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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-49-99 ~ ON: PD-49 -99 6' THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File #C) 0 .PrD Res. #GPA-;;275-9i Date: Monday, May 17, 1999 By-law # Report #: PD-49-99 File #: PLN 30.9 Subject: REQUEST FOR SIX MONTH DEFERRAL ON ALL APPROVALS OF DRAFT PLAN OF SUBDIVISION AND SITE PLANS KAWARTHA PINE RIDGE DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD-49-99 be received for information; 2. THAT the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and all interested parties listed in this report and any delegations be advised of Council's decision. 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 By letter dated October 15, 1998, ]udi Armstrong, Chairperson on behalf of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board requested that Trustee R. Willsher be permitted to address Council to discuss the following motion that was approved by the Board at their October 8, 1998 meeting: HTHAT the Board ask the Municipality of Clarington Council not to approve residential draft plans of subdivision and site plans that are greater than 30 units within the urban area of Bowmanville and Courtice for a period of six months; THAT when the current Ontario Municipal Board Hearings involving the City of Mississauga and the Peel Region Boards of Education are concluded, Staff from the Municipality of Clarington and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board meet to discuss further actionjand THAT Trustee Willsher speak on behalf of Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board at a Municipality of Clarington Council meeting.H 1.2 Mr. Willsher, at Council's October 26, 1998 meeting, expressed the Board's 641 REPORT PD-49-99 PAGE 2 . concern over the current accommodation problem in the Clarington Public Schools. Through the use of charts, Mr. Willsher illustrated the current and projected enrolment figures of the various public schools within the Municipality. He requested that Council, in considering the correspondence of Judi Armstrong, Chair of the Board not approve residential draft plans of subdivision and site plans that are greater than 30 units within the urban area of Bowmanville and Courtice for a period of six months. He also requested that when the current Ontario Municipal Board Hearings involving the City of Mississauga and the Peel Region Board are concluded, that Clarington Municipal Staff and Board Administration meet to discuss further action. 1.3 Council at their October 26, 1998 meeting endorsed the following resolution: "THAT Correspondence Item D-13 and the presentation of Bob Willsher be received and referred to the Director of Planning and Development for review and preparation of a report to be submitted to the General Purpose and Administration Committee" 1.4 The purpose of this report, in light of the School Board's request, is to highlight the Municipality's powers and jurisdictional responsibilities with respect to development of school sites within the Municipality. 2. SUBDIVISION ACTIVITY 2.1 The School Board is seeking Council's support by not approving residential draft plans of subdivision and site plans that are greater than 30 units for a period of six months. The delay was to prevent the problem from escalating before current Ontario Municipal Board Hearings involving the City of Mississauga and the Peel Region Boards of Education are concluded 2.2 Since Mr. Willsher's presentation to Council last October, no reports have been forwarded to Committee recommending approval of draft Plans of subdivision, nor have any site plan applications been approved. The absence of any reports is not 642 REPORT PD-49-99 PAGE 3 related to the School Board's request. Simply put, no applications that would have met the School Board's criteria have progressed to the stage where approval would be contemplated. While this is unusual, it technically provided the six month respite the Board was seeking. Moreover, the Ontario Municipal Board has recently issued its decision on the referenced hearing in the Region of Peel (See Section below). 2.3 As of January 1, 1999 there were a total of 5,939 residential units within the Bowmanville and Courtice Urban Areas that have received draft approved or are Council-approved, mostly within 'plans of subdivision. Even if no new approvals were granted, these draft plans could proceed at such time that the developer is prepared to finalize a subdivision agreement. 3. RELEVANT POLICIES 3.1 Provincial Interest under the Planning Act Under Section 2 of the Planning Act, every decision-making authority (the Minister, Council, the OMB etc.) "shall have regard" for matters of provincial interest including "the adequate provision and distribution of educational, health, social, cultural and recreational facilities." Some parties in the Peel hearing argued that this created an obligation on planning authorities to make provision that there will be educational facilities to accommodate projected growth. The Ontario Municipal Board concluded that this provin~ial interest would be satisfied if the School Board is given opportunity to acquire a site. It is possible that the Courts will be called upon to interpret this section of the Planning Act since the words were changed under Bill 20 from "equitable distribution of educational facilities" to "adequate provision and distribution of education facilities 3.2 Clarington Official Plan Policies 3.2.1 The Clarington Official Plan contains numerous policies which guide and manage the growth of the Municipality consistent with the principles of sustainable 643 ~ REPORT PD-49-99 PAGE 4 development and healthy communities. In particular, the Municipality must be satisfied the following is addressed when considering any draft plan of subdivision application for approval: . the sequential development of neighbourhoods and the prevention of "Ieaping- frogging" of vacant lands; . the economic use and extension of all infrastructure and services; . opportunities to improve housing affordability and diversity, residential intensification and housing targets for each neighbourhood; . increased density for new neighbourhoods, having regard for proposed measures to integrate existing residential areas. The Plan provides that the Municipality may declare a residential draft plan of subdivision to be premature and recommend to the Region that it not be approved: . if the plan does not implement the principles as listed above; . if the municipal wide non-residential assessment is less that 15 percent of total assessment; . if the capital works and services required to service the lands and the future residents are not within the Municipality's current capital budget or 10 year capital works forecast; and . if Council is of the opinion that the Municipality's administrative and financial ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~ residents who would be accommodated in the proposed plan of subdivision as well as to provide and maintain an adequate level of services for existing residents. 