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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-22-98THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON DN: APARTMENT.GPA REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File # J7c ~ . `7~ 05"/ Date: Monday, February 16, 1998 Res. # ~lh -~ _ -~~ Report #: PD-22-98 File #: PLN 11.15.2 By-law # Subject: REPORT ON REGISTRATION OF APARTMENTS-IN-HOUSES FILE: PLN 11.15.2 Recommendations: It is respecttully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD-22-98 be received for information. 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Committee a "status information" report with respect to apartment-in-house applications that have been submitted for approval and registration. This is an information report which will be provided on an annual basis. 1.2 Provincial legislation provided in the Municipal Act, Section 207.3, gives Municipalities the ability to require the registration of dwellings having an apartment-in-house. Pursuant to By-law 97-77, it is mandatory within the Municipality of Clarington to complete an application for registration for every owner of a dwelling containing an existing lawful apartment-in-house, or who wishes to establish a lawful apartment-in-house. - 634 REPORT NO.: PD-22-98 PAGE 2 A non-refundable application fee of $50.00 is paid upon submission of an application for registration, and anon-refundable fee of $50.00 is paid upon issuance of the Certificate of Reaistration for the Apartment-in-House. 1.3 To qualify for registration, an apartment-in-house must comply with the Comprehensive Zoning By-law, and the Ontario Fire and Building Codes. 1.4 The owner of an existing apartment-in-house has up to one year from the date of passing of By-law 97-77 (April 28, 1997) to apply for registration. In addition, any subsequent homeowner also has up to one year from the time of possession to apply for registration. Any owner who is building a new apartment-in-house will be required to register the unit as part of the building permit process. 1.5 To assist homeowners in meeting the requirements of By-law 97-77, staff have placed information advertisements in the local community program guide, prepared and made available two information pamphlets containing answers to commonly asked questions about an apartment-in-house and the registration process, as well as preparing a notice which was included in the interim tax bill, sent out February 2, 1998 (Attachment #1). 2. ACTIVITIES 2.1 Attachment #2 details apartment-in-house applications received and all apartments registered between April 28, 1997 and December 31, 1997. 2.2 During this period, fourteen (14) apartment-in-house applications have been received and four (4) of these units registered, in a variety of different locations, as shown on Attachment #2. The majority of these approved apartment-in- houses were for existing units. 63 REPORT NO.: PD-22-98 PAGE 3 2.3 Staff are continuing to work on a number of outstanding applications. The majority of these outstanding applications are awaiting action by the applicant or are in circulation to various departments. Apartment-in-House files awaiting information are reviewed regularly and the applicant is informed of the status of the file. 3. STAFF COMMENTS 3.1 Information has been received from the Clarington Public Works Department that there are a large number of apartments-in-houses receiving garbage and recycling collection, in addition to their normal residential collection for the dwelling, and that none of these units have been registered. 3.2 As the deadline for Apartment-in-House registration approaches, Staff will use this information to generate a mailing list, to remind owners of dwellings with an apartment-in-house that April 28, 1998 is final date that applications will be accepted. After this date, only a purchaser of a dwelling containing such an apartment may apply. 3.3 We speculate that the low application rate is based on a variety of factors: residents resent having to pay to have their apartments registered; residents feel the Municipality should not have the authority to tell them how they may use their property; residents fear their apartment will not/cannot comply, or they cannot afford the upgrades that may be required by the Building/Fire Codes; negligence on the part of the owner; and, residents are aware they have until the April 28, 1998 deadline to apply, but have not yet acted upon the information. 4. CONCLUSION 4.1 The Municipality has undertaken a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of its residents by using the ability given to it through the Municipal Act to require - 636 REPORT NO.: PD-22-98 PAGE 4 the registration of an apartment-in-house. To support this proactive approach, Council passed a by-law to include apartments-in-houses in the Comprehensive Zoning By-law and a bylaw for the registration of these units. Although to this date the response has been disappointingly low, the Municipality has taken all necessary steps to ensure the safety of these residents living in apartments-in- houses. Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by, ~~~ ~_c~ ~c,._. .~.? iL; ~ Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., R.P.P., W. H. Stockwell Director of Planning Chief Administrative and Development Officer SL*FW*cc Attachment #1 - Interim Tax Bill Notice Attachment #2 - Summary Chart February 9, 1998 - 637 ATTACHMENT N1 1997 INFORMATION BULLETIN NOTICE TO REGISTER APARTMENT-IN-HOUSE Dear Resident: The Municipality of Clarington Council recognizes the need to ensure the safety of occupants in apartments-in-houses including all basement apartments. On April 28, 1997, Council passed two by-laws regulating apartments-in- houses. The first by-law sets out what is a legal apartment-in-house and various zoning standards which have to be met. The second by-law requires trra[tadatt~ryistral~ct~~ of all If:gl apartments-in-houses. In order to have your ~xstl<ng ~partmenf registered, an application for registration must be submitted to the Municipality's Planning Department bEf~re ~C~~ X13;- i~t~: After this date, only a purchaser of a home containing such ari apartment can apply. If an apartment is not registered, the following may effect you • You could be charged under the Registration By-law, the Building Code and/or the Fire Code; • The Public Works Department advises that garbage and recycling collection for the apartment may be terminated; • Having an illegal apartment may effect the future sale of your home. It ig important that the safety of tenants and residents are protected. Please ensure your apartment-in-house is legal and is registered. The Planning Department has prepared 2 Citizen Guides entitled "Some Questions and Answers", and "Safety Standards for Apartments in Houses". These documents are available at the Planning Department. If you have an existing apartment in your house, or you are thinking about creating an apartment-in-house, contact the Municipality's Planning Department located on the second floor of the Municipal Administration Centre - 626-3379. 638 a ;~` n n 1 - k 3 ~ ~ ~ ~ ' . Oni ~, C f0 f0 ~ N N CO i :. N ~ ~ Q ~ 0 0 ~ N I ~ -:: ZZ~ r'' U ~ 3 ~ i N W N d d N N d y ai -: } } } : } z~s~ 3; C C ` t6 t3 { U U { ~= AF~~ €~ a O O C O - p C ~t 55~) 2 ~ <~ ~ R U U _ R O V O $3 i ~ E m ai m E . U ~ . .$ O N w _C C O = y U _C : O I I O I d d t6 d R i 7 7 ! 000 7 rnrn 7 rn O rn ~ ~ i i E S Q i C C C - ` C E oC C E : U . e~ cc l 3 Q¢Q~33 ` 53~ I Q3c " c ~~~# _ O~ .~< C O N '. 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