CAMBRIDGE  - It almost sounds un-Canadian.

Cambridge city council is ready to ban hockey nets from being left along sidewalks in front of homes. 

Portable basketball nets and skateboard ramps would also be banned under a new city boulevard bylaw.

Look at any subdivision today and sports equipment is everywhere, said Coun. Rick Cowsill.

“My goodness, they’re all over the place because the kids don’t have the recreational facilities in their  neighbhourhoods.”

And if it’s not sports equipment, it’s people parking cars on the grassy, city-owned land.

Cowsill said the city keeps approving more and more homes onsmaller lots in sudivisions, leaving people little choice but to use the boulevards to put their second cars.

“They park anywhere and everywhere.  Boulevard parking has almost become the norm,” Cowsill said.
“That’s going to be a difficult one to deal with.”

He asked staff to review the reasoning behind - - and practicality of -- the crackdown on sports equipment and parking.  That information will go to Monday’s council meeting when the bylaw faces final approval.

The bylaw grew out of few cases in recent years of people growing corn on the boulevards along the street curbs.  The city had no clear-cut rules to deal with the vegetation.

Corn would be banned under the new rules, which specifically prohibits growing vegetables or grains.

 Plants must be shorter than 45 centremetres, except for grass, which  must be no taller than 20 centimetres.

The bylaw is also prohibits plaining anything sharp or dangerous to the public, said Hardy Bromberg, chief building official.

Citizens must apply to the city for something other than grass on the boulevards, like rock gardens.

Existing material and plants are not grandfathered, he said.

A boulevard committee of three citizens will be formed to hear appeals from citizens against city decisions.

The bylaw gives the city the power to move in and rip out offending materials at the homeowners expense.