1.             AMENDMENT TO PLANNING APPLICATION FEES BY-LAW FOR GARDEN SUITES

 

MODIFICATION DU RÈGLEMENT FIXANT LES DROITS RELATIFS AUX DEMANDES D'AMÉNAGEMENT POUR LES PAVILLONS-JARDINS

 

 

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS Committee  AND planning and Environment committee AND Recommendation

 

That Council approve the establishment of a fee of $2,600.00 for the processing of extensions of Temporary Use By‑laws for “Garden Suites”, in accordance with the provisions of Section 39 of the Planning Act, and amend the Fees By-law accordingly.

 

 

Recommandation du comité de l’agriculture et des questions rurales  ET DU Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement

 

Que le Conseil approuve l'établissement de droits de 2 600 $ pour le traitement des demandes de prolongation de règlements d'utilisation temporaire relatives aux « pavillons-jardins », conformément à l'article 39 de la Loi sur l'aménagement du territoire et de modifier le Règlement municipal sur les droits d'aménagement en conséquence.

 

 

 

Documentation

 

1.      Deputy City Manager's report Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability dated 15 January 2009 (ACS2009-ICS-PLA-0027).

 

 

Report to/Rapport au :

 

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

 

and / et au

 

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

Comité de l'agriculture et des questions rurales

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

15 January 2009 / le 15 janvier 2009

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager

Directrice municipale adjointe,

Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability

Services d'infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités

 

Contact Person/Personne Ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager/

Gestionnaire, Development Approvals/Approbation des demandes d'aménagement,

Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

(613) 580-2424, 13242  Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca

 

City-wide

Ref N°: ACS2009-ICS-PLA-0027

 

 

SUBJECT:

Amendment to Planning Application FeeS By-law for garden suites

 

 

OBJET :

MODIFICATION DU RÈGLEMENT FIXANT LES DROITS RELATIFS AUX DEMANDES D'AMÉNAGEMENT pour les pavillons-jardins

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Planning and Environment Committee and the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee recommend Council approve the establishment of a fee of $2,600.00 for the processing of extensions of Temporary Use By‑laws for “Garden Suites”, in accordance with the provisions of Section 39 of the Planning Act, and amend the Fees By-law accordingly.

 

 

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement et le Comité de l'agriculture et des questions rurales recommandent au Conseil d'approuver l'établissement de droits de 2 600 $ pour le traitement des demandes de prolongation de règlements d'utilisation temporaire relatives aux « pavillons-jardins », conformément à l'article 39 de la Loi sur l'aménagement du territoire et de modifier le Règlement municipal sur les droits d'aménagement en conséquence.


 

BACKGROUND

 

Section 39 of the Planning Act allows Council to authorize the temporary use of land, buildings, or structures for any purpose set out that may be otherwise prohibited by by-law

 

A by-law authorizing a temporary use shall define the area to which it applies and specify the period of time for which it applies and specify the period of time for which the authorization shall be in effect.  This time period is limited to three years.  Council may grant extensions to the original approval for time periods up to three years at a time.

 

“Garden Suites” (more commonly known as “Granny Flats”) are also governed by the provisions of Section 39 of the Planning Act.  Council can enter into an agreement that can require the owner to satisfy criteria concerning the a) installation maintenance, and removal of the garden suite, b) the period of occupancy of the garden suite by any of the persons named in the agreement, and c) the posting of securities to deal with potential costs to the City.

 

A Garden Suite can be authorized in a Temporary Use By-law provided it meets the above criteria, for up to 10 years from the date of the passing of the By-law.  Extensions can be granted for three-year time periods subsequent to the original time period. 

 

DISCUSSION

 

As the current Planning Application Fee Structure stands, any application to extend a Temporary Use Zoning By-law is subject to the Minor Zoning Amendment application fee of $6,270.00.  Concern has been expressed by applicants over the extent of this fee.

 

Staff have done an analysis of the level of effort required to process extension of Garden Suites requests.  It was concluded that the level of staff effort did not warrant the Minor Zoning Amendment fee of $6,200.00 for the following reasons:

 

  1. Once the use has been originally established, examination of the relevant planning policies such as designation, compatibility and context has taken place.  Servicing concerns have been examined and if necessary covered off through a separate agreement with the City.

 

  1. For a request for an extension to a Temporary Use for a Garden Suite, staff’s primary concern is to ensure that the current Official Plan and, if applicable, the Community Design Plan policy context continues to permit the Temporary Use.

 

  1. For Garden Suites, staff needs to confirm the occupant and, if necessary, revise any Agreement to reflect any additional City concerns (i.e. updated servicing requirements).

 

Conclusions

 

The level of effort required for extensions to Temporary Use By-laws is less than a Minor Zoning Amendment and is more consistent with a Zoning Amendment associated with the Severance of a Surplus Farm Dwelling which requires a fee payment of $2,600.00. 

 

 

This sum is required to recover the cost of notice to the public, technical agencies, and staff time to process the application.  This change does not cover the costs of the Conservation Authority review, which is a separate fee.

 

It is proposed that the new fee category be established for Extensions of Temporary Use By‑laws, and the cost be set at $2,600.00.  This reduction is based on the posting of only one on‑site sign, and the recognition that there will be less work required to develop a staff position on the rezoning.  The Department will have already reviewed significant issues.

 

The implementation of this change would be similar to the Department’s analysis of a Zoning By-law Amendment Related to the Severances of a Surplus Farm Dwelling.  It is proposed that a similar time frame for processing extensions of Temporary Use By-laws for “Garden Suites” be utilized as follows:

 

 

This process would represent a reduction of five weeks over the Minor Zoning By-law Amendment process.

 

CONSULTATION

 

Staff have been in contact with concerned Ward Councillors regarding this issue.  Since this matter is administrative in nature, no formal public consultation is required.

 

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:

 

There are no anticipated legal and risk management implications with this proposed fee.


 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The average volume of Temporary Use By-law extension requests is approximately five applications per year.  Based on this, there is potential for $18,000.00 ($6,200 x 5 = $31,000 – $2,600 x 5 = $13,000 = $18,000) less revenue for the City per year.

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

N/A

 

DISPOSITION

 

Legal Services to prepare the amendment to the Planning Fees By-law