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4. Petition FOR DRAINAGE WORKS
- HAZELDEAN ROAD PÉTITION POUR LES TRAVAUX DE DRAINAGE - CHEMIN HAZELDEAN |
Committee
Recommendation
That Council consider the attached report
pertaining to a petition for drainage works under Section 4 of the Drainage
Act and appoint Stantec Consulting Ltd. as the Engineer of record to
prepare a preliminary report in accordance with Section 10 of the Drainage
Act.
Recommandation
du comité
Que le Conseil éxamine le rapport ci-joint et la pétition et entreprenne
les travaux de drainage en désignant
Stantec Ltée comme étant l’ingénieur visé qui préparera un rapport
préliminaire en vertu de la section 10 de la Loi sur le drainage.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager's report (Public
Works and Services) dated 21 April 2008 (ACS2008-PWS-WWS-0012).
Report
to/Rapport au :
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
Comité de l'agriculture et des
questions rurales
and Council / et au Conseil
21 April 2008 / le 21 avril 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par: R.G. Hewitt, Deputy City Manager/
Directeur municipal adjoint,
Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics
Contact
Person/Personne ressource: Dixon
Weir, Director/Directeur
Water
& Wastewater Services/Services de l’eau des eaux usées
(613) 580-2424 x 22002, Dixon.Weir@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend that Council consider the attached report pertaining to a petition for drainage works under Section 4 of the Drainage Act and appoint Stantec Consulting Ltd. as the Engineer of record to prepare a preliminary report in accordance with Section 10 of the Drainage Act.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de
l’agriculture et des questions rurales recommande au Conseil en vue d’éxaminer
le rapport ci-joint et la pétition et entreprenne les travaux de drainage en
désignant Stantec Ltée comme étant
l’ingénieur visé qui préparera un rapport préliminaire en vertu de la section
10 de la Loi sur le drainage.
BACKGROUND
The City of Ottawa in is in receipt of a petition for new drainage works under Section 4 of the Drainage Act from a group of landowners abutting Hazeldean Road, west of Stittsville, in Goulbourn Ward.
A petition for the drainage by means of a drainage works
of an area requiring drainage as described in the petition may be filed with
the Clerk of the local municipality in which the area is situate by,
(a)
the majority in number of the owners, as shown by the last
revised assessment roll of lands in the area, including the owners of any roads
in the area;
(b)
the owner or owners, as shown by the last revised assessment
roll, of lands in the area representing at least 60 per cent of the hectarage
in the area;
(c)
where a drainage works is required for a road or part thereof,
the engineer, road superintendent or person having jurisdiction over such road
or part, despite subsection 61 (5);
(d)
where a drainage works is required for the drainage of lands
used for agricultural purposes, the Director.
R.S.O. 1990, c. D.17, s. 4 (1).
Under Section 5(1) of the Drainage
Act, Council must consider the petition and choose from one of three
options:
1.
accept the petition and proceed with the drainage works by
appointing an Engineer under Section 8 of the Drainage Act, to prepare a
report; or,
2.
appoint an Engineer to prepare a preliminary report to
determine an approximate cost estimate of the drainage works, in accordance
with Section 10 of the Drainage Act; or,
3.
reject the petition and not proceed with the drainage works.
While the vailidity of the petition will ultimately be
determined by the Council-appointed Engineer, it is the opinion of the Drainage
Superintendent that there are sufficient signatures on the petition to satisfy
conditions (a) and (b), above, should Council decide to proceed.
In either case, written notice of
its decision must be provided to each petitioner and the local conservation authority,
who may appeal the decision of Council to the Ontario Drainage Tribunal, which
may direct the municipality in such respects as the Tribunal considers proper.
An existing ditch in an unopened
municipal road allowance running south from Hazeldean Road has historically
provided outlet for local surface water.
However, insufficient outlet both within and downstream of the ditch is
affecting drainage of local lands and roads and has resulted in a public safety
and road maintenance issues for the City. A similar petition for drainage works was submitted by a smaller
group of landowners in 2003, and in early 2004 Council, on the recommendation
of the Drainage Superintendent, decided to not proceed with the establishment
of drainage works due to the sensitive environmental nature of the area. Some of the lands south of Hazeldean Road
along the unopened road allowance are designated as Provincially-Significant
Wetland and Rural Natural Feature in the Official Plan and a wetland evaluated
as provincially-significant, but not designated in the Plan, is located north
of Hazeldean Road. City staff were instructed to remove obstructions from and
maintain the aforementioned road allowance.
Since 2004, City Public Works staff have undertaken regular maintenance
of this road allowance, however, there is still insufficient outlet downstream
at the Trans Canada Trail, and beyond, prompting area landowners to seek
permanent legal and sufficient outlet for excess surface water through the Drainage
Act.
In consideration of the
environmental issues surrounding this petition for drainage works, and for the
benefit of Council and the petitioners, this report is recommending the
appointment of a qualified drainage engineer to prepare a preliminary report,
under Section 10 of the Drainage Act, to evaluate the type and extent of
drainage works required, potential related environmental studies and regulatory
requirements, and approximate cost of such an undertaking. This approach was agreed upon at a meeting
on 2 April 2008 between the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority,
petitioning landowners and City staff.
The intent of the drainage works is to relieve the area of nuisance
flooding but not impact the provincially-significant wetlands in the area.
