Staff Report - Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106, 2023 - Amendment

PUBLIC NOTIFICATION BYLAW NO. 1106, 2023 - AMENDMENT

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council consider an amendment to Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106 that will replace direct delivery with electronic delivery, include a minimum advance notification period, and provide publication as an additional optional means of notice.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

• Option #2: Delete “a.) Direct Delivery of Public Notice” and retain use of the Town’s website and social media as the two legislatively required publication means.
• Option #3: Repeal the Bylaw and revert to section 94 of the Community Charter. This option would see a return for all legislatively required notices to be advertised in a publication (2 consecutive weeks typically) and the accompanying costs (size dependant, but typically $1,600 to $2,600/issue).
• Option #4: Retain status quo and conduct direct delivery for every public notice required at the estimated cost of $8,000 - $9,000, not including staff time.

PURPOSE:

To propose an amendment to Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106, 2023 with a view to improving efficiencies and reducing Town costs.

SUMMARY OF ISSUE:

With changes to provincial legislation in late 2021 and early 2022, Council adopted a public notification bylaw to specify the methods of notification to be used to communicate legislatively required notices for items such as permissive tax exemptions, land/asset sales, elections, tax sale, Official Community Plan (OCP)/zoning bylaw amendments, and variance applications (in situations where hearings are either required or not) (see Attachment “A” - Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106).

In addition to the public notice board, Council supported uploading official notices to the Town’s website and social media as well as direct delivery (mail out) to persons and businesses in the area affected by the subject matter. In addition, Council no longer required newspaper ads. It is the direct notice mail out that is posing challenges for some Town-related matters at this time.

Specifically, the October 1, 2024 Council agenda includes consideration of Tax Exemption Bylaw (Places of Worship and Community Halls) No. 1149. Prior to adoption – required by October 31, 2024 – this Bylaw must be the subject of public notice as set out in section 227 of the Community Charter.

Under the current Bylaw No. 1106, this notification will entail a mail out to every property in the Town of View Royal as, unlike development applications that follow notification distances established in the Town’s Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009, there is no boundary delineating the “area affected by the subject matter”.

The result of a Town-wide mail out is that each mail out will cost approximately $8,000 - $9,000, excluding staff time, and will be a process and cost incurred for every legislatively required item such as permissive tax exemptions, land/asset sales, elections, and tax sale.

The legislative requirements for mailing of notices for OCP and zoning bylaw amendments and variance applications is stipulated in sections 466, 467 and 499 of the Local Government Act. Therefore, the proposed change to Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106 – to replace mail outs with the Town’s existing email subscription service as a method of notification – will in no way change the public notice requirements for these types of land use matters. Instead, the proposed change will only affect public notifications for non-development related matters, such as permissive tax exemptions, tax sale, elections, and disposition of assets/land.

Legal counsel has indicated that the mail method for matters that affect all constituents rather than a neighbourhood or specified area is cumbersome and not practical. Staff were unable to identify any other municipality that uses this direct delivery approach as an alternative means of notification for matters of a general or broad nature.

Also included in the proposed amendment is a requirement to provide notice at least seven (7) days before the matter for which the notice pertains (the current bylaw does not stipulate a minimum advance notification period) and that a published notice (newspaper ad) may be provided as an additional means as considered appropriate. Attachment “B” is a redline version of Bylaw No. 1106 showing the proposed amendments.

ANALYSIS:

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

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

• Strategic Plan: Organizational Excellence – decision-making processes to be transparent and responsive; enhancing customer service and related engagement capacity

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

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

[X] Inform [ ] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower [ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

Tax Exemption Bylaw (Places of Worship and Community Halls) Bylaw No. 1149 must be adopted by October 31, 2024 to be effective for the 2025 tax year. The Town must give notice in accordance with its Public Notification Bylaw prior to final adoption of this permissive tax exemption bylaw.

CONCURRENCE:

REVIEWED BY:

ATTACHMENTS:

• Attachment “A” Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106, 2023
• Attachment “B” Public Notification Bylaw No. 1106, 2023 - Redline Version