2. van gaal Municipal Drain

INSTALLATIONS MUNICIPALES DE DRAINAGE VAN GAAL

Court Recommendation

That Council give third reading to the Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-law.

Recommandation du tribunal

Que le Conseil municipal lise une troisième fois le Règlement sur les installations municipales de drainage Van Gaal.

For the information of Council

The Court of Revision approved the following motion:

That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, in its capacity as the Court of Revision approve the assessments as outlined in the Engineer's Report.

pour la gouverne du conseil

Le Tribunal de révision a approuvé la motion suivante :

Que le Comité chargé de l'agriculture et des questions rurales, en sa qualité de Tribunal de révision approuve les évaluations décrites dans le rapport de l'ingénieur.

Documentation

1. General Manager, Transportation, Utilities and Public Works report dated 10 July 2003 (ACS2003-TUP-UTL-0015).

2. Extract of Draft Minute, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of 21 July 2003.

Report to / Rapport au:

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

Comité chargé de l’agriculture et des questions rurales

Sitting as the Court of Revision under the Drainage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.D.17

Siégeant à titre de tribunal de révision en vertu de la Loi sur le drainage,

L.R.O. 1990, c.D-17

and Council / et au Conseil

10 July 2003 / le 10 juillet 2003

Submitted by / Soumis par: R.T. Leclair, General Manager / Directrice générale

Transportation, Utilities and Public Works / Transports, services et travaux publics

Contact / Personne-ressource: P. McNally, Director / Directeur

Utility Services Branch / Direction des services publics

Telephone No. / Tél.: 580-2424, extension / poste 22609

e-mail / courriel: Patrick.McNally@ottawa.ca

Ref N: ACS2003-TUP-UTL-0015

SUBJECT:	VAN GAAL Municipal Drain

OBJET :	INSTALLATIONS MUNICIPALES DE DRAINAGE VAN GAAL

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, in its capacity as the Court of Revision:

1. Approve the Assessments as outlined in the Engineer's Report; and

2. Recommend Council give third reading to the Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-law.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité chargé de l'agriculture et des questions rurales, en sa qualité de tribunal de révision:

1. approuve les évaluations décrites dans le rapport de l'ingénieur:

2. recommande au Conseil municipal de lire une troisième fois le Règlement municipal sur les installations municipales de drainage Van Gaal.

BACKGROUND

According to its Terms of Reference, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee is the Court of Revision for the Purposes of the Drainage Act. According to section 52(1) of the Drainage Act:

Any owner of land assessed for the drainage works who complains that any land or road has been assessed too high or too low or that any land or road that should have been assessed has not been assessed, or that due consideration has not been given as to type of use of land, may personally, or by agent, appeal to the court of revision by giving notice in writing to the clerk of the initiating municipality setting out the grounds of the appeal, and the appeal shall be heard by the court of revision.

Thus, the purpose of the Court of Revision for this sitting is to hear appeals from landowners affected by the proposed maintenance and improvements of the Van Gaal Municipal Drain. Those appeals, if any, concern the Engineer’s Report, which was prepared in accordance with the Act and which was adopted by Council on 25 June 2003, after Council gave first and second reading to the “Van Gaal Drain By-law, 2003” (“provisional by-law”). The Engineer’s Report was initiated in 2001, at the request of the City of Ottawa to accommodate the development of a subdivision in the village of Richmond in Goulbourn Ward.

The drain is located in the City of Ottawa, Goulbourn Ward, as shown on the site plan contained in Attachment A. The drain was last improved under the report of A. J. Graham Engineering Consultant Ltd., dated 7 December 1971. The Drainage Act states that the new City of Ottawa is responsible for municipal drains located within its geographic boundaries. The associated costs are being apportioned to developer and owner of the Cedarstone Subdivision, Guycoki (Eastern) Ltd.

DISCUSSION

The Drainage Act prescribes the process and timelines that must be followed for any modification to a municipal drain. (The “Þ” below indicates the current step in the process for the Van Gaal Municipal Drain.). In brief, the complete process includes:

· Appoint an Engineer to prepare the Engineer’s Report (Report completed November 2002);

· Conduct an On-site Meeting with the landowners who will be affected to review the proposed modifications (Completed 12 June 2001);

· Conduct a Meeting to Consider - consideration by the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the Engineer’s Report and the By-Law (Attachment B) to adopt this report
(16 June 2003);

· Council approval of the Committee recommendation and first and second reading of the By-law (25 June 2003);

· Convene a Court of Revision - a meeting of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, where landowners may appeal their assessment. The Court of Revision may direct the Engineer to revise the assessment contained in the Report. All landowners who are affected must then be advised of any revisions, and the Drainage Act contains provisions for further appeal by landowners of their assessment;

· Third reading of the By-law at Council;

· Construction of the drainage works; and

· Assessment of the costs to benefiting landowners and road authorities.

The Drainage Act provides some guidance as to how the Court of Revision is to proceed:

· Section 55 states that in any appeal to the Court of Revision, if the engineer is called upon to give evidence as to how an assessment was determined, the engineer must give evidence before the appellant's case is presented.

