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10. RURAL SUMMIT - GRANT PROGRAM TO OFFSET BUILDING PERMIT FEES FOR
FARM BUILDINGS
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That Council:
1.
Approve the establishment of a grant program for
offsetting the building permit fees associated with the costs of construction
and/or renovation of farm buildings/structures, regulated under the Nutrient
Management Act, used for the collection, storing and handling of manure
containing nutrients, and a process by which fees are offset at the time of the
submission of the application for the building permit.
2.
Approve the reimbursement of $3250.80 in building
permit fees collected between July 1, 2005 and March 14, 2006, as set out in
Schedule A to this report, for farm buildings/structures, regulated under the Nutrient
Management Act, used for the collection, storing and handling of manure
containing nutrients.
Que le Conseil :
1. approuve l'établissement
d'un programme de subventions visant à compenser les frais d'obtention de
permis pour la construction de bâtiments agricoles visés par la Loi sur la
gestion des éléments nutritifs et servant à recueillir, à entreposer et à
manutentionner du fumier contenant des éléments nutritifs; et d'approuver
également un processus en vertu duquel la compensation s'effectuera au moment
de la présentation de la demande de permis de construire.
2. approuve
le remboursement de la somme de 3 250,80 $ perçue du 1er juillet
2005 au 14 mars 2006, comme le précise l'annexe A au présent rapport, au titre
des droits d'obtention de permis pour la construction de bâtiments agricoles
visés par la Loi sur la gestion des éléments nutritifs et servant à
recueillir, à entreposer et à manutentionner du fumier contenant des éléments
nutritifs.
1. Planning
and Growth Management, Deputy City Manager’s report dated
16 March 2006
(ACS2006-PGM-BLD-0006).
Report
to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels
et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
16 March 2006 / le 16 mars 2006
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager/Directeur
municipal adjoint,
Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Arlene Grégoire, Director
Building Services and Chief Building
Official/Direction des services du bâtiment et Chef du service du bâtiment
(613) 580-2424 41425,
arlene.gregoire@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services
and Economic Development Committee recommend Council:
1. Approve the establishment of a grant
program for offsetting the building permit fees associated with the costs of
construction and/or renovation of farm buildings/structures, regulated under
the Nutrient Management Act, used for the collection, storing and
handling of manure containing nutrients, and a process by which fees are offset
at the time of the submission of the application for the building permit.
2. Approve the
reimbursement of $3250.80 in building permit fees collected between July 1,
2005 and March 14, 2006, as set out in Schedule A to this report, for farm
buildings/structures, regulated under the Nutrient Management Act, used
for the collection, storing and handling of manure containing nutrients.
Que le Comité des services organisationnels et
du développement économique d'Ottawa recommande au Conseil :
1. D'approuver
l'établissement d'un programme de subventions visant à compenser les frais
d'obtention de permis pour la construction de bâtiments agricoles visés par la Loi
sur la gestion des éléments nutritifs et servant à recueillir, à entreposer
et à manutentionner du fumier contenant des éléments nutritifs; et d'approuver
également un processus en vertu duquel la compensation s'effectuera au moment
de la présentation de la demande de permis de construire.
2. D'approuver
le remboursement de la somme de 3 250,80 $ perçue du 1er juillet
2005 au 14 mars 2006, comme le précise l'annexe A au présent rapport, au titre
des droits d'obtention de permis pour la construction de bâtiments agricoles
visés par la Loi sur la gestion des éléments nutritifs et servant à
recueillir, à entreposer et à manutentionner du fumier contenant des éléments
nutritifs.
BACKGROUND
· Increased costs (taxes, fuels, supplies, new regulations, new fees, etc.)
· Lower revenues from sale of produce and farm animals (BSE, price for grains set nationally irrespective of higher costs of transportation borne by local farmers, global market and prices, etc.)
· Significant drop in support from OMAFRA, AgCda, etc.
At the Rural Summit, the Agriculture Sub-Committee and participants noted that farmers cannot continue to subsidize the food produced and delivered at the lowest prices ever and that they needed support from the local government and community to continue farming. A review of municipal by-laws, fees and charges to determine which provisions negatively impact farm operations was undertaken. The Sub-Committee identified the need for financial assistance for the construction of farm buildings, particularly, buildings and structures required as a result of the Nutrient Management Act. As a result, the Rural Task Force submitted and obtained approval of an annual budgetary allocation of $35,000 for the purpose of offsetting building permit fees for such projects.
