Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: November 20, 2007

SUBJECT: Authority to Execute Pre-servicing Agreements

PREPARED BY: Brian Lee, Manager, Development Engineering ext. 4838

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “Authority to Execute Pre-Servicing Agreements”, dated November 20, 2007, be received;

And that the Chief Administrative Officer and Commissioner of Development Services be authorized to approve and adopt the form of a standard draft Pre-servicing Agreement and make changes to it from time to time;

And that the Director of Engineering be authorized to execute Pre-servicing Agreements for approved development projects, prior to the execution of development agreements, site plan control agreements or subdivision agreements pursuant to the Planning Act;

And that staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s authority for the Director of Engineering, to execute Pre-servicing Agreements to expedite the servicing of developments that have approval status, but have not yet advanced through the legal agreement process through to the final release. This recommendation arises from the work of the Legal Agreement Sub-group of the Make It Happen Task Force.

BACKGROUND:

Most development projects, whether site plans or subdivisions, proceed with underground servicing as soon as engineering and planning approvals are obtained, and prior to execution of site plan or subdivision agreements pursuant to the Planning Act. In order to secure fees, financial securities and the respective obligations of the owners, either a Pre-servicing Agreement or a Pre-servicing Undertaking has to be executed. This is the general practice of the majority of municipalities in Southern Ontario.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

The past practice at the Town has been to require the owner to sign a Pre-servicing Undertaking before any servicing work can commence to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering. While this is the current practice, the Town Solicitor has advised against the use of an undertaking because it has very limited legal authority and the Town may not be able to act on the conditions of the undertaking. An increasing number of municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area have started to use Pre-servicing Agreements.

Pre-servicing Agreements are fundamentally “boiler plate” agreements that outline matters related to:

• Permission to construct
• Scope of works
• Owner’s risk to proceed
• Town’s inspection and right of entry;
• Liability insurance;
• Indemnification and release;
• Fees;
• Financial security;
• Termination of agreement;
• Registration of agreement, etc.

One of the recommendations from the Make It Happen Task Force is to facilitate early pre-servicing and streamline the pre-servicing agreement process to reduce process time frames for construction to commence. Therefore, we are recommending the Director of Engineering be authorized to execute pre-servicing agreements on behalf of the Corporation.

A draft of a Pre-servicing Agreement is attached (Attachment ‘A’). The Town Solicitor and the Director of Engineering will refine the draft agreement for approval by the Chief Administrative Officer and Commissioner of Development Services prior to adopting it for future use.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not applicable

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Planning and Legal Departments have been consulted in the preparation of this report.

RECOMMENDED BY:

Alan Brown, C.E.T. Director of Engineering

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A – Draft Pre-servicing Agreement

Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2007\November\Authority to Execte Pre-servicing Agreement 111607.doc