As we progress in the project, we will update this area with:
Some phone numbers or websites to check before digging in your yard
Ontario OneCall – covers Union Gas, Bell Telephone, Waterloo North Hydro and Rogers Cable (as of May 1, 2013) as of this writing, but confirm each of these when you call them
Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro – Not a member of Ontario OneCall
City of Waterloo Public Works – Waterloo Water and Wastewater Services
Kitchener Utilities – Kitchener Water and Wastewater Services
Please note that this is not necessarily an exhaustive list! Any private lines (e.g. pool-related lines) will not be covered by these services, and it’s possible that there are other exceptions. Please do your own research.
Kitchener City Regulations
Please note that these are simply here to point out where to start looking at regulations. There may be other relevant regulations, and these were only current as of November 6th, 2013. We’re not sure if they apply to you, we don’t know if they’re correct, we don’t have any further information; caveat lector (“reader beware!”), as they say! If you have any doubts about them, please contact the City of Kitchener’s Information Officer or Zoning Office.
Here is a note from Kitchener’s Information Officer:
“…(A)t this time we have no regulations specific to these little libraries provided that they are the size that it shows on the website and are not within a driveway visibility triangle or creating any other visibility issues.”
Caroline Kierstead dug up this info for us:
>>>>
The following are the definitions under Chapter 842 of the municipal code. They can be found online at kitchener.ca. Basically it is a triangle formed by the sidewalk and driveway 15 ft by 15 ft.
842.1.3 Driveway visibility triangle – defined
“driveway visibility triangle” means a triangular area formed within a lot by the intersection of a driveway line and a highway line or the projections thereof and a straight line connecting them 4.57metres from their point of intersection.
By-law 98-141, 21 September, 1998; By-law 2001-240, 10
December, 2001.
Area where you should *not* put your little library, if you live in the City of Kitchener.
The English was a bit hard to parse, but Toby confirmed that my diagram [above] is a correct interpretation. So, basically, you can’t place your library in the triangle formed by the driveway, road, and the diagonal line connecting them that starts 4.57m out.
Also asked how the sidewalk factors in: “Your property line does not start right at the sidewalk – so the measurement would be from the property line abutting the sidewalk”
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Thanks for looking into this, Caroline!
Local crafts-folk who would be interested in helping you build a Little Library (or who would build one for you)
The 9th Waterloo Scout Troop will assemble your kit for you for $30, and will install it (including digging the hole and supplying an appropriately-sized post) for $70… what a deal! Email us at info@LLKW.ca for more information. (They will even install a non-LLKW little library for you.)
Other websites
LittleFreeLibrary.org – the site that started it all
Little Libraries of KW 