URBS 393 Test 1

Wrote “the housing problems in north american cities”

Said the main evils the poor faced were: lack of light in homes, lack of fresh air, unsanitary conditions (no plumbing), overcrowding, excessive rents, lack of place, exploitative working conditions

Sources of this suffering: neglect and greed

How to address this problem:
no new dwelling could be erected without light, ventilations, sanitation
Already existing tenements be maintained
Proper regulation by the state of what buildings could be constructed
Eg. proper restrictive legislation and enforcement of it

Wrote a book accounting living conditions in lower east side- “How the other half lives”
Could now be documented because of flash photography

Central staircase, 3-4 bedrooms, only central room would have access to air and light, 2 families
Yard used for bathroom, laundry, play
Rear tenements: can not be access through street only back alley, cheapest, no light or air
Infectious diseases

Land use restrictions and bulk restrictions to entire municipality
Height related to the width of the street

Actual motivation: real estate developers were losing value on their properties for being close to tenements

Buildings taper inwards to allow light and air

Protect single family districts indirectly- privilege single family homes, protect segregation on single family homes- idea of multi family housing being evil

Restrictive covenant: was very piecemeal as it dealt with only a certain properties
Unable to control what developers did nearby

As a planning tool it was very ineffective
Was not retroactive- only 1916 onwards→ most of the terrible housing were already built and it did not change the conditions in those

case made zoning constitutional

Village of Euclid was concerned that the growth of Cleveland was going to negatively affect them so they wanted to implement zoning
Supreme court agreed with Village of Euclid that it was constitutional to limit growth through zoning

Police Power
Supreme court expanded to issue of apartments (multi family) not being near single family homes( district/exclusionary zoning)

Nuisance principle: how I use my property should not limit another to use their property

Ruling: apartments are parasitic to single family homes
Establishment of one leads to another etc
Increase noise, traffic, parking problems, no quiet open spaces to play → until “character of neighbourhood is lost”

Power to pass bylaws to protect the health and safety of citizens
Force people to do things that are for the public good

medieval cities
Ex Quebec City

18th century the grid starts taking hold

Influence of market and rationality of engineers had a drastic impact

Issues in 19th century
Massive immigration
Terrible housing conditions, overcrowding, and risk of epidemics and fires
Industrial Cities → Cities became nodes of power with small sections with poverty

Principles of garden cities are manifested in all early planning efforts

Strict separation of land use
Publicecreation at center, surrounded by housing, industry on periphery, railway, and surrounded by green belt

Ideas that caught on
Lessening density outside city
Having cities bound by green belts
Having a comprehensive plan for an entire settlement → creating a town from scratch that is zoned from outset

Went from province to province to help them develop their legislation
Very influenced by garden cities, diagonal street pattern, boulevards, central square

92.8: allows provinces to make laws pertaining to municipal institutions
Only mention of municipalities in constitution
92.13: property and civil rights in province
Ex zoning creates issues → province has delegated to municipal
91.1: Gives federal jurisdiction over navigation and shipping

1. Precise defined territories
2. Mechanism (elected council that can make legally enforceable decisions)
3. List of governmental functions that are in their jurisdiction

If they do something that take powers not explicitly given to them- Ultra Vires
The legality of the actions of any bodies with limited jurisdiction is open to attack on the ground that their actions are ultra vires
Only have powers explicitly given to them – any other actions is open to legal action

If a piece of legislation that a municipality adopts that conflicts with a provincial/federal legislation on same subject, the provincial/federal legislation will be paramount (prevails and renders the provincial legislation inoperative)

Ex: BC vs Lafarge
Federal crown chose to create it own port lands land use regulations that were inconsistent with vancouver zoning by-laws
Court applied the paramountcy doctrine and decided that the federal rules trumped the zoning by laws

A body/person to whom a function is delegated to is not allowed to delegate this unless the legislation allows it
Does not apply to federal/ provincial legislation

Ex: zoning by-laws must be clear in application - because Bonnie - the bylaw interpretation officer- has no power of discretion - either your application conforms or it doesn't
Looks at 1. Grid , 2. Zoning map, 3. Context of by-law

Even when a municipality is authorize to deal with a subject matter it may still be powerless to enforce it laws to certain peopleodies because they have Inter-jurisdictional immunity
Ex: BNA says no land owned by Canada (federal) can be property taxed, airport is free from local bylaws

Power to …
1. Plan
2. Taxation
3. Borrow
- Contracts and municipal investments
4. Expropriate land
- Eminent domain
- Can force people to sell their land- only when it is for the public good and must pay market price
5. Condemn buildings- health and safety reasons
6. Service provisions

1. The person alleging infringement of a protected right or freedom- has the onus to establish
A. that the legislation or gov action by its purpose or by its effect violates an interest protected within the deifnition of rights or freedoms in the charter and;
B. that the violation of the protected rights and freedoms was caused by a government entity that is subject to the Charter

2. If an infringement upon protected rights and freedoms is found, then the onus shifts to the government – to establish that the limit imposed is justifiable and is a reasonable limit within a free and democratic society

Stage 1:
Government must establish that the legislation or governmental action addresses a pressing and substantial objective or problem;

If so, Stage 2:
A) rational connection between the legislation and the pressing and substantial objective;
B as little infringement on right as possible in achieving that objective;
C) proportionality between the effects of the measures or legislation (which are limiting charter rights) and the objective that has been identified of sufficient importance

Ex: Freitag v Penetanguishene (1999)
Would open council meeting reciting the bible, Freitag brought it to court
Found that reciting this was to impose a christian tone to the meeting which is contrary to 2(a)

Ex: mouvement Laïque Québécois v ville de Saguenay
Council chambers started council meetings with crossing themselves and with a prayer

By-laws limiting location and erection of signs, sex shops, adult activities → have all been challenged with section 2 (b)
City of Edmonton v Forget
Passed a by-law prohibiting place of posters on utilities poles and other city infrastructure
Forget argued that putting a poster on a pole for political
Ruling: allowed to use public property for expression unless that violates others

Law can not interfer with right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person
Law must violate fundamental freedom of justice
Has to do with license and regulation of businesses
City of red deer
Passed by-law that required a license by anyone in dating/ escort business and in order to obtain license they had to live in city for 6 months
Main objective was to stop sex workers during holidays

R v Bickel
Municipality passed by-law allowing building inspector to inspect at any time to see if they complied with by-law
Was upheld in context of compliance of zoning and building by-laws and criminality
But limited scope of investigation

Most important decision-making body in a municipality;
Historically, acted primarily as administrative bodies
Much of the power (legislative authority) granted to municipal councils must be exercised within the confines of policies established or determined by the provincial government;

Thus, municipalities function to a large extent as the administrators at the local level of provincial policies

Elected councils – control the legislative decisions of the municipality
They are delegated this power and they can not sub delegate this (unless told)
Legislative authority = i.e. the ability to make legal decisions that are binding upon citizens
Legal decision-making authority given to the council by enabling legislation (e.g. Municipal Act, Planning Act)
