Armed with a clipboard, a measuring tape — and an encyclopedic knowledge of city bylaws — an unknown crusader is quietly stalking a Scarborough neighbourhood.

Unbeknownst to the dozens who have felt the crusader’s wrath, the height of their fences and thickness of their hedges are being carefully inspected. And infractions, it seems, are at every turn.

In a matter of weeks, one area resident has lodged at least 59 complaints with the city, unleashing outrage among neighbours, who have been hit en masse with notices of violation. The cost to appeal: $200.

“We’ve been victimized by this one individual,” said Janice Peters, who thought she was alone when she received a notice of violation for a too-tall fence in the front yard in June. “Why are we being targeted?”

Whatever the motivation, Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Scarborough Centre), wants the city to find a way to stop the behaviour wreaking havoc in his ward, which he describes as “vexatious complaints.”

“For whatever reason, this person has just decided to harass all of their neighbours,” De Baeremaeker said. “They’re abusing the system.”

In a motion that will come before council next week, De Baeremaeker has asked for a policy that would allow city staff to “deal with multiple complaints from one person, complaints that appear to be vexatious, and complaints from feuding neighbours.”

He is also asking the city to waive any appeal fees that may be charged to residents in his ward as a result of the 59 complaints, which have been lodged with Municipal Licensing and Standards and the Traffic Services division.

Although inspectors have been aware for several weeks that the complaints are coming from a single source, De Baeremaeker said current policy doesn’t give them any leeway.

“Our inspectors, perhaps rightly so, have had no ability to exercise discretion. They’ve had a zero-tolerance policy,” he said.

That is not the case in Kitchener, where inspectors have the right to assess complaints, and disregard those that are deemed frivolous and of not a safety risk, he said.

De Baeremaeker declined to identify the so-called vexatious complainant in his ward, but said the individual has “learned the bylaws, and is following them to an unreasonable degree.”

On Wednesday, the neighbourhood was abuzz with speculation about who the crusader is, and what may have prompted the rash of complaints.

Many of those who have received notices of violation have decided not to take any action until the matter is settled at city hall.

Denise Frew, who received two notices for the hedge on her front lawn, said she believes the individual is punishing the entire neighbourhood in retaliation for receiving their own notice of violation.

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Frew said the complainant is a “like a vigilante, who doesn’t want to be alone in this.”