· Section 53 addresses those cases where the ground of appeal is that lands or roads are assessed too high, and the Court of Revision is satisfied that those assessments should be reduced. In such cases, where there is no evidence to indicate that the amount of the reduction should be levied against lands or roads whose owners are parties to the appeal, the court shall adjourn. The clerk must then notify such persons as the appellant may specify, who are shown by the last revised assessment roll to be owners of land affected. The notification must state the date to which the hearing is adjourned. At the renewed date, the Court must dispose of the matter and, where appropriate, redistribute the assessments in such manner as appears just.

· If the Court of Revision decides to change an assessment, section 56 states that notice of the change must be sent to affected owners and the provisional by-law must be amended accordingly.

· A party to an appeal to the Court of Revision may appeal from the Court to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (section 54).

· After the time for appeals to the Court of Revision has expired and there are no appeals, or after the appeals have been decided, Council may give third reading to the provisional by-law, thus authorizing construction of the drainage works. The work may be commenced ten days after the by-law is passed, if no notice of intention to bring an application to quash it has been filed with the clerk [section 58(1)].

The Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.S.22 also applies to the Court of Revision. This report requests that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee convene a Court of Revision as required by the Drainage Act.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

The Engineer’s Report provides that the drain will be constructed incorporating design standards and erosion control features to minimize the impacts of construction. The report has been distributed to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority for review.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

Modifications to the Van Gaal Drain will impact landowners in the watershed.

CONSULTATION

The On-Site Meeting, as required under the Drainage Act, was held on 12 June 2001. All landowners in the watershed were notified in advance of the meeting.

All landowners were notified of the Meeting to Consider the Report and were provided with a copy of the Engineer’s Report.

All landowners were provided a copy of the provisional by-law and a notice of the time and location of the first sitting of the Court of Revision.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The actual costs of the work will be assessed to the developer of the Cedarstone Subdivision, Guycoki (Eastern) Ltd. Future maintenance of the drainage works will be assessed to the affected owners of lands in accordance with the Schedule of Assessment “A” from the Engineer’s Report.

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A - Van Gaal Municipal Drain Site Plan

Attachment B - Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-law

Attachment C - Notices of Appeal

Attachment D - Engineer’s Report (Held on file with the City Clerk)

DISPOSITION

Staff shall implement the decisions of the Court of Revision. A separate report shall be forwarded to Council concerning the outcome of the Court of Revision and, if appropriate, it will be recommended that Council give third reading to the provisional by-law.

ATTACHMENT A

Van Gaal Municipal Drain Site Plan

Attachment B

Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-Law

BY-LAW NO. 2003 -

A by-law of the City of Ottawa to provide for the improvement of drainage works in the City of Ottawa – Van Gaal Municipal Drain.

WHEREAS the Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-law, being By-law Number 12-72 of the Township of Goulbourn was passed pursuant to the Drainage Act (now R.S.O. 1990, c.D.17);

AND WHEREAS the lands referred to in By-law Number 12-72 of the Township of Goulbourn is now included in the City of Ottawa by virtue of the City of Ottawa Act, 1999, S.O. 1999, c.14, Sch.E;

AND WHEREAS every by-law of the Township of Goulbourn is deemed to be a by-law of the City of Ottawa pursuant to Section 5(6) of the said City of Ottawa Act, 1999;

AND WHEREAS an engineer was appointed by the City of Ottawa pursuant to section 78(1) of the Drainage Act, and a report has been procured, made by Robinson Consultants Inc., and the report is on file with the City clerk;

AND WHEREAS the Van Gaal Municipal Drain, after it is modified pursuant to this by-law will drain the following roads and lands:

City of Ottawa, formerly the geographic Township of Goulbourn, more specifically:

Lots 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Concession IV;

Lots 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Concession V;

AND WHEREAS the entire costs of the required drainage work shall be borne by the owners of “Block No. 1” lands as described in Schedule “A” of the Robinson Consultants Inc. Report dated November 2002;

AND WHEREAS the owner of “Block No. 1” lands as described in Schedule “A” of the Robinson Consultants Inc. Report dated November 2002, as of the date of this Bylaw is Guycoki (Eastern) Limited;

AND WHEREAS Council of the City of Ottawa is of the opinion that the drainage of the area is desirable;

AND WHEREAS Council of the City of Ottawa considers it desirable to give this by-law 1^st and 2^nd Reading on June 25, 2003 so that it is provisionally adopted pursuant to section 45 of the Drainage Act,

THEREFORE the Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:

1. The report dated November 2002, filed with the City clerk, is hereby adopted and the drainage works as therein indicated and set forth is hereby authorized and shall be completed in accordance therewith.

2. Guycoki (Eastern) Limited shall pay the entire cost of the drainage work, as set out in the report dated November 2002 referred to in Section 1.

3. This by-law comes into force on the passing thereof and may be cited as the “Van Gaal Municipal Drain By-law, 2003”.

ENACTED AND PASSED THIS day of , 2003

CITY CLERK MAYOR

Attachment C

Notices of Appeal

None received as of 21 July 2003.