At a committee meeting June 23, city councillors spent two hours wringing their hands over why a nearly 10-year battle to force a Stamford Green Drive resident to get rid of old cars scattered through his yard has failed to fix the situation, despite the passing of a Clean Yard Bylaw last year that city staff say has been a smashing success.

That bylaw was passed with the hopes of addressing a long, simmering dispute between neighbours on Stamford Green Drive. Tony and Sylvia Terriaca have for years complained about Raymond Douma's collection of cars on his neighbouring property, and more recently about tent-garages in his yard.

Coun. Wayne Thomson said it's simply unacceptable that the Terriacas had to go to a lawyer to try to fix the situation and had to plant cedar trees to try to block out the sight of the old vehicles.

"It's a tremendous eyesore," he said. "It's the start of a mini-salvage yard.

"Why should you be able to park half a dozen cars in your back yard?"

Douma said after the meeting that he has eight vehicles and a boat on his yard, on which he erected fabric-covered garages after getting a permit from the city. The mechanic said he owns each of the vehicles and needed backup cars because for some time because he was driving outside of Niagara to work.

City staff said neighbours complained about cars parked in the driveway and rear and side yards at Douma's house, and that over a four-year period he was ordered to remove inoperative vehicles. Last year the city approved a new bylaw prohibiting vehicles from being parked on lawns and Douma was charged, found guilty and fined $1,000.

John Castrilli, director of building and bylaw services for the city, said the bylaw has been highly successful: of 450 complaints since last year, 389 properties were cleaned up by the owners as ordered, while 26 were cleaned up by the city and the cost of the cleanups were added to the property owners' property tax.

But city politicians say that's not enough.

Coun. Janice Wing said the city needs to look at whether there are enough bylaw officers on staff to enforce the rules, noting messy yards are "endemic" across the city.

Coun. Shirley Fisher said no one should be forced to live next to a yard full of cars.

"We're trying to beautify our city," she said. "This isn't it.

"If we allow this, it can go on and fester across our city."

But city lawyer Ken Beaman said no matter how aggressive a city gets fighting people with messy yards, it's a battle you sometimes simply can't win. "If you are up against a determined bylaw violator, you will never stop him," he said.

Wing said it should be a basic right for people to be able to enjoy their homes without being forced to look at their neighbours' cluttered yards, and the city must enforce that right.

"This is an essential service along with snow plowing and fire protection and maintaining our water and sewer (infrastructure)," she said.