A9
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: November 13, 1996
Dept. File No. 8123-7 (H333)
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services, in consultation with
the Director of Legal Services and the Manager of Real Estate
Services
SUBJECT: Encroachment By-law Fees
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services be instructed
to cancel immediately all encroachment agreements other than
those for which no annual fee is charged and those that in the
opinion of the Director of Legal Services have appropriate
provisions set out in the agreement.
B. THAT the Director of Legal Services in consultation with the
General Manager of Engineering Services be instructed to
report back to Council on recommended amendments to the
Encroachment By-law, if any, and possible changes to the
administration of encroachments in City streets.
C. THAT City costs for cancelling charges from title will be
funded from encroachment fee revenues.
COUNCIL POLICY
Annual fees for various types of encroachments are specified in the
Encroachment By-law. However, Council does have the authority to set
fees and annual charges other than as specified.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to obtain Council's approval of a proposal
to resolve apparent discrepancies between the annual fees specified in
the Encroachment By-law and the fees prescribed in individual
encroachment agreements.
BACKGROUND
Throughout the City, there are several thousand encroachments from
private property that project over or under the street. These
encroachments are regulated by the Encroachment By-law, which clarifies
the rights and obligations of the City and property owners, delegates
administration of the By-law to the General Manager of Engineering
Services, and provides for registered agreements in the case of the more
significant encroachments.
Prior to 1990, there were 1,300 encroachment agreements for which annual
fees were required. In many cases these fees were lower than the
Finance Department's costs of billing and collecting them. Therefore,
in 1990 Council approved the elimination of annual fees for 660
encroachments (those which benefit the public, such as sidewalk
canopies, or do not alienate significant amounts of street space from
public use, such as special sidewalk finishes or crossings). Fees for
the remaining encroachments (areaways, buildings, bay windows) were
increased by an amendment to the Encroachment By-law, with the minimum
fee set at $150.00, so as to ensure recovery of the cost of the billing
process. In most cases, the new by-law fee was substantially higher
than the fee prescribed in individual agreements.
Subsequently, in response to complaints about the substantial fee
increases (many who had previously paid $5.00 or $15.00 per year were
now paying $150.00 per year), Council in 1992 reduced the minimum fee to
$100.00. The majority (65%) of the 558 properties which are now charged
encroachment fees pay this $100.00 minimum annual charge.
Most property owners have been paying the increased fees, but about a
dozen have refused to pay, on the basis that there is a discrepancy
between the new by-law fees and the fees prescribed in their
encroachment agreements. This report recommends a process to eliminate
this discrepancy.
DISCUSSION
The simplest means of removing the discrepancy between encroachment
agreement fees and by-law fees is to cancel these agreements. The
City's unilateral authority to revoke agreements and/or require removal
of encroachments is contained in both the Encroachment By-law and in
legal agreements between the City and property owners with
encroachments.
Whether these encroachments are best governed by new standard agreements
pursuant to the by-law, or by by-law alone, will be the subject of a
report back to Council. Until then, the General Manager of Engineering
Services and the Director of Legal Services are satisfied that the
City's interests, on an interim basis, are adequately protected by the
by-law alone.
Therefore, it is proposed that property owners with the older
encroachment agreements that differ from the by-law be notified
immediately that their agreements are cancelled, but that they will be
permitted to retain their encroachments subject to the provisions of the
Encroachment By-law, including the payment of current fees. (It is
noted that there are many agreements that do not have an annual fee and
a small number of encroachments which have large annual fees and whose
agreements do not conflict with the Encroachment By-law. These would
not be cancelled.)
Any costs incurred by the City in releasing cancelled charges from the
titles of the parcels involved and for registering new agreements will
be funded from encroachment agreement revenues. The cost implications
are not known at this time, but will be reported to Council in the
Spring.
Next Steps
Staff will review the Encroachment By-law and its administration to
determine changes that would reduce the paper work while ensuring risk
levels remain as is. Which agreements should be replaced and what
amendments should be made to the Encroachment By-law, if any, would be
part of a report back to Council in the Spring.
It is not intended to revise encroachment fees, other than to implement
the 15% increase in the minimum fee, from $100.00 to $115.00, that was
approved by Council on September 10, 1996.
CONCLUSION
In order to resolve a possible discrepancy between the fee schedule in
the Encroachment by-law and the fees prescribed in individual
agreements, it is recommended that certain existing encroachment
agreements be cancelled immediately and that the affected property
owners be advised that they will be permitted to maintain their
encroachment on City streets, provided they comply with the provisions
of the by-law, which includes payment of encroachment fees as prescribed
by this by-law.
Staff will undertake a review of the administration of encroachments and
report to Council recommending possible changes to the Encroachment
By-law and the administration of encroachments.
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