Amendments to Zoning Bylaw and Development Procedures Bylaw – Landscape Security and Application Procedures (Staff Report)

AMENDMENTS TO ZONING BYLAW AND DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES BYLAW – LANDSCAPE SECURITY AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council delete section 6.8 in Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, which states the following:

“Prior to issuance of a Development Permit, the Permittee shall deposit with the Town a bond in the amount specified within Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958 of the estimated cost of landscaping and screening installation to ensure that all such works are completed in accordance with the approved Permit. The Permittee shall maintain all landscaping and screening works in a manner satisfactory to the Approving Officer for a minimum period of three years. As security to guarantee the said maintenance, an amount as specified within Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958 of the installation bond referred to here.”

AND THAT Council amend Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009 as follows:

i. Add a new section titled “Landscape Security” and include the following requirements: a. A landscape security shall be deposited with the Town in the amount specified within Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958 based on an acceptable cost estimate for on-site landscaping and screening installation that is satisfactory to the Director of Development Services as a condition of a land use permit. b. The landscape security may be reduced proportionately as the areas of the site are completed and accepted by the Director of Development Services. c. Upon completion of the landscape construction, planting and screening, the Town may withhold ten percent (10%) of the landscape security for one year to ensure plantings become established and remain healthy. d. If landscape construction, planting and screening is not completed within one year following issuance of the occupancy permit, or an unsafe condition or damage to the natural environment has resulted because of the violation of the permit, the Town may draw upon the security for the purposes of entering upon the subject property and completing the landscape construction, planting and screening, or undertake works to correct the unsafe condition or correct the damage to the natural environment.

ii. Add a new section titled “Cancellation of Application” and include the following provisions: a. If an application has been accepted by the Director of Development Services for processing and further information from the applicant is requested after review by the Director of Development Services, or Council, the applicant is required to provide the requested information within six (6) months. If the applicant does not provide the requested information within six (6) months of the request, the Town will provide final written notification to the applicant and if the requested information is not provided within three (3) months of the final written notification, the application will be closed. b. If an application is declined by Council resolution, the application will be closed.

iii. Amend section 7. Reapplication by adding the following provisions: a. An applicant wishing to reopen a closed application, in accordance with 2(ii)(a) above, must submit a new application and pay the applicable fee prescribed in Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958, but the one year waiting period for reapplications under section 7 does not apply. b. An applicant wishing to reopen a closed application must submit a new application in accordance with the timeline in sections 7.1 and 7.2 and pay the application fee prescribed in Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958.

AND FURTHER THAT Council give first, second and third reading to Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1161, 2025 and Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009, Amendment Bylaw No. 1162, 2025.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

THAT Council decline the proposed amendments to Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014 and Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 900.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to present Council with proposed amendments to Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014 and Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 900 related to landscape security deposits, cancellation of applications, and reapplication procedures.

BACKGROUND:

Landscape Security Deposits

An applicant may be required to provide a landscape cost estimate for on-site landscaping and screening, as a condition of development permit. The Town collects a landscape security deposit in an amount of 120% of the cost estimate prior to the issuance of a building permit. The security deposit is released following a landscape inspection, completion of landscaping deficiencies, and maintenance period.

In November 2020, Council adopted Bylaw No. 1057, which amended Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014 by adding the following requirement:

“6.8 Prior to issuance of a Development Permit, the Permittee shall deposit with the Town a bond in the amount specified within Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958 of the estimated cost of landscaping and screening installation to ensure that all such works are completed in accordance with the approved Permit. The Permittee shall maintain all landscaping and screening works in a manner satisfactory to the Approving Officer for a minimum period of three years. As security to guarantee the said maintenance, an amount as specified within Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 958 of the installation bond referred to here.”

In October 2021, Council adopted Bylaw No. 1078, which amended the Fees and Charges Bylaw by adding a refundable security of 120% of a provided landscape estimate for the cost of works required to install on-site landscaping and screening in a development. The security is collected prior to issuance of a building permit.

Since the adoption of Bylaw No. 1078, some large mixed-use and multi-unit residential developments have been approved and recently completed in the Town, which includes landscaping and screening in accordance with the approved development permit plans. For large developments, the landscape security deposits held by the Town as cash deposits or letter of credits can be significant, with amounts of up to approximately $500,000. Currently, the Fees and Charges Bylaw requires the Town to withhold the entire 120% refundable deposit for a minimum maintenance period of three years, which is inconsistent with other Town bylaws and other current practices in the Capital Region.

For comparison, the Town’s previous Land Use Bylaw required that the Town retain 25% of the installation bond (i.e., landscape security deposit) for the duration of the three-year maintenance period. Whereas, the Town’s Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw No. 935, 2017 requires the applicant to provide a works and services security of 120% of the estimated costs and the security is reduced to 10% for the duration of the maintenance period of three years for off-site landscaping.