This recommendation provides for the establishment of a grant program whereby funding is made available at the time of the submission of an application for a building permit to offset the fees owing in accordance with the Building By-law 2005-303. It is desirous to establish this grant program prior to the construction season in order to facilitate any construction projects necessitated by the Nutrient Management Act as contemplated by local farmers.
In order to not delay the processing of the building permit applications for constructing farm buildings and structures, the Department proposes to implement the following process to validate the fee relief:
The fees as confirmed by the Department would be offset by the grant program, for which funding in the amount of $35,000 has been allocated in the operating budget of the Rural Affairs Office.
Should the grant be depleted prior to year end, it is proposed that the applicant pay the building permit fees at the time of submission with the Department preparing a report to Committee and Council for approval of reimbursement of fees, on a case by case basis, with funding coming from the City Wide Capital Reserve Fund, unless otherwise directed by Council.
Recommendation 2 provides for the reimbursement of permit fees for those farm operations that applied for building permits during the period between July 1, 2005 and the establishment of the program for grant funding in accordance with Recommendation 1 herein.
On July 1, 2005, new legislation, the Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 305/03 took effect, which necessitated changes on how the municipality administered and enforced the Ontario Building Code Act and Building Code. The new legislation required that the building regulatory activities be revenue neutral. Thus, surplus revenues no longer could be generated and relied upon for offsetting the waiver of fees in support of construction of buildings/structures required and regulated under the Nutrient Management Act. This impact was discussed in the report presented to Council on June 22, 2005 entitled “Building Regulatory Changes – Impact of Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act and Ontario Regulation 305/05” (ACS2005-PGM-BLD-0010).
Prior to July 1, 2005, building permit fees based on the costs incurred in meeting the requirements of the Nutrient Management Act were waived in accordance with a policy approved by City Council on November 14, 2001 (ACS2001-DEV-BLD-0009). The policy was established in an effort to assist local farmers meet the challenges of the Nutrient Management Act. This grant program reinstates the support provided to Ottawa’s farmers.
Schedule A sets out the permit applications submitted during this lapse of time and the fees directly associated with the construction costs incurred in meeting the requirements of the Nutrient Management Act.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The matter of reinstating the financial assistance was raised during the Rural Summit held on November 15, 2005 and as a result of the recommendation that funding be set aside to establish a grant program for the purpose of offsetting building permit fees associated with the construction costs incurred in meeting the requirements of the Nutrient Management Act, $35,000 of the total budgetary allocation for addressing rural issues was approved for this purpose by City Council during budget deliberations in December 2005.
This report sets up the process for implementing the Council approved policy for providing financial assistance to local farmers who are taking steps in protecting the environment consistent with the standards set out in the Nutrient Management Act.
CONSULTATION
This report reflects the discussions and recommendations of the Rural Summit and re-establishes Council approved policy to provide financial support to local farmers who are undertaking construction or renovations of their farm buildings and structures to meet the requirements set out in the Nutrient Management Act.
The report was circulated to the members of the Agriculture Sub-Committee of the Rural Summit, the members of the Rural Task Force, the acting Rural Affairs Officer, and Ward Councillors with rural constituencies for review and comments. A presentation on this initiative was also made to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on March 23, 2006.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Funding in the amount of $35,000 was approved by City Council during the budget deliberations of 2006 as part of the $1.895 M allocation for addressing rural issues. Thus, there is no financial impact in approving this report.
From the grant funding, $3250.80 will be reimbursed to the farm operations that obtained building permits between July 1, 2005 and March 14, 2006 as set out in Schedule A.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Schedule
A
DISPOSITION
The Planning and Growth Management Department to confirm the fee amount that is directly associated with the construction costs incurred in meeting the requirements of the Nutrient Management Act and arrange for the fees to be offset by the grant funding. The Department will also process the reimbursement of fees as set out in Schedule A.
Corporate Services Department, Financial Services to prepare the payment and adjust the accounts accordingly.
SCHEDULE A DOCUMENT 1
SCHEDULE A
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Application Number |
Permit Number
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Issued Date |
Building Permit Fees Paid |
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A05-007424 |
056443 |
Aug 19/05 |
$699.30 |
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A05-006933 |
0507040 |
Sep 14/05 |
$1417.50 |
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A05-008019 |
0507636 |
Oct 5/05 |
$1134.00 |
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Total
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$3250.80 |