The city relented and will allow the net on the driveway portion of the city boulevard at Marques's house, as long as it's not overhanging the road.

Meanwhile, staff will produce a report on whether Mississauga should amend its bylaws governing street basketball nets.

With the report not likely until council returns in the fall, the remainder of the summer allowance amounts to a win at the buzzer for Marques.

"We were about to get shut down, and now we're not, because we all made a lot of noise," he said.

"I just felt like, finally, the city is treating it like it's not a black and white case," Marques said. "They're looking at it and they're saying, well in this situation, maybe it's not so bad."

Saito, who worked with city staff to find a solution on the Doverwood net saga, called the temporary allowance a compromise while Mississauga looks into how Toronto changed its bylaws to allow street hockey and basketball and determine whether something similar could happen here.

"We want kids to be active and outdoors and healthy," she said. "But we also want them to be safe and we're going to make our decision balancing the two."

Current bylaws forbid obstructing highways, which includes city sidewalks and boulevards, with sports equipment like basketball, hockey and soccer nets. Individuals caught violating the city's obstruction bylaws are liable for fines not exceeding $25,000, and would be on the hook for expenses related to enforcement.

A complaint about Marques's net came from a Region of Peel garbage collection contractor, who Saito said had clipped the hoop "at least once" with a truck.

The Ward 9 councillor advised that ensuring that sports equipment isn't over the street or sidewalk is key to residents avoiding issues with city.

"Keep it on your property, on your driveway, back from the road as much as possible and you should be OK," she said.

Another Doverwood resident, Jagdish Thakar, was asked by the city in July to move his net, which was placed on grass in front of his house at the curb and facing the street.

Thakar said a city enforcement officer told him that his net, which is frequently used by his two sons and nephews who live on the street, was on city property.

"I said, OK, that's fine," he said recalling his conversation with the bylaw officer. "Then I am not cutting the grass on the city property and you have to come to cut the grass and clear the snow, if that's the city's property."

Thakar said the street is quiet and the nets "aren't hurting anyone."

He doesn't plan to move his basket until the city makes him.

Marques was not intending to move his net from the grass boulevard except for garbage collection days, when he said he would move the hoop back "a couple of feet." The net was virtually in the same spot as before when bylaw enforcement visited his home again in July after Saito's intervention.

Following a tense email exchange with Saito, he told The Mississauga News he would move the basket slightly.

"I was incredibly irritated by the fact that the city wants to keep this going," he wrote in an email. "It's fine. I'll move the net back a few inches and the kids can still play."

Disclaimer: These poll results are not scientific. They are the informal findings of a survey presented to the readers of The Mississauga News and reflect the opinions of those readers who have chosen to participate. The survey is available online to anyone who is interested in taking it.