|
1.
1229 Dwyer Hill Road, Municipal Responsibility AGreement 1229, CHEMIN Dwyer Hill,
ENTENTE DE RESPONSABILITÉ MUNICIPALE |
COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMANDATIONS DU COMITÉ
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager’s
Report, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, dated 25 October
2011 (ACS2011-ICS-PGM-0191).
Report to/Rapport au
:
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
Comité de l'agriculture et des affaires rurales
and Council / et au
Conseil
25 October 2011 / le 25 octobre 2011
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 : Derrick Moodie, Manager/Gestionnaire, Development
Review-Rural Services/Examen des projets d'aménagement-Services ruraux,
Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
(613)
580-2424, 15134 Derrick.Moodie@ottawa.ca
|
SUBJECT: |
|
OBJET : |
1229, CHEMIN Dwyer
Hill, ENTENTE |
Background
The Dwyer Hill RV
Resort, located at 1229 Dwyer Hill Road, is located on the south side of
Highway 7, immediately east of Dwyer Hill Road.
The applicant has a commercial area for trailer sales and a mobile home
park that accommodates 112 permanent units occupied year round. The site plan
has been approved to recognize the existing development and contains conditions
that require the owner to enter into a Municipal Responsibility Agreement for
the well and septic systems that serve the 112 mobile homes. The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has
issued Certificates of Approval for the existing private well water and septic
systems that service the existing mobile homes.
As has happened in
the past with a similar system, should the owner of 1229 Dwyer Hill Road
default on the responsibility to operate these systems to the satisfaction of
the MOE, the Ministry can order the City to operate and maintain these systems.
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act and
the Ontario Water Resource Act, the
ministry could also transfer ownership responsibility for the systems to the
City.
Indeed, considering
that these systems exist presently, if the Ministry of the Environment was to
issue orders the owner defaulted on, the responsibility would likely be
transferred to the City by authority of the Ministry of the Environment
regardless of whether a Municipal Responsibility Agreement exists or not. Ongoing
regulatory compliance for monitoring and the operation of this site rests
between the Owner and MOE, not the City.
It is only when there is non-compliance that the City may be obligated
to become involved.
Municipal
Responsibility Agreements are a requirement of the Ministry of the
Environment’s Certificates of Approval and the rationale and requirements of
such are described by MOE’s Procedure D-5-2, Application of Municipal
Responsibility Agreements for Communal Water and Sewage Services as follows:
“Given that proper operation and maintenance are key factors in ensuring
long term viability of communal services, it is recognized that a municipality,
as a publicly accountable body, with permanency of place, is the appropriate
authority to be responsible for ensuring the proper management of communal
services.”
Furthermore,
Procedure D-5-2 states:
“It has been the experience of the MOE that if private communal systems
fail (usually as a result of not applying sufficient funds for maintenance),
the operators and residents do not have sufficient funds to fix the problem.
The malfunctioning of sewage and water systems is a public health and environmental
threat that requires immediate action.”
A Municipal
Responsibility Agreement (MRA) provides the municipality with the authority to
require both operational and capital reserves be set aside to ensure the long-term
viability of these systems. It establishes a method of ensuring that the costs
and level of service are clearly established and that the owner is making every
effort to set aside funds for the yearly maintenance and life cycle replacement
of the systems. It also establishes the
mechanisms for the monitoring of the funds, the maintenance of the systems and
in event of the owner defaulting in whole or part on their responsibility, the
City’s take-over of the operation of the systems.
DISCUSSION
The Official Plan speaks, in Section 4.4.2.4, to Small Water and
Wastewater Works for private water and waste water servicing requiring
agreements with the City. These requirements
contemplate new or proposed systems only. The section defines small systems as
those owned, operated and managed by a single owner – which is the case
here. However, it also indentifies that
this is limited only for institutions such as schools and retirement residences.
The section further requires that the agreement at least detail a design
that is to City standards, how the systems will be monitored, maintained and
operated, a financial plan for the operation and replacement of the systems,
and studies and assessments to address wellhead protections and mitigation of
risks for the water supply and septic system operation. Those form the basis of
the Municipal Responsibility Agreement. However, the Dwyer Hill Trailer Park
does not fit into these categories as it is neither an institutional service
nor a new or proposed system.
The Municipal Responsibility Agreement for sewage and water systems with an alternative standard for this mobile home park is aimed at ensuring the
City’s exposure to financial risk is minimized by allowing the owner to enter
into a Municipal Responsibility Agreement for those systems without incurring
costs that could jeopardize the viability of that park.
The City has established service levels for the delivery of drinking water,
wastewater and stormwater services within public service areas. Standards,
beyond those established by the appropriate regulatory body, such as the
Ministry of the Environment’s Drinking Water Quality Standards, do not exist
for the private delivery of these services. This also includes a lack of
standards for the nature and quality of materials used to deliver these
services.
Typically, Municipal Responsibility Agreements for well and septic
systems relate to new approvals and the installation of new systems that have
been designed to meet current standards. In that circumstance, the City has
knowledge of exactly what is proposed and holds securities to ensure
inspections and installations are according to the approved plans. The standard form Municipal Responsibility
Agreement also reflects that the system(s) are new and to current standards.
The circumstances for the mobile home park at 1229 Dwyer Hill Road, known
as the Dwyer Hill RV Park, differ in that it is an existing system, for which
we are retroactively trying to implement an MRA. There have been full-time residents living
within the park for many years. The
private water and sewage disposal systems are in place and have been for as
long as 25 or 30 years. These facilities
and networks do not meet the current City of Ottawa public service area service
delivery or materials standards. Service delivery or materials standards do not
exist for privately owned and operated communal water and wastewater. The
systems’ Owner indicates that they are not in a financial position to upgrade
the drinking water, stormwater nor wastewater systems to meet current City
standards.