Cancellation of Application and Reapplication

Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009 does not include any procedures concerning applications that address situations where the applicants are not responding to staff or Council comments, despite staff following up with the applicants, and applications are stalled. To provide clarity for staff, Council and the public, prevent applications from becoming stale, and address staff time and resources, staff recommend changes to the Development Procedures Bylaw by adding provisions relating to the cancellation of applications and reapplication.

ANALYSIS:

Landscape Security Deposits

Retaining the refundable landscape security deposit at 120% of the total cost estimate is not typical practice in local government. Many municipalities release the full security deposit after the on-site landscaping is completed in accordance with the approved plans and following landscape inspections. It is also common practice to reduce the security once the landscaping and screening is completed and accepted by the Director. Some municipalities may retain a reduced security deposit for a specified maintenance period if there is a concern regarding the on-site landscaping.

For on-site landscaping pertaining to a development permit, the Town has not utilized maintenance security deposits towards correcting or completing landscaping to date. This is likely the result of any on-site landscaping and screening deficiencies, such as faulty irrigation, dead trees and/or shrubs, lack of planting, etc., that were discovered during landscape inspections being dealt with immediately by the developer so that the security deposit could be refunded. For larger developments, there is often large sums of money tied up in security deposits that may have implications on future financing of projects if the Town chooses to withhold the full 120% of the cost estimate for three years.

As noted above, the Town’s Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw requires the applicant to provide a works and services security of 120% of the estimated costs and the security is reduced to 10% for the duration of the maintenance period of three years for off-site landscaping. It is recommended that a similar approach is applied to landscape security deposits for land use permits. The process associated with landscape security deposits should also be embedded in the Development Procedures Bylaw and not the Zoning Bylaw where it currently resides. To ensure that there are clear procedures in place to administer landscape security deposits, the following amendments to the Zoning Bylaw and Development Procedures Bylaw are being proposed:

a. Delete section 6.8 in the Zoning Bylaw by removing the requirements relating to landscape security deposits and add these provisions to the Development Procedures Bylaw. b. Allow for the security deposit for landscaping and screening to be reduced proportionately as the areas of the site are completed and accepted by the Director. c. Upon completion of the landscape construction, planting and screening, the Town may withhold ten percent (10%) of the security for one year to ensure plantings become established and remain healthy. It is recommended that the maintenance period is reduced from three years to one year as this is sufficient time to determine if the private landscaping is established and the future owners are maintaining the landscaping on-site. A reduced maintenance period would also minimize the administrative burden to manage maintenance security deposits in the Town. d. If landscape construction, planting and screening is not completed within one year following issuance of the occupancy permit, or an unsafe condition or damage to the natural environment has resulted because of the violation of the permit, the Town may draw upon the security for the purposes of entering upon the subject property and completing the landscape construction, planting and screening, or undertake works to correct the unsafe condition or correct the damage to the natural environment.

Cancellation of Application and Reapplication

The Development Procedures Bylaw does not include any procedures concerning development applications where the applicants are not responding to staff or Council comments, despite staff following up with the applicants several times, and applications are not moving forward. Furthermore, if an application is cancelled, there would need to be procedures in place if an applicant would like to reapply. To provide clarity for staff, Council and the public, prevent applications from becoming stale, and address staff time and resources, staff recommend the following additions to the Development Procedures Bylaw:

a. If an application has been accepted by the Director of Development Services for processing and further information from the applicant is requested after review by the Director or Council, the applicant is required to provide the requested information within six (6) months. If the applicant does not provide the requested information within six (6) months of the request, the Town will provide final written notification to the applicant and if the requested information is not provided within three (3) months of the final written notification, the file will be closed. b. If an application is declined by Council resolution, the file will be closed. c. An applicant wishing to reopen a closed file, in accordance with a. above, must submit a new application and pay the applicable fee prescribed in the Fees and Charges Bylaw, but the one year waiting period for reapplications under section 7 of the Development Procedures Bylaw would not apply in this instance. d. An applicant wishing to reopen a closed file must submit a new application in accordance with the timeline in sections 7.1 and 7.2 of the Development Procedures Bylaw (i.e., wait one full year or receive a resolution of Council for reapplication) and pay the application fee prescribed in the Fees and Charges Bylaw.

Amendment Bylaws

Staff have prepared Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1161, 2025 and Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009, Amendment Bylaw No. 1162, 2025 to address the proposed changes discussed above. Council may wish to consider giving first, second and third reading on the Bylaws at the November 18, 2025, Council meeting.

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

• Community Impact: Provides clarity to applicants and property purchasers.
• Financial Implication: There are no financial implications associated with the Town.
• Inter-governmental Relations Impact: There are no inter-governmental Relations impacts.

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

• Strategic Plan: N/A
• Official Community Plan: N/A
• Other Policy Documents: N/A

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

☐ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower ☒ N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

There are no time constraints for the Town.

CONCURRENCE:

REVIEWED BY:

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009
2. Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1161, 2025
3. Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009, Amendment Bylaw No. 1162, 2025