Legally binding bans on clotheslines that exist in some Ontario housing subdivisions will soon be obsolete.

Ontario's energy minister will move on the issue in the near future, a provincial official confirmed. Insiders said that means regulations that prohibit bans on clotheslines are imminent.

The elimination of the bans was recommended last year by the province's chief energy conservation officer, Peter Love, who argued that operating clothes dryers in the middle of summer runs counter to the government's energy conservation campaign.

The bans were put in place because some developers and homeowners thought clotheslines and the poles that support them destroy the view.

The plan to oust them has earned praise from environmentalists such as Jean Langlois of the Sierra Club of Canada.

"It's a simple step that will help in terms of reducing energy use and respect our right to hang our laundry," he said, adding that 5 or 6 per cent of domestic electricity in Ontario is currently used to run clothes dryers.

In Ottawa, municipal councillors in parts of the city, including subdivisions where clotheslines used to be banned, said they support the province's move.

"We've grown and changed, and so it's time that this changed, too," said Coun. Peggy Feltmate, who represents Kanata South.

She said clotheslines have been permitted in Kanata for a long time, but now that the province is making it official, everyone will know for sure.

Love said getting rid of the clothesline ban is a good first step, but the government should also end bans on rooftop solar collectors, which exist in some places.

An Ontario government official said regulation to get rid of that ban is also in the works but may take some time.