By-Law
Open questions with the City of Cambridge Municipal By-Law Compliance Team.
Despite repeated and documented requests for clarity from the City of Cambridge Municipal By-Law Compliance Team, a significant number of questions remain unanswered. These outstanding matters are not trivial—they pertain to regulations, enforcement, and civic responsibilities that directly affect the daily lives of our community members. The absence of timely and substantive responses reflects a concerning lack of accountability. The following list of questions, submitted in good faith and with reasonable expectation of a reply, must be addressed without further delay.
June 27, 2025
- What are the details of the posted permit for the use of a hardball during cricket play in Victoria Park?
- When will By-law 162-10 be formally updated to include specific details about cricket play in parks?
- As recently as June 2023, signage stated "Cricket Play by Permit Only" in Victoria Park. This was removed in May 2024. Since this permit requirement helped address some current issues, why was it discontinued?
- What are the permit details, rules, or restrictions for the use of the minor baseball diamond in Victoria Park?
- Does the City apply the same rules and permitting processes to cricket as they do to baseball?
- How does the City define a “nuisance” under By-law No. 162-10, Section 3(b): "Create a nuisance or in any way interfere with the use and enjoyment of the park by other persons"?
- Some nearby residents have recently approached the tennis club with similar concerns regarding park usage. To whom should we direct these inquiries?
- Given the extensive list of valid reasons why cricket play is unsuitable for Victoria Park, what is the City’s overriding reason for allowing it to continue despite the associated risks?
- Will the City suspend cricket play in Victoria Park immediately—before a serious injury or fatality occurs? If not, why?
All questions UNANSWERED
June 11, 2025
- Could By-law please answer the by-law questions.
June 4, 2025
- By-Law: To address these challenges, a Cambridge Cricket Feasibility Study is nearing completion and will evaluate several locations the city has identified as potential future cricket pitches.
- Will any of these future cricket pitches serve as a replacement to the pitch in Victoria Park?
- By-Law: Groups will be consulted in the coming weeks to present those options. This is when you would have the opportunity to voice your concerns and provide feedback on the plan.
- Who are the groups that are you consulting?
- By-Law: The result of that study is anticipated to create capital project submission for Council to consider as part of the annual budget process.
- What is the current budget allocated to the sport of cricket?
- How much has been spent in the current fiscal year (including the repairs in May to the pitch in Victoria Park)?
- By-Law: We are also actively involved with a regional initiative to understand the profile of needs in our respective municipalities to support cricket both at an informal and organized play level.
- What does this actually mean? What will it produce, and at what cost?
- By-Law: City staff are meeting with Parks staff to review how cricket and baseball fields are being booked to ensure fair and safe use.
- How are the fields currently being booked?
- When can we expect to hear the output of this review?
- By-Law: City staff are working with Parks staff to review the netting and determine if any further modifications are possible to reduce the incident of balls entering the courts.
- This is an exercise which should have been done before constructing the nets. VPTC, nor CCC feel this was a solution to any of the safety issues and serves no purpose. VPTC did not request the netting and advised against this expense. What was the cost of the netting and which sport were the costs associated with?
- By-Law: City staff are also looking into signage to help everyone enjoy the park more comfortably.
- What are the signage options being considered? Who is ‘everyone’ and does it prioritize the taxpayers? Signage is not a solution as it gets ignored and does not get enforced.
- By-Law: All park users are encouraged to remain aware and respectful during their visits to the park.
- How is this message being communicated to the park users causing the problems?
- By-Law: By-law enforcement and security staff will increase patrols between the hours of 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on weekdays (sporadically due to limited resources). If you do observe an active parking violation, please contact Waterloo Regional Non-Emergency 519-570-9777 press 1 and Municipal Bylaw officer will be dispatched.
- Will the additional patrols also enforce the posted by-law (no hardball without permit)?
- What is the penalty for using a hardball without a permit?
- Are all players on the field receiving a fine or is a single fine issued (then split 20 ways and just a minor cost of playing)?
All questions UNANSWERED
May 15, 2025
- If Highland Public School requires a permit to run an organized track and field event for children in their neighbouring park, shouldn't the same requirement apply to groups of adults traveling from other cities to play in Victoria Park?
UNANSWERED
April 25, 2025
- As an immediate concern, VPTC has its Registration Day scheduled for Saturday, April 26th, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. We expect members to cross the park from various directions, with many parking along Wentworth Ave. Last year, a cricket ball narrowly missed a senior member standing near the VPTC gates during this event. For safety reasons, we kindly request the City By-Law Department to temporarily pause cricket play on Saturday morning.
UNANSWERED
Questions following the April 23, 2026 solution meeting with the City of Cambridge are documented below.
May 12, 2026
- When will the new rules take effect, and how will their implementation be communicated to park users?
- Education should be a requirement for receipt of a permit.
- No players on May 2-3/9-10 were aware of the boundary rule.
- What is the City’s definition of ‘organized play’? From our perspective, any cricket activity other than practice with a hitting net presents safety risks and therefore requires permitting.
- What is the plan for ‘education through social media,’ and what messaging will be shared with the public?
- Please share any references so we may assist with educating VPTC members.
- How will ‘education on first offence’ be tracked, and how will enforcement distinguish between players who have already been educated and those who have not?
- How was the $150 penalty amount determined, and how does the City assess its effectiveness given the number of players typically involved in cricket activity? This seems insignificant in comparison to the penalty for a single dogwalker with an unleashed dog.
- We assume this data is logged and available to the public.
- As discussed on April 23, the current sports netting does not prevent cricket balls from entering the tennis courts, a point acknowledged by both VPTC and CCC. Are there still plans to expand or modify the netting, and will the clubs have an opportunity to provide input?
- Given that the Municipal Compliance Team is complaint‑driven and responses may occur several days after an incident, what is the City’s plan for timely enforcement of by‑laws in Victoria Park?
- Weekends are when the majority of incidents occur, therefore proactive weekend monitoring is required.
- Regarding By-Law Request Number: 2026 007713 000 00 BF, what specifically will Colin Morrison be investigating, as referenced in his follow‑up email (8-May)?
- Does the action now fall on the complainant following assignment of an investigating officer and can the case be accessed or updated on-line or are we limited to email correspondence with the officer?
- Is By-law allowing cricket play on the junior baseball diamond? If yes, does it follow the same permitting rules as play using the cricket pitch? And will permits overlap with play permitted for the pitch?
- A GCI group is planning a cricket event on June 3 in Victoria Park. Will this event require a permit under the new rules?
- Has By-Law 162-10 been updated with the new rules and aligned to the posted signage?
- Has the City conducted a formal risk assessment of cricket play in Victoria Park? If so, can it be shared?
- When cricket balls cause damage to property (strike the clubhouse, deck, fencing, courts or vehicles), who is responsible for repairs or liability?
- VPTC assumes this first falls on the permit holder and then to the City when there isn’t a permit.
- What are the terms, dates, and conditions of the current permit held by Cambridge Cricket Club?
- This would help indicate remaining time available to other groups for permitting.
- Please provide the following information:
- The diagrams referenced in the April 23 meeting.
- A link to the permit / sports field booking process for Victoria Park.
PENDING