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Terrace's new bylaw officer settles into his job

Unsightly and nuisance premises are tops on his list so far
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ZANE Testawich is the City of Terrace's new bylaw enforcement officer.

The city’s first full-time bylaw enforcement officer in years says he is beginning his new job with an educational approach.

“You might notice a warning ticket on your windshield alerting you to the bylaw infraction, and you can contact me at the office if you have questions,” says Zane Testawich, a seven-year resident of Terrace who started his new position earlier this summer.

There are too many bylaws to easily list, but so far the majority of calls he has had relate to traffic and homes.

“The top two I have been getting complaints about lately are unsightly or nuisance properties, and street traffic,” he said.

He added that the tickets for nuisance or unsightly properties are $100 and tickets for street and traffic infractions are also $100.

“Some of my priorities will be to provide public education and promote safety in order to reduce the number of potential bylaw infractions within the City of Terrace,” Testawich said.

For example, with certain kinds of noxious or invasive weeds, they must be removed before they seed and threaten to spread, he said.

Testawich will respond to resident complaints and concerns, conduct regular patrols, and work on public relations with citizens.

He comes to the position with an undergraduate degree in social work and certificates from the Justice Institute of BC including Enforcement and Investigative Skills and Bylaw I and II.

He also worked for the Nisga’a Lisims Government in natural resource enforcement.

For recreation Testawich plays hockey and one of his favourite movies is Slap Shot. He has also been a hockey referee. “I like rules,” he said.

The bylaw position was added by this city this winter, but has been talked about for a couple years.

The fact that the city has had more money coming in from taxation on new construction and also from selling land meant they could look at adding new positions.