Report to:
SUBJECT: Revision to By-law 2005-104 - A By-law to Prohibit the Use of Land or the Erection of Buildings unless Municipal Services are Available
PREPARED BY: Brian Lee, Manager of Development Engineering and Transportation, Ext. 4838
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report entitled “ Revision to By-law 2005-104 – A By-law to Prohibit the Use of Land or the Erection of Buildings unless Municipal Services are Available”, be received;
2) And that Council direct staff to hold a statutory public meeting in the Spring of 2010 regarding the amendments;
3) And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not Applicable
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the report is to recommend amendments to By-law 2005-104 to amend the conditions underwhich municipal services are deemed to be available, and to exempt the issuance of conditional building permits from this by-law. Staff also seek Council authority to hold a statutory public meeting to consider the proposed amendments.
BACKGROUND:
On
The need for By-law 2005-104 came about when the Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act and O. Reg. 305/03 took away the authority of municipalities to link certain obligations of the owner/developer (e.g. construction of municipal servicing and road construction) to the issuance of a building permit. As a result, some municipalities used the zoning provisions of the Planning Act as the new mechanism to require these obligations. By-law 2005-104 was enacted under subsection 34(5) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13 which is applicable law under the Building Code Act. Therefore, the Chief Building Official may not issue a building permit until the By-law is complied with.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
Requirements of the By-law
The current by-law requires municipal services (roads, water, storm sewer and sanitary sewer, and stormwater management facilities) to be operational to a residential unit or a multiple-unit building prior to issuance of a building permit, including a conditional permit. For residential units or buildings within a plan of subdivision, the by-law allows building permits to be issued when commitment to construct external services are in place. This by-law does not put any restrictions on non-residential development, which is not subject to sewer/water servicing capacity constraints.
Future Development Pattern and Built Form
The Town is going to experience more re-development, in-fill development and intensification as part of the future growth pattern where a higher proportion of future planning applications will involve site plan applications rather than plans of subdivision.
Most of these development sites within the existing urban boundary will require infrastructure upgrades (i.e. sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water) in order to support the higher density. High density residential development will consist of multi-storey buildings with one or more levels of underground parking. The construction of underground parking structures can take several months and involve extensive excavation, temporary shoring structure and potential dewatering. Municipal services are often constructed either after the underground work is completed or concurrently with the underground work. The current by-law does not allow any building construction until the municipal services are completed and operational which may not be needed for up to a year after the start of the underground work. Staff are of the opinion that requiring all the municipal services to be available and operational in order to start building construction can cause unnecessary delays and this requirement should be amended.
Recommended Amendments to the By-law
Staff are recommending that the servicing requirement be revised for site plan applications which involve building underground parking. No changes to the by-law are recommended for grade related developments within a plan of subdivision.
The proposed changes would require the following conditions to be satisfied with respect to municipal services, instead of being fully completed and operational as currently required:
1) property for the municipal services has been dedicated to the Town or other government having jurisdiction, if applicable;
2) construction contracts for the construction of the services have been awarded by the owner;
3) a construction schedule, confirming completion and operation of the services prior to occupancy, has been provided to the satisfaction of the Town’s Director of Engineering;
4) adequate financial security has been received by the Town or other government having jurisdiction for the construction of services to be constructed by the owner, and
5) approvals have been received by the owner from the Town or other agencies having jurisdiction for the construction of services.
The recommended approach described above is similar to the requirements currently in the by-law for municipal services external to a plan of subdivision. As this approach is working satisfactorily for external services in a plan of subdivision, staff recommend that the same approach be applied for high density development in infill conditions.
Staff are also recommending that
conditional building permits be exempted from this by-law. The authority to issue conditional permits
lies with the Chief Building Official, in consultation with internal
staff. The ability for the Chief
Building Official to issue conditional permits to suit specific site or
construction conditions will facilitate appropriate construction scheduling with
minimal risk to completion of the services.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
There are no financial
implications to the Town of
HUMAN
RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not Applicable
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
With increasing re-development in existing urban areas and intensification, much of the residential development will be multi-storey with underground parking. The current by-law does not permit any below grade construction until all the external services are upgraded and operational. The development industry has expressed concerns that this has added unnecessary delay and costs, which are passed onto future home owners. In order to encourage intensification along transit corridors and mobility hubs, which is a major direction in the Growth Management Strategy, the proposed amendments to the by-law are recommended.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Planning, Fire,
Waterworks, Building and Legal Departments have provided comments to this
report and they have been incorporated.
RECOMMENDED BY:
________________________ ________________________
Alan Brown, C.E.T. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P, R.P.P.
Director, Engineering Commissioner, Development Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Proposed Amendments
Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2010\February\Revision
to By-law 2005-104 - A By-law to Prohibit the Use of Land or the Erection of
Buildings unless M unicipal Services are Available 102009.doc