SUBDIVISION, BUILDING BYLAWS AND INSPECTION, LICENSING BYLAWS

Subdivision

the division of land into two or more legal parcels

-The process for subdividing land is governed by both the Land Title Act and the Local Government Act.

-The Land Title Act creates the position of the approving officer who consents to the subdivision of land; this consent is generally given by signing a subdivision plan prepared for the applicant by a British Columbia land surveyor.

-The officer will generally approve a subdivision if, in their judgment, it complies with the municipal subdivision control bylaw; may refuse to approve an application for subdivision approval if they consider that the deposit of the plan is against the public interest.

-only three grounds on which a court may review an approving officer’s decision:

• in bad faith;

• with intent to discriminate against any property owner; or

• made the refusal on a “specious and totally inadequate factual basis”.

-According to the Local Government Act, a subdivision bylaw may regulate the size, shape, and dimensions of parcels of land and the location, width, alignment, and grade of highways

-The Local Government Act provides that subdivision bylaws may require that the subdivider provide roads within the subdivision, as well as street lighting, underground wiring, water, sewer and drainage systems, and fire hydrants, all in accordance with standards established by bylaw.

Development Cost Charges (DCCs)

-Subdivision is one of the triggers for the payment of development cost charges (DCCs)

-DCCs are charges that may be payable by a developer of land to a local government in order to raise funds for the cost of construction, replacement and expansion of key municipal infrastructure components

-When a property is developed, additional demands are placed on these municipal services, and DCCs are one of the ways in which municipalities can recover those costs.

-issuance of a building permit (discussed below) may also trigger the payment of DCCs

-Instead of imposing DCCs, a local government may instead require a developer to manage and pay for certain infrastructure projects.

Community Amenity Contributions (CACs)

-In addition to DCCs, local governments in British Columbia sometimes negotiate community amenity contributions (CACs) with developers seeking rezoning.

-While DCCs are typically a standard calculation, a CAC is a negotiated agreement under which a developer agrees to make specified amenity contributions in the event that the local government decides to approve the developer’s rezoning application.

-These contributions can include the direct provision of amenities

-CACs must be mutually negotiated between developers and local governments.

BUILDING BYLAWS AND INSPECTION

-to protect public health and safety.

-administered in two ways:

1. anyone intending to construct, alter, repair, move or demolish a building, or install wiring, plumbing, or heating equipment, is required to obtain a building permit.
   - If the work complies with the bylaw, the building permit must be issued.

2. building inspectors are appointed by the local government to see that the work conforms to the plans that were approved when the permit was issued.
   -Inspections of existing buildings may also be made to see that they are kept in repair, that wiring and heating equipment is safe, and that the use of the building is not contrary to the zoning bylaw.

Compliance

-The BC Building Code (the “Code”) requires local governments to ensure that registered professionals (engineers and architects) are employed by the property owner to certify that the plans prepared for complex buildings (such as multiple family residential buildings, larger commercial and industrial buildings, and institutional buildings) comply with the Code, and that the buildings have been constructed in accordance with the approved plans.

-These certifications are ordinarily required to be in place before the local government authorizes the occupancy of the building, ensuring that the certifications will then be available to prospective buyers of the property.

-The effect of this approach to building regulation is that, if there is a defect in the building, the building owner may have a legal remedy against the registered professional who designed the building and inspected its construction

Contravention and Enforcement

-Contravention of the building bylaw may involve the imposition of a fine or, more importantly, an order passed by bylaw requiring the demolition, removal or upgrading of the offending work, or stopping any work in progress.

-Generally, orders requiring a property owner to spend money to bring a building up to standard will only be made where there is some hazard to the public.

-The Community Charter allows notices to be noted on title, warning potential buyers or mortgagees (i.e., lenders) of Code or bylaw contraventions.

LICENSING BYLAWS

-Municipalities require that all businesses in their municipality obtain business licences and may also regulate how those businesses are operated.

-While municipalities generally cannot directly prohibit types of businesses, they often do so indirectly by establishing very high fees for certain types of licences