DISCUSSION
The Drainage Act
prescribes the process and timelines that must be followed for a preliminary
report, under Section 10 of the Drainage Act, and any subsequent
construction of, or modification to, a municipal drain. (The “Þ” below indicates the
current step in the process for this petition.) In brief, the process includes:
Þ
Consideration of the Petition by Council; and the
appointment of an Engineer to prepare a preliminary report;
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Conduct an On-site Meeting with affected landowners to
review their drainage requirements;
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Conduct a Meeting to Consider - (The meeting of the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee to consider the preliminary report and
recommendation whether or not to proceed with the preparation of an Engineer’s
Report);
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Council approval of the Committee recommendation;
This report places the petition
before the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and Council as required by
the Drainage Act.
SCHEDULE
Should Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) recommend and Council approve to proceed with the preliminary report and appoint an Engineer, the estimated schedule will be as follows:
- Council approval and appointment of Engineer - May 2008
- Preparation of preliminary report - June to August 2008
- Review of preliminary report by conservation authority - September 2008
- Submission of preliminary report and notification period - October 2008
- Consideration of preliminary report by Committee and Council - November/December 2008
Should ARAC and Council subsequently consider and approve to proceed with the preparation of a subsequent Engineer’s Report, the following conceptual schedule will be as follows, and of course subject to various regulatory approvals and appeals processes:
- Council approval to proceed with Engineer’s Report - October/November 2008
- Preparation of draft Engineer’s Report and consultation with regulatory agencies - December 2009 to July 2009
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Environmental
studies, example fish habitat and wetland impact assessments to meet
Conservation Authority and Fisheries Act regulations - April to June
2009
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Review
of draft Engineer’s Report by conservation authority and Department of
Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) - July to September 2009
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Submission
of final Engineer’s Report and preparation of Provisional By-law - October 2009
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Committee
and Council consideration of Engineer’s Report and By-law - October to December 2009
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Construction
of drainage works, if approved - Summer 2010
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The estimated area requiring drainage is adjacent to the Upper Poole Creek and the Goulbourn Wetland Complex; the unopened road allowance running south from Hazeldean Road passes through the Goulbourn Wetland Complex for much of its length. The area includes a wetland identified as provincially-significant by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in 2003, but not designated in the Official Plan. The identified wetland, a 32-ha wetland north of Hazeldean Road and east of Highway 7, is a swamp forest and forms part of the provincially significant Goulbourn Wetland Complex. The wetland was evaluated following public concerns about an Environmental Assessment completed for the re-alignment of Rothbourne Road in 2002. Members of the public submitted a Part II Order request to the Ministry of the Environment because of their concerns about the potential presence of significant wetlands in the area. The City contracted an evaluation of the wetland in 2003 for MNR review and MNR confirmed the area was provincially-significant. The City committed to designating this wetland in the Official Plan as part of its response to the Ministry of the Environment on the Part II order request in 2005. In accordance with the Class EA, the City must fulfill and implement any commitments made to affected agencies or members of the public as part of the proposed Project.
Acting on the City commitment, in 2007 City staff from Environmental Sustainability advised area landowners that the City would review the wetland evaluation in consultation with MNR and landowners. One landowner had completed substantial site alterations after the 2003 wetland evaluation and the review would find out if the boundary of the significant wetland had changed. However, the owner of the wetland refused permission for City staff or contactors to access the site. City staff told area landowners and the MNR that the review could not be pursued because of lack of access and that the question of the designation of the wetland may need to be addressed as part of the 2008 Official Plan Review. Since that time, the Ministry of Natural Resources has reaffirmed that the wetland is provincially-significant.
Under the Drainage Act, should Council ultimately decide to proceed with the drainage works and upon receipt of a notice from the initiating municipality under subsection 5 (1), a local municipality, conservation authority, or the Minister of Natural Resources, as the case may be, may send to the Council of the initiating municipality within thirty days a notice that an environmental appraisal of the effects of the drainage works on the area is required, and the cost thereof shall be paid by the party who requested it. The Council of the initiating municipality may obtain an environmental appraisal on its own initiative, the cost of which shall be paid by the municipality from its general funds.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
A portion of the land north of Hazeldean Road is used as pasture for livestock. The drainage works will also provide legal and sufficient outlet for area roads, including Hazeldean Road, Rothbourne Road and the new Hwy 407.
CONSULTATION
A meeting with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) and key petitioners was held on 2 April 2008 and it was agreed by all parties that a preliminary report, under the Drainage Act, was the preferred approach to this petition. Pursuant to the Drainage Act, the MVCA will be notified of the decision of Council and may request that an Environmental Appraisal of the effects of the drainage works be conducted. Under Section 6(1) of the Drainage Act, the cost of the environmental appraisal shall be paid by the party requesting the study.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
All costs associated with this undertaking will be paid for from Internal Order 902960 Municipal Drain Improvements and recovered, in its entirety, from the benefiting landowners according to the Report of the Engineer and associated By-law. Funds in this account are available in the approved 2008 Capital budget. If an environmental appraisal is needed beyond that required to meet Conservation Authority and Fisheries Act regulations, the cost of this appraisal will be borne by the Environmental Sustainability Division.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 - Plan of Area
DISPOSITION
Public Works and Services staff shall notify all petitioners and the local conservation authority of the decision of Council.
DOCUMENT 1
