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By-laws and Enforcement

In the Municipality of Trent Lakes, we issue a variety of by-laws to keep our community clean and safe for all residents and visitors to enjoy. Review our by-laws and learn how to submit a by-law complaint. By-law Enforcement Officers work with property owners to ensure Municipal by-laws are adhered to.

If you have an emergency, please call 911 immediately.

Submit a By-law Complaint

All formal complaints must be submitted in writing using our online fillable by-law complaint form by clicking the button below. You may also download our By-law Complaint Form to submit at the office or via email.

Anonymous complaints will not be investigated.

When Submitting a Complaint, You Must Provide:

  • Your name, address and phone number (information about a complainant is confidential)
  • The address of the property with the violation
  • Details about the concern

The complaint will be sent to the Municipal By-law Enforcement Officer or, the Peterborough Humane Society. They will begin their investigation shortly after receiving the complaint form.

We may contact you during the investigation process for more information.

Please note that the Municipality will not provide status updates on active or closed investigations to the complainant or other parties.

After Hours Complaints

The Municipality of Trent Lakes offers an after hours complaint line, provided by TAS-Page Communication Services

If the complaint is time sensitive, such as noise, fire and fireworks, TAS-Page will dispatch Maxama Protection Inc. to investigate the call within 24 hours.

If your complaint is not time sensitive, TAS-Page will direct you to fill out an online form, which will be investigated by Municipal staff during office hours.

Wondering what types of complaints Maxama Protection Inc. will investigate? Take a look at our after hours reference guide

If you wish to use this service, you may call 1-705-738-3800 or 1-800-374-4009 extension 311 to be connected.

If you have an emergency, please call 911 immediately.

For all non-emergency OPP inquiries you may call 1-888-310-1122.

*After hours are defined as 4:30 PM to 8:30 AM, weekends, and statutory holidays. 

Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS)

An Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) is a penalty imposed directly by the Municipality to an offender. Every person who contravenes a provision of a by-law listed in the AMPS By-law shall be issued a Penalty Notice by an Officer appointed by the Municipality and will be required to pay the Municipality an Administrative Penalty in an amount specified. A Penalty Notice is very much the same as a parking “ticket”, except it requires payment of a penalty instead of a fine.

The person may either pay the Administrative Penalty within 15 days of the Penalty Notice or may request the Administrative Penalty be reviewed by a Screening Officer. If payment is paid, the file is closed. If a person wishes to have his or her Penalty Notice reviewed by a Screening Officer, please follow the steps below.

  • The offender shall email or submit in person the AMPS Screening Form to the Municipality within 15 days of the Penalty Notice.  
  • A Screening Officer will contact the offender about their AMPS penalty and setup a hearing date either in person, or virtually.
  • If a resolution cannot be reached, the person can request that the matter be further appealed and heard by an independent Hearing Officer for a more formal review by completing the AMPS Hearing Appeal Form.
  • If fines are not paid and a Screening Form has not been received within 15 days of the date of Penalty issuance, the penalty can be added to municipal taxes.

All forms can be downloaded from our Licenses, Applications and Permits page.

Types of By-laws

View our By-law Enforcement Guide for quick reference to the most common by-law questions.

The Administrative Municipal Penalty System enables the Municipality to resolve disputes to by-law infractions in a timely manner and in a less formal setting than a Provincial Offences Court.

Every person who contravenes a provision of a designated by-law will be issued a Penalty Notice by an Officer appointed by the Municipality and will be required to pay the Municipality an Administrative Penalty in an amount specified

The AMPS By-law applies to several By-laws within the Municipality such as

View our AMPS By-law to learn more about the Administrative Municipal Penalty System. 

The municipality does not regulate the discharge of firearms in regards to lawful activities related to hunting.  Please see the following links for Ontario Regulations;

 

Target practice may be subject to the Municipalities noise bylaw; 

 

In addition the Municipalities Zoning Bylaw limits the recreational uses requiring special zoning for a shooting gallery, survival games, archery, rifle, pistol, skeet or trap range and paintball.

 

The Municipality contracts the services of the Peterborough Humane Society to act as dog catcher.  Please note that for the Humane Society to retrieve a dog at large, the animal must be contained in a manner which does not allow the dog to escape so that it can be collected upon arrival.

 

All dog noise related complaints are addressed through our noise by-law.

 

View our Dogs By-law to learn more about the issuing dog tags within the Municipality of Trent Lakes. The Keeping of Animals By-law regulates how we care for animals. 

The False Alarms By-law works to reduce the number of false alarms that require the deployment of police services within the Municipality of Trent Lakes. 

No Person shall discharge consumer fireworks, display fireworks, or pyrotechnics during an imposed burn ban.

There shall be no day time burning between the hours of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm between the first day of April to the last day of October.

 

The Municipality has specific dates and times in which Fireworks can be used which are listed below:

 

  1. New Year's Eve - between 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. the following day;
  2. Canada Day- between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on July 1st and the Weekends directly preceding and following it;
  3. Civic Holiday - between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on the statutory holiday and the Weekend directly preceding it;
  4. Labour Day - between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on the statutory holiday and the Weekend directly preceding it;

 

Any person wishing to burn in the Municipality shall obtain an annual burn permit.  This can be obtained from the transfer stations or the Municipal Office during operating hours.

 

Any person wishing to burn in the Municipality shall phone the Burn Hot Line and leave their name, address, phone number, and date and time of when they intend to be burning. Failure to obtain the necessary permit or leave a message with the Burn Hotline may be liable for a fine.

 

No fire shall contain rubber tires, plastic products, shingles, painted wood or building materials that are known to create extensive smoke.

 

No open-air fire shall be set when the Fire Index Level rises to level where it is determined to be a danger due to a drought or dry period. This information can be obtained from the Burn Hot Line # 1-800-374-4009 ext. 301.

 

Fireworks and Open Air Burning By-law.  Updated July 11th, 2023.

The Noise By-law regulates noise within the Municipality of Trent Lakes. We're committed to maintaining a peaceful community that everyone can enjoy.  Last updated July 11th, 2023. 

The Nuisances By-law regulates activities deemed to be a nuisance which applies to all persons, lands and properties in the Municipality of Trent Lakes. Updated July 11th, 2023.

The Parking By-law regulates parking within the Municipality of Trent Lakes. This includes municipal parking spaces, accessible parking and parking fines. 

The Prohibited Dumping and Littering By-law regulates the disposal of garbage and waste within the Municipality of Trent Lakes. Find out about our garbage and recycling services

The Property Standards By-law outlines property maintenance standards for all properties within Trent Lakes. View the Property Standards Committee to learn more about the complaint process.

View the Sign By-law to find out the regulations around constructing and erecting a sign within the Trent Lakes. You need a sign permit in order to put up a sign outside your business.

View our Snow Removal By-law to learn about our snow removal process. We are committed to winter road maintenance in order to keep Municipal roads clear and safe during the winter.

The Watering restrictions for Alpine Lake Village and Buckhorn Lakeview Estates By-law regulates water use in the Alpine Lake Village and Buckhorn Lakeview Estate. If you own property in either of these neighbourhoods, you'll need to follow these water-use regulations.

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