enforcement officers on Wednesday afternoon, for displaying a few items of his merchandise on the sidewalk in front of his shop.

"The guy comes flying in here with his lights on as if I had robbed a bank."

It was the second time in two weeks that Hayward was fined by the city for obstructing pedestrian traffic. He said he depends on displaying a few items on the sidewalk in front of his shop in order to attract business.

"It makes a big difference to my business by having my stuff on the front."

Hayward has also been fined for using the alleyway behind his shop as a loading area.

"I have no loading zone - I've got a handicap zone out front, and I've got no place to load."

"The bylaws seem to be trying their damnedest to put me out of business," he said.

Hayward believes the city's approach to fining him is heavy-handed, and claims he has not been inconveniencing pedestrians on the sidewalk.

"I could see if it was busy like in downtown Toronto," he said.

However, Hayward said the sidewalk in front of his house measures about four metres from the shop to the road. Hayward showed pictures of himself measuring out the space taken up by the items that were on the sidewalk, and said they were only taking up about 0.6 metres of space.

"You can see that there's 11 feet between my stuff and the sidewalk," he said. "You can see there's a lot of room."

According to manager of municipal enforcement Doug Gillard, the city received a complaint from a citizen that Hayward was blocking the sidewalk with his merchandise. He added under the business licence bylaw a business is not allowed to store merchandise on public property without a licence.

The city issued Hayward a warning a few weeks ago, but when officers returned and saw he had not removed his merchandise, they issued him his first fine, which he has already paid.

Hayward said nobody has ever complained directly to him about his merchandise being on the sidewalk.

"I've asked a number of people," said Hayward. According to him, they like to "see this stuff on the sidewalk" because it animates the street.

Hayward tried to reason with bylaw officers and city officials after the first time he was fined, but he was told they weren't going to change the laws for him.

Hayward was told by the city that he could get a permit to display merchandise on the sidewalk, but that it would cost him $1,000. Hayward argues the licence costs too much, considering he can only really put items in front of his shop for a few months of the year.

He believes the city's stance toward business owners in the downtown area operates on a double standard. He said that during the summer, he has to clean up cigarette butts every day. "Why don't they hand out $250 fines people throwing cigarette butts on the ground," he said, referring to the city's littering bylaws, which he believes are rarely enforced.

Meanwhile, in the winter, Hayward must clear the snow on the sidewalk in front of his shop.

"I have to clean that sidewalk, and I have to keep the snow off of that sidewalk or I'm fined for not looking after their sidewalk," he said, "but they don't let me use two feet of it to help me with my business?"

Gillard said while the city does enforce littering laws, smokers tend to avoid throwing cigarette butts on the ground in front of bylaw officers, thus making it difficult to issue a fine for the infraction.

Hayward also points out there are other businesses in the downtown area that use the city's sidewalks to hang signs in order to attract customer's attention. He believes the city should be doing more to help businesses.

"To me that's promoting community business ... with the downtown being as dead as it is, we need as much activity as we can get."

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