Report to/Rapport au :

 

Emergency and Protective Services Committee

Comité des services de protection et d'urgence

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

1 November 2005 / le 1 novembre 2005

 

Submitted by/Soumis par :

Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,

Community and Protective Services/Services communautaires et de protection 

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Susan Jones, Director, By-Law Services

By-Law Services/Services des règlements municipaux

(613) 580-2424 x25536, Susan.Jones@ottawa.ca

 

Rideau -Vanier (12), Somerset (14),

Capital (17)

Ref N°: ACS2005-CPS-BYL-0044

 

 

SUBJECT:

BY-LAWS - DESIGNATED SPACE PERMIT PROGRAMME - AMENDMENTS

 

 

OBJET :

RÈGLEMENTS MUNICIPAUX - PROGRAMME DE PLACE DÉSIGNÉE - MODIFICATIONS

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Emergency and Protective Services Committee recommend Council approve amendments to the former City of Ottawa Designated Space Programme By-law Number 300-96, effective February 1, 2006, to:

 

a)         Defer for two years, the method of allocation of designated spaces by way of a proposal call as prescribed by the Designated Space Programme By-law, thereby permitting current designated space permit holders to renew their permits for the period May 15, 2006 to May 14, 2007; and May 15, 2007 to May 14, 2008;

 

b)         Establish the annual permit fees as follows:

 

 

 

Current

Proposed

 

 

 

May 2006

May 2007

Designated Sidewalk Spaces

 

$1325

$1375

$1425

Designated Street Spaces

 

$3050

$3175

$3300

 

 

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité des services de protection et d’urgence recommande au Conseil municipal d’approuver les modifications suivantes au Règlement sur le Programme de place désignée no 300‑96 de l’ancienne Ville d’Ottawa, qui entreraient en vigueur le 1er février 2006 :

 

a)                  Reporter de deux (2) ans l’appel d’offres des places désignées prévu dans le Programme des places désignées comme moyen d’attribution des places désignées, permettant par le fait même aux détenteurs actuels de renouveler leur permis pour places désignées pour la période du 15 mai 2006 au 14 mai 2007 et du 15 mai 2007 au 14 mai 2008;

 

b)                  De mettre en œuvre des frais de permis annuels, à savoir :

 

 

 

Actuels

Proposés

 

 

 

Mai 2006

Mai 2007

Place désignée – Trottoir

 

1 325 $

1 375 $

1 425 $

Place désignée – Rue

 

3 050 $

3 175 $

3 300 $

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

The report proposes deferral for two years the method of allocation of designated spaces by way of proposal call as prescribed by the Designated Space Programme By-law, and recommends adoption of increased annual permit fees in 2006 and 2007.

 

Deferral will allow the person who is currently permitted to use a specific designated space to continue to occupy the designated space subject to renewing the designated space permit and their business licence.

 

The deferral is required to give staff time to bring forward recommendations related to:  providing greater details for the designated space allocation process; harmonizing licensing regulations related to the vending activities and equipment including incorporation of the harmonized vending regulations within the Designated Space Programme By-law; and; assigning new designated spaces for people currently licensed to vend on the street and sidewalk who do not presently have designated spaces. 

 

The recommendation to defer the proposal call process is strongly supported by the current designated space permit holders.  Approval of the recommendations will have no impact on the general public.  Approval of the recommended fees will result in an increase in annual revenues in the estimated amount of $3,915 in 2006 and $2,625 in 2007.

 

RÉSUMÉ

 

Le rapport propose de reporter de deux ans l’appel d’offres des places désignées prévu dans le Programme de place désignée comme moyen d’attribution des places désignées et recommande d’adopter la hausse des frais de permis annuels en 2006 et 2007.

 

Le report permettra aux personnes détenant actuellement un permis pour une place désignée donnée de continuer à utiliser cette place si elles renouvellent le permis correspondant et leur permis d’entreprise.

 

Le report est nécessaire pour donner au personnel le temps de mettre en œuvre les recommandations requérant : la communication de plus de détails dans le cadre du processus d’attribution des places désignées; l’harmonisation des règlements sur les permis pour la vente et l’équipement connexe, y compris l’intégration des règlements harmonisés dans le Règlement sur le Programme de place désignée; et l’attribution de nouvelles places désignées aux personnes détenant déjà un permis pour la vente dans la rue et sur le trottoir, mais qui n’ont pas de place désignée.

