ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: August 30, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Finance
SUBJECT: Increase in Minimum Penalties
RECOMMENDATION
A. That Council approve the changes in the minimum penalty
provisions of various by-laws as outlined in Appendix I to
reflect the nature of the offence and to recover the costs in
dealing with these offences.
B. That the Director of Legal Services be requested to prepare
the necessary by-law amendments which will implement these new
minimum penalties, effective November 1, 1995.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of A and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
The City utilizes voluntary payments and the imposition of penalties
under its various by-laws, in order to enforce the provisions of those
by-laws.
DISCUSSION
This report reviews the current general and specific minimum/maximum
penalties in certain City by-laws and seeks approval to amend the
minimum penalty provisions in the named by-laws, as detailed in
Appendix I.
The range of monetary penalties which is set out, for example, in the
Noise By-law is $100 to 2,000. This is the range of penalty which may
be imposed by the Courts where either a guilty plea is entered by the
offender or the offender is convicted. Only where the Courts find an
inability to pay can it reduce the amount of the minimum penalty. The
minimum penalty is an indication to the Courts of the seriousness the
City places on a by-law infraction.
The following factors were considered by staff when recommending changes
in the minimum penalty provisions:
1) Many of the by-laws which the City enforces have a safety component
and, when an offender chooses to overlook this safety issue, it is
at the potential risk and expense of others (e.g. tenants). The
minimum penalty should reflect a deterrent to exposing others to a
safety hazard;
2) Where a matter concerns the failure to obtain a permit, the minimum
penalty should be significant in relation to the permit fee which
was not paid, so that the financial consequences of attempting to
avoid paying the fee is a reasonable deterrent;
3) Where a matter concerns failure to comply with an order (e.g.
building), the issuing of the by-law violation notice has usually
been preceded by a number of enforcement actions, including
inspections and at least one letter and an order, at considerable
cost to the City. The minimum penalty should recover, at the
minimum, the City's extra costs associated with the enforcement
actions; and,
4) When dealing with the noise provisions, the same current minimum
penalty of $100 applies to noisy parties, the noise of barking
dogs, refuse removal and construction. The latter offenders are
frequently companies who might consider it as a cost of doing
business to pay the fine rather than interfere with their business
operation. While the minimum is seldom imposed by the Courts in
these situations, the sections of the by-law which predominantly
apply to commercial enterprises (construction noise, refuse truck
noise) should have higher minimum penalties to ensure that they act
as a deterrent.
CONCLUSION
The recommendations proposed in this report are anticipated to maintain
the enforcement value of the minimum penalties (as a deterrent to
committing the offence), to recover the administrative cost invested by
the City to gain compliance, and to reflect the inflation changes since
these penalties were last set on May 1, 1991. It is anticipated that a
change in the minimum penalties would generate additional revenue for
the City, but the magnitude of the increase will depend on the
customers' response as well as other complementary actions to facilitate
and enforce payment. The results will be reported to Council in the
annual Operating Budget, in the year following implementation.
* * *
APPENDIX I
Current General Recommended General Current Specific Recommended Specific
By-law Minimum/Maximum Minimum/Maximum Minimum Minimum
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Building $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -unsafe -fail to comply
condition $200 with order $200
-fail to allow
entry $200
- work w/o permit $200
Electrical $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -fail to comply
with notice $200
-install without
permit $200
-sell unapproved
equipment $200
-fail to maintain
electrical
equipment $200
Plumbing $50/$2000 $100/$2000
Pound $15/$100 $25/$2000 -run at large $25 -run at large $100
-off leash $25 -off leash $100
-no license $100
Vicious dog Vicious dog
-no muzzle $100 -no muzzle $200
-not securely -not securely
confined $100 confined $200
Sign $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -continue to display
without permit $200
-fail to comply
with order $200
License $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -film viewer $250
-health -health
enhancement $100 enhancement $250
-social
escorts $1000
..../2
- 2 -
Current General Recommended General Current Specific Recommended Specific
By-law Minimum/Maximum Minimum/Maximum Minimum Minimum
___________________________________________________________________________________________
License (cont'd) -fail to check residents
in Lodging
House $500
-after hours in
arcade $200
-underage in
arcade $200
-gamesroom
underage $200
-gamesroom
outside of hrs.$200
-billiards
after hours $200
Standards of
Maintenance $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -maintenance of
fire escape/porch
landing $200
-maintenance of
fire protection
systems $200
-fail to comply
with order $200
Untidy
Premises $50/$2000 $100/$2000
Health $50/$2000 $200/$2000 -fail to comply
with order $500
Noise $100/$2000 -construction
$500
-refuse collection
$500
..../3
- 3 -
Current General Recommended General Current Specific Recommended Specific
By-law Minimum/Maximum Minimum/Maximum Minimum Minimum
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Firearms $50/$2000 $200/$2000
Second-Hand
Dealers $50/$2000 $100/$2000 -fail to keep
record $200
-fail to produce
record $200
Security
Alarm $50/$2000 $100/$2000
Street
Vending $50/$2000 $100/$2000
Vehicle
Noise $75/$2000 $100/$2000