9. Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 – LOCKABLE GATES

règlement sur les enceintes de piscine 2001-259 – barrières munies d’un verrou

Committee recommendationS as amended

1. That Council amend the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 to require that all pool enclosure gates that adjoin any publicly used space, such as a City park, golf course, or backing on a street, be lockable and locked at all time, except when the gate is being used for access to or egress from the subject property by the property owner, or by individuals having the property owner’s consent to enter or leave the property;

2. That the amendment to the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 take effect September 23, 2009 to provide for effective implementation and notice to prospective applicants; and,

3. That the Building Code Services Branch be directed to undertake a review of the by-law in 2010 to determine the feasibility of applying these new standards retroactively, from a legal, resource availability and community support perspectives and report back to Council in early 2011 with the results of the review.

Recommandations modifÉes DU Comité

1. Que le Conseil modifie le Règlement 2001-259 sur les enceintes de piscine, qui sont contiguës à un espace public, comme un parc municipal ou un terrain de golf, ou qui donnent sur une rue, de manière à ce que toutes les barrières d’enceinte de piscine soient munies d’un verrou et verrouillées en tout temps, sauf pour permettre au propriétaire ou aux personnes autorisées par celui-ci d’accéder à la piscine ou de la quitter;

2. Que la modification au Règlement 2001-259 sur les enceintes de piscine entre en vigueur le 23 septembre 2009 afin d’en assurer la mise en œuvre efficace et de permettre aux éventuels acquéreurs d’être avisés en temps opportun;

3. Que les Services du code du bâtiment soient chargés d’examiner le règlement en 2010 afin de déterminer l’applicabilité rétroactive de ces nouvelles normes, du point de vue législatif et en matière de disponibilité des ressources et de soutien communautaire, et rendent compte au Conseil, au début de 2011, des résultats de cet examen.

Documentation

1. Councillor Wilkinson’s report dated 28 August 2009 (ACS2009-CCS-PEC-0019).

2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 8 September 2009.

Report to/Rapport au :

Council / Conseil

28 August 2009 / 28 août 2009

Submitted by/Soumis par : Robert Tremblay, Coordinator of the Planning and Environment Committee / Coordonnateur du Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Councillor/Conseillère Marianne Wilkinson,

Kanata North/nord

(613) 580-2474, Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca

City Wide/ À l’échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2009-CCS-PEC-0019

SUBJECT:	Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 – LOCKABLE GATES

OBJET :	règlement sur les enceintes de piscine 2001-259 – barrières munies d’un verrou

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council amend the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 to require that all pool enclosure gates be lockable and locked at all time, except when the gate is being used for access to or egress from the subject property by the property owner, or by individuals having the property owner’s consent to enter or leave the property;

2. That the amendment to the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 take effect September 23, 2009 to provide for effective implementation and notice to prospective applicants; and,

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

1. Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil de modifier le Règlement 2001-259 sur les enceintes de piscine, de manière à ce que toutes les barrières d’enceinte de piscine soient munies d’un verrou et verrouillées en tout temps, sauf pour permettre au propriétaire ou aux personnes autorisées par celui-ci d’accéder à la piscine ou de la quitter;

BACKGROUND

Councillor Qadri, on behalf of Councillor Wilkinson, presented the following as a Notice of Motion at the 25 August 2009 meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee for consideration on 8 September 2009:

WHEREAS the Pool Enclosure By-law No. 2001-259 requires owners of privately-owned outdoor pools to erect and maintain fences around such pools;

AND WHEREAS it is the intent of the Pool Enclosure By-law to discourage uninvited access onto properties with pools where the presence of the water may represent a danger when the property is not supervised;

AND WHEREAS the Pool Enclosure By-law requires gates in the enclosure to be quipped with a self-closing and latching device but does not require the gate to be locked;

AND WHEREAS there are pool gates that may provide uninvited access by way of other properties, City-owned parks or vacant land and these gates elevate the risk of unsupervised entry;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council amend the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 to require that all pool enclosure gates be lockable and locked at all time, except when the gate is being used for access to or egress from the subject property by the property owner, or by individuals having the property owner’s consent to enter or leave the property.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the amendment to the Pool Enclosure By-law 2001-259 take effect September 23, 2009 to provide for effective implementation and notice to prospective applicants.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Building Code Services Branch undertake a review of the by-law in 2010 to determine the feasibility of applying these new standards retroactively, from a legal, resource availability and community support perspectives and report back to Council in early 2011 with the results of the review.

DISCUSSION

This motion was prepared after considerable discussion and following concerns raised by a resident about a pool which backs onto a public park and walkway with a gate into the park which is not locked and which has been found open. The concern was that a child could enter that yard and fall into the pool without anyone being present to help. The initial request was to have gates opening onto public space including parks and road allowances kept locked. Staff indicated that it would be better to have locks on all gates. A review of other municipalities showed that some do require gates to be locked when no one is present while others only have the latched gates as found in Ottawa's by-law. For the safety of children it would be prudent to have all new pools have locked gates when no one is present and for the City to look into means to have this also apply to existing gates into pool enclosures.

CONSULTATION

This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on Friday preceding the Planning and Environment Committee meeting.

Building Code Services supports this amendment and assisted with the drafting of this motion.

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal or risk management impediments to implementing the recommendation of this report.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

DISPOSITION

Legal Services will place the amending bylaw on the Agenda of Council.

With Council's approval of the amending bylaw, Building Code Services staff will implement the new provision by advising all new applicants of the requirement to lock gates and updating electronic and print material, for implementation September 23, 2009. In addition, staff will initiate a review and report on the feasibility of applying this measure retroactively with input from Legal Branch, By-law and Regulatory Services and from interested community groups.