 

L’approbation des recommandations n’aura pas de répercussions sur la population. L’approbation des frais recommandés est censée produire une hausse estimative des recettes annuelles de 3 915 $ en 2006 et de 2 625 $ en 2007.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Designated Space Programme By-law assigns a limited number of pre-determined on-street (17) and on-sidewalk (36) vending spaces within the downtown area in former Ottawa to licensed vendors.  Any other on-street and on-sidewalk vending within the “downtown area” without a permit is otherwise prohibited. 

 

The Designated Space were originally allocated to the licensed vendors who were known to have previously operated from the space.  Over the years the permit holders (vendors) have been allowed to retain their space by renewing their designated space permit on an annual basis subject to payment of the annual designated space permit fee and compliance with related regulations.

 

The Designated Space Programme By-law was amended to commence allocating the designated spaces by means of a proposal call process in 1999.  However, the proposal call process has always been deferred and has not been implemented to date. 

 

In 2004, staff recommended that the proposal call process be deferred for three years in time for the May 15, 2007, permit renewal period.  At the request of the Bank Street BIA the Emergency and Protective Services Committee granted a deferral to May 15, 2006.  At that time Community and Protective Services did not object as staff expected that necessary amendments to the Designated Space Programme By-law and the harmonization of related Refreshment Vehicle and Itinerant type vending regulations would have been completed and brought forward to EPS Committee and Council for consideration and enactment. 

 

Committee will recall that the Province has recently approved the City’s request to extend the sunset provision for licensing by-laws of the old municipalities to January 1, 2008, by enacting Ontario Regulation 504/05 amending Ont. Reg 540/00.  The request was necessary because time, resources and other priorities have not allowed for the review and harmonization of the City’s Licensing By-laws to be completed by January 1, 2006. 

 

As the Designated Space Programme is based on and utilizes the itinerant seller’s license and refreshment vehicle license regulations as set out in the Licensing By-law Number L6-2000, the designated space programme and the licensing regulations for itinerant sellers and refreshment vehicles complement each other.  It is considered expedient that the amendments to the designated space programme be deferred to coincide with the time line for the amendments related to the harmonization of related Refreshment Vehicle and Itinerant type vending regulations.    

 

The City is also seeking enabling legislation from the Province through the City of Ottawa Act to address some of the regulatory issues, which would allow the City to potentially enact different licensing by-laws based on geography.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Recommendation 1 (a)

 

Community and Protective Services recommends deferral of the proposal call process until May 15, 2008 to give staff time to review the related regulations, to consult with the vendors and other stakeholders and make recommendation to Committee and Council;

  1. to establish a clear proposal call process that reflects the current intent and provides sufficient detail as to its administration; or to propose an alternative allocation process;
  2. to include regulations related to the vending operations, that reflect harmonized regulations expected to be established later in 2006 or 2007 (so as to meet the provincial requirement mandating that all Licensing By-laws be re-enacted by December 31, 2008);
  3. to include new spaces to accommodate a limited number of itinerant type vendors who will be required to settle at a fixed location but are currently authorized to move from space to space, as provided for in the June 22, 2005, Council approved report entitled: By-laws – Vendors on Highways Ref No. : ACS2005-CPS-BYL-0023.

 

The Department believes that vendors should be given several months to adapt to new regulations once these have been adopted.

 

Recommendation 1 (b)

 

Designated space permit fees are calculated to wholly recover the costs of the programme management, to recover lost parking space revenues, and to include a reasonable consideration to the City for use of the public road allowance.

 

The proposed adjustment amounts to an annual increase of approximately 4%.

 

CONSULTATION

 

During the week of October 24, 2005, a notice advising of the proposed amendments was mailed out to Designated Spaces Permit Holders and affected licensed refreshment vehicle operators. The mandatory notice of public meeting appeared in the Ottawa Citizen and Le Droit on October 21 and again on October 28, 2005.  The notices included a summary of the recommendations and an invitation to comment on the proposal or attend in person the Emergency and Protective Committee considering the item. 


A public information meeting to present the recommendations was held on November 1, 2005.  The recommendation to defer the proposal call process is strongly supported by the current designated space permit holders.  The staff recommendations were presented to the Business Advisory Committee on November 8, 2005, with comments to be presented at Committee. 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Approval of recommendation (b) is expected to result in an increase in annual revenues in the estimated amount of $3,915 in 2006 and $2,625 in 2007. Revenues to be credited to the Operating Budget, profit centre 132710 By-law Licensing and Enforcement. 

 

DISPOSITION

 

Emergency and Protective Services to administer.  Corporate Services, Legal Services Branch, in consultation with Community and Protective Services to process the proposed by-law amendments to Council for enactment.