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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEGD-008-15 Clarington- Engineering Services Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102. Report To: General Purpose and Administration Committee Date of Meeting: April 20, 2015 Report Number: EGD-008-15 Resolution: SPA File Number: By-law Number: Report Subject: Review of Lot Grading and Drainage Recommendations: 1. That Report EGD-008-15 be received for information. Municipality of Clarington Report EGD-008-15 Page 2 Report Overview Occasionally, residents have drainage concerns on their property. They often turn to the Municipality for advice in making improvements, or assistance in intervening in a dispute with their neighbour. This report clarifies the Municipality's limited role in these drainage disputes, while recommending a new service of providing original design documentation to assist residents reinstate their grading to the original design if they deem it necessary. 1 . Background At the January 26, 2015 Council meeting, the following resolution #GPA-042-15 was approved: That Staff be directed to review the policies and by-laws pertaining to residential lot grading and report back to the General Purpose and Administration Committee meeting of April 20, 2015 on potential improvements that can be made. The majority of new residential lots are created through development processes such as land divisions or plans of subdivision. The development of these lots involves agreements that require the grading of the lot(s) be designed and supervised by professionals such as engineers and surveyors. These professionals are required to design, inspect and certify the lot grading to the municipality to ensure the public that the lot is properly graded and drained according to good engineering practices and the appropriate municipal standards. This process works well. 2. Lot Grading and Drainage Process 2.1. In new subdivisions, the developer's engineer designs and supervises the grading and drainage of all lots. This process includes the following aspects: 2.1.1 Overall Master Grading Plan: When new subdivisions are created, the developer's engineer designs the overall lot grading to ensure water runoff from each individual lot will be accommodated in a structured manner through the subdivision. This overall plan is referred to as the Master Grading Plan. A typical sample of this plan is attached. (Attachment No. 1) 2.1.2 Individual House Siting Plan: Individual house designs are then prepared ensuring that each individual lot matches the Master Grading Plan. Each house siting plan is reviewed and approved by the developer's engineer to ensure conformance in that regard. Ensuring the two plans dovetail ensures a coordinated neighbourhood drainage system. Municipality of Clarington Report EGD-008-15 Page 3 2.1.3 Role of Developer's Engineer: In new subdivisions, the developer's engineer designs the lot grading and provides field inspection of the grading of all lots. Upon completion of the grading by the builder, the developer's engineer inspects each lot to ensure conformance with the approved Master Grading Plan/House Siting Plan. At that point, in essence, the lot grading `warranty' from the engineer has expired. Since the lot grading was originally inspected and certified correct, any subsequent problems are deemed due to homeowner landscaping activities. 2.1.4 Role of Municipality: The role of the Municipality is to ensure the developer's engineer is (a) adhering to the Municipality's lot grading guidelines and (b) providing field inspections to ensure the process is being followed. The Municipality also requires final written certification by the developer's engineer for each lot. Prior to the certification, any lot grading complaints or inquiries from new home purchasers are relayed to the developer's engineer for investigation and, where necessary, surveying and corrective grading work. 2.1.5 Certification: Upon the completion of the lot grading/sodding, the developer's engineer is required to individually inspect each lot to ensure the grading conforms to the approved plans and further state that they do not expect any future drainage issues. The certification must be prepared in writing by the developer's professional engineer, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering to ensure legal documentation of the status of the lot grading. Once the lot grading certification is submitted to the Municipality by the professionals, the developer's engineer can no longer undertake new inspections due to homeowner landscaping work. In these situations the homeowner (and subsequent homeowners) are deemed responsible to maintain the grading and drainage of the lot, as it was originally provided. 2.2 Subsequent Lot Grading Issues After the lots are certified, homeowners often choose to carry out landscaping work on their lots by constructing fences, flowerbeds or other property enhancements, all of which have the possibility of altering the certified grades for the lot. Moderate drainage problems can result over the years. With numerous subdivision residents making ongoing improvements over the years, the drainage complications can begin to accumulate. Lot grading problems, by their nature, will always be contentious. Neither the Municipal Law Enforcement Division nor the Engineering Services Department have the financial, legal or professional resources—including surveyors and possibly structural/soils engineers—to determine the cause, the solutions and which neighbour is responsible (if not both). Municipality of Clarington Report EGD-008-15 Page 4 2.2.1 Main Causes: Who is responsible for drainage issues that arise? In many cases, multiple residents have altered grades but that doesn't necessarily mean they have created problems. While most residents tolerate minor drainage problems, others are frustrated and feel the Municipality should become involved in their civil dispute. But attempting to pinpoint exactly where the problem is, what the extent of the problem is and which property owner(s) created the problem can be very difficult. While things like flower beds or sheds can be obvious sources of blockage, subtle changes like adding topsoil over the years can be deceptive. Only a full survey of the private property and a review by an engineer can determine where the problem lies, and what some solutions might be. Attempting to assign clear blame between neighbours is often very difficult. 