3.2.2 One objective of the Official Plan is "to provide for the growth and appropriate distribution of institutional and community facilities to serve the educational, health, religious, cultural and social service requirements of the residents". It is one thing to provide opportunities for these types of essential community services, including the appropriate geographic distribution, but the Municipality has no power to implement many of these services including education. 3.2.3 A number of policies contained in the Official Plan were completed in co-operation with the School Boards to ensure that: . all existing and proposed school sites were illustrated on the land Use Maps; . minimum site area, servicing and locational criteria was established; and 644 . REPORT PD-49-99 PAGE 5 . all schools would be sited and designed to provide a visual and functional focus for the neighbourhood aqivity. The Municipality's Official Plan identifies the school sites which will be required to be available through the development process for purchase by the School Board. 3.3 Subdivision Approval 3.3.1 The Region of Durham is currently the approval Authority for draft plans of subdivision. The School Board, similar to the Municipality is given the opportunity to provide their comments on all. draft plans of subdivision to the Region once an application is filed. 3.3.2 Under the Planning Act, in considering a draft plan of subdivision the Region is required to have regard for a number of matters including: . whether the proposed subdivision is premature or necessary in the public i nteresti and . the adequacy of school sites. The "adequacy of school sites" has been interpreted by the Court to mean the adequacy of school site reserved in the plan of subdivision for purchase by the school boards. It does not give consideration as to whether or not the School Board is able to purchase the site. 3.4 Site Plan Powers The Municipality does not have power to refuse to approve a site plan on the basis of the adequacy of the provision and distribution of educational facilities. 3.5 Development Charges Act 3.5.1 Under the provisions of the Development Charges Act, School Board are delegated power to pass an Education Charge By-law for the purpose of collecting an 645 " . REPORT PD-49-99 PAGE 6 education development charge to be used for the purpose of acquiring new school "sites" within new residential developments. Under the previous development charge legislation, development charges could be used to fund the local share of the entire capital costs. The development charge would be collected by the Municipality on behalf of the School Board prior to the issuance of building permits within the respective draft plan of subdivision. The School Board has not enacted a by-law under the Development Charges Act. 3.5.2 The funding of new school facilities by grant or otherwise was the subject of a report prepared by the Ministry of Education and attached to the Peel decision of the O.M.B. referred to in Section 4 of this report. The report addresses the changes in funding made by Bill 160. A copy of this report was forwarded to members of Council by separate memo. 4. PEEL REGION - ONTARIO MUNICIPAL BOARD HEARING 4.1 The issue in dispute before the Ontario Municipal Board hearing in Peel Region was the power of the Municipality or School Board to deem a draft plan of subdivision to be premature on the basis that adequate provision and distribution of school facilities is not available was The condition of draft approval appealed and placed in dispute by the parties was as follows: "Prior to final approval, the City (of Mississaugal shall be advised by the School Boards that satisfactory arrangements regarding the adequate provision and distribution of educational facilities have been made between the developer/applicant and the School Boards for this plan." The impact of this condition is that the School Board would ensure that not only is a site provided, a facility is constructed. This would mean that the pace of development would be controlied by the School Board's capital expenditure program. 646 .' . . REPORT P0-49-99 PAGE 7 4.2 The decision of the Ontario Municipal Board hearing was issued on April 29, 1999. In rendering its decision, the Board noted: .....An Owner's common law right to subdivide land cannot be taken away unless that power is either express or by necessary implication in the legislation. There is no express power in Section 51 or Section 2 of the Planning Act to authorize a condition that would delay the subdivision and sale of lands at the determination of the school boards until such time as the boards determine they will provide educational facilities. There is no power by necessary implication, the power does not of necessity flow from the words of the Planning Act......" The Board's decision, in essence; stated that the disputed condition would not be imposed, based on a lack of jurisdiction to do so under the Planning Act. It is not known at this time whether the Board's decision will be appealed to the Courts by the City of Mississauga. 5. CONCLUSIONS 5.1 In light of the above comments and decision of the Ontario Municipal Board, it is Staff's position that the Municipality cannot support the request of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board for a moratorium on subdivision and site plan approvals. To do so would only result in litigation which the Municipality is bound to lose. However since the Ontario Municipal Board decision has been issued, Staff would have be available to meet .with the Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board Staff, as requested in the School Board's resolution of October 8, 1998. I submitted, Reviewed by, o r~Q_~(,,-, Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., R.P.P., Chief Administrative Officer Da Crome, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Acting Director of Planning & Development LDT*DjC*cc May 11, 1999 647