Staff have reviewed with the Ministry of the
Environment the facility’s compliance with all regulatory requirements. We are
aware that Certificates of Approval have been issued for the systems and
understand that there are no issues of non-conformance.
Unfortunately, detailed information regarding the installed systems and
assets do not exist. Infrastructure Services and Development Review staff have
reviewed the available information provided by the Owner with respect to the
type of systems, their current conditions and value, and maintenance and
replacement costs, and have agreed that the systems are functioning, albeit at
lower service levels than public service areas. Major areas of reduced service
include:
It is also recognized that these levels of service have been in place for
as long as records indicate. Staff recommend this
unique current level of service, as delivered by the Owner and as accepted by
the local residents, be the accepted level of service for this facility.
From a long-term financial sustainability perspective, it is important
that capital reserves be established to ensure the long term delivery of services.
To that end, staff have worked with the Owner to negotiate the following
estimates of replacement value and depreciated value of the assets used to
deliver the current level of service and materials standards on the basis of a
“like for like” replacement. The table below illustrates the comparative
replacement and capital reserve values for the water and sewage systems to a
City standard and the values based on the existing systems.
|
Table 1: Level of Service
Water and Sewage System Estimates |
||||
|
|
City Standard |
Like for Like System |
City Standard |
Like for Like Capital |
|
SYSTEM |
Replacement |
Replacement |
Reserve |
Reserve |
|
|
Value |
Value |
Requirements |
Requirements |
|
WATER |
|
|
|
|
|
Water Pumping Facilities |
$446,896 |
$233,646 |
$284,204 |
$153,011 |
|
Water Distribution System |
$408,300 |
$385,550 |
$129,856 |
$122,757 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEWAGE |
|
|
|
|
|
Sewage Pumping Facilities |
$576,100 |
$312,500 |
$495,650 |
$280,181 |
|
Sewage Collection System |
$636,700 |
$354,400 |
$418,320 |
$235,900 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS |
$2,963,726 |
$1,295,096 |
$1,604,748 |
$791,849 |
The annual operating security fund is a separate fund we require to be
established that is based on the estimate commitment the City would need to
make to operate and maintain both system for one year.
Other significant elements of the MRA include a that the Owner maintain a
minimum of insurance coverage; and that a Trustee be established to oversee an
annual operating cost financial security fund as well as a capital reserve fund.
At the time of registration of the site plan control agreement and the
execution of the Municipal Responsibility Agreement, the required annual operating
financial security fund would be $35,750 and the capital reserve fund would be $791,849. These amounts
are derived from prescribed calculations established for standard form MRAs. The
MRA will be executed when the approved trustee confirms these amounts have been
received from the owner of 1229 Dwyer Hill Road.
Summary
Past experience shows the City
would likely have the responsibility to operate and maintain this system should
be owner default, but the municipality currently doesn’t have the financial mechanisms
to support that obligation. By entering
into the MRA, as amended, the City affords itself some fiscal protection for
bearing the burden of maintenance and replacement of the systems should the
owner default. This assists the City in fulfilling
its obligations with the respect to MOE Certificates of Approval for the
systems.
The acceptance of the MRA for the alternative standard for the water and sewage system for this mobile home park will allow for the on-going assurance to the residents that they will have access to a reasonable level of service for water and wastewater services should the owner of the facilities be unable to maintain or replace them.
Approval
of the alternative level of service and Municipal Responsibility Agreement will
allow the Owner to bring the site into Planning
Act and Building Code compliance and ensure that current alternative type
of housing stock remains available with a financially sustainable ongoing
supply of water and sewage services.
Other
similar situations in the rural area will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
A
copy of the draft Municipal Responsibility Agreement was made available to the
owner and they had the following comments. The values of the systems have been
agreed to on a like for like basis internally at the City with Infrastructure
Services as well as Development Review.
The
Municipal Responsibility Agreement is a condition for site plan approval. The related site plan control process,
initiated prior to amalgamation, ran concurrently with the related zoning
process. The site plan process was not
specifically a public consultation process but the zoning was. Comments on the file were received from
members of the public and the Ward Councillor had hosted a meeting with the
residents of the mobile home park in 2003.
Comments by the Ward Councillor(s)
The Ward Councillor is aware of the development and the need to resolve the servicing concerns and funding issues.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
In the event of non-compliance with an order of the
Ministry of the Environment or an imminent health hazard, the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 enables
the Ministry of the Environment to order the City to operate a regulated,
non-municipal water system such as exists at the Dwyer Hill RV Resort. In the
case of sewage works, the Ministry may also, subject to the holding of a
hearing, require that the municipality operate sewage works.
Execution of the agreement outlined in this report will reduce the City financial risk should the owner of 1229 Dwyer Hill Road default on their responsibility to operate the property’s water and wastewater systems in conformance with their MOE certificate of approval.
This
report has no financial implications. An initial capital reserve fund of
$791,849 and an operating security fund of $35,750 will be established by the
owner in case the City needs to take over the system. These amounts will be
reviewed and replenished annually.
Environmental Implications
The MRA provides a framework
to ensure that the private water and wastewater systems operate safely in
accordance with MOE’s standard.
Technology
Implications
NA
City
Strategic Plan
The development and planning applications align with the City Strategic
Plan in that the MRA is looking to make growth or development pay for
itself and the limits of existing hard
services for the mobile home park are respected.
NA
The owner of 1229 Dwyer Hill Road will be informed of Council’s decision, and the City’s legal department will execute the Municipal Responsibility Agreement when the approved trustee confirms receipt of the amounts identified in this report.