2.2.2 Determining the Extent of the Issue and Possible Solutions: The grading and drainage of residential lots is a challenging at the best times. No two residents will have the same opinion on the extent of the problem or what is deemed acceptable to correct the problem. Depending on the relationship between neighbours and the extent of the problem, minor drainage problems can be deemed major. Another contributing factor occurs following a change in property ownership. The new owner may be annoyed by the drainage patterns, or the new owner may choose to make grading changes which affect the existing resident. Both scenarios are complicated and require the residents to work together to resolve any drainage concerns to their mutual satisfaction. Due to the costs to investigate and correct, most neighbours eventually arrive at a mutual agreement to make minor improvements. The only alternative is for them to hire professional surveyors to determine the grades and recommend solutions acceptable to the residents based on their preferences and budgets. 2.3 Review of Policies and By-laws As part of this report, a review of the Municipality's by-laws and policies was undertaken by the Municipal Clerk's Department and the Municipal Solicitor. 2.3.1 By-laws: There are two Municipal regulatory by-laws that have provisions applicable to residential lot grading. Section 2.06 of the Property Standards By-law (2001- 070) requires property owners to maintain surface conditions of yards so as to prevent surface water run-off onto that of any neighbouring properties. Clause 4.1(d) of the Site Alteration By-law (2008-114) places restrictions on a person's ability to alter the grade of the land through the addition or removal of fill if such alteration will result in any change to an approved grading and drainage plan. From an enforcement standpoint, the difficulty with both of these by-laws is proving the pre-existing grade. Without clear evidence of the pre-existing grade (i.e. surveyed elevations from an Ontario Land Surveyor), it is extremely difficult to prove the degree of any grade alteration and its impact, if any, on drainage. Municipality of Clarington Report EGD-008-15 Page 5 Prosecutions under either by-law cannot succeed without such evidence. The Municipality does not have the professional resources to properly investigate and survey the lands. Additionally the timing of such alternations impacts staff's ability to act. Since the enactment of this By-law, the Municipal Law Enforcement Division has received 142 complaints regarding drainage. No charges have been laid in any of these situations due to the significant challenges faced by the Officers (i.e. expertise in the form of surveyors and drainage engineers, the delay between the actual site alteration and the filing of a complaint, and the difficulty in absolute determination of the cause of the issue). To lay a charge, or to even gain compliance, the situation must present as being obvious beyond a reasonable doubt that there is a recent change in grade causing the drainage issue. Enforcement of this by-law parallels that of the Noise By-law and the former fence viewing process, in that it requires expertise beyond that of the Municipal Law Enforcement Division and the Engineering Services Department. While not impossible, the Clerk's Department concurs that ability to enforce this by-law is exceptionally difficult and relies on the input of external expertise in the form of surveyors and drainage engineers. Such expertise requires a significant financial commitment on the part of the Municipality. 2.3.2 Policies: The Engineering Services Department has researched nearby municipalities' lot grading criteria to determine if our standards are sufficient. In this regard, it was concluded that Clarington's criteria meets or exceeds most other municipalities' standards for minimizing drainage impacts while maximizing property usage. Despite these findings, additional steps are being reviewed by the Engineering Services Department to enhance our criteria. They include: • Making a stronger effort to have surface water take the shortest routes; • Minimize surface water flowing through abutting property where feasible; • Minimize swale bends or alignment changes; • Provide educational pamphlets to new home purchasers, outlining the need to maintain existing drainage patterns; • Provide copies of original house siting plans (where available). This new policy will assist residents determine the extent of the problem and will aid a surveyor/landscaper in determining changes made and the simplest solution; • Pursuing any other drainage efficiency opportunities that may arise. Municipality of Clarington Report EGD-008-15 Page 6 3. Concurrence This report has been reviewed by Andrew Allison, Municipal Solicitor, and Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk, who concur with the recommendations. 4. Conclusion Lot grading problems, by their nature, will always be contentious. Attempting to intervene in determining the landscaping history, the cause of the problems and the cheapest solution is often an extremely difficult task due to the number of years that have passed, the need for surveying the lands and the homeowners' resources. For this reason, the Municipality leaves it to the neighbours to resolve between themselves, or resort to civil action if they deem it warranted. The Municipality cannot assume the role of the original engineer nor can the Municipality pursue investigations and solutions on behalf of the homeowners themselves. The Municipality's role continues to be a supportive one, limited to educating on the need to maintain proper drainage for your own property and abutting properties, and providing residents with the original grading information and basic advice where simple solutions are seen. Where issues are more extensive, the only solution may be litigation between the residents. In addition, it is recommended that the Engineering Services Department initiate a new step of providing both residents with copies of the original lot grading plans for their properties (if available). This will tend to encourage discussion between the residents based on facts, encouraging them to work cooperatively to determine a solution to their mutual benefit. If they choose to have some survey work done, the documentation will assist the surveyor in determining the best solution and litigation will be less likely. 5. Strategic Plan Application Not applicable Submitted by: Reviewed by:� �r Anthony S. Cannella, C.E.T. Franklin Wu Director of Director of Engineering Services Chief Administrative Officer ASC/NAC/nl/dw Attachments: Attachment 1 —Typical Master Grading Plan Detail —-----------------------— ANI 69.OZI W 0 29*/L L ZCI L I 'ANI LO'LLL' ----- ---- ---- LLI., ZIR'L 1. 99'L L L ZQ'6LL I IN O wr — ----------------- t7� ------ ----- 'ANI OVSLL LO'L L 'A NI l � Z-, z2-6 t.L 69*6LL Li,-OZL 99'OZL gg*OZL I ZVLZL L£-IZL I Lg-ZL --------------- 999 L L 'ANI 09*6LL 96'6tL :L I I 'ANI Z9-LLL 84-qLt 6L' LL LL'L L LL' Oz ---------------------------- 0 00 w £ " � i° of iwA °' i'vo � I_. �, 1. � � ,�. � L` /3 D�6tt I Z:-OZL gil-OZI Z9'OZL LR'OZL —E 6L•611 L2'6LL W 99-6LL CL*61L L6"6 L1 I 60-OZI L -- ----- -------- ---- ----- CD ZZ*2 L -0 > 0 Stt.-6LI 69-611 02-6LL LZ*OZL Oz, *9-OZL oo-LZL qrzt L L r SU M 0 ------ ji. co _•ANI M2 L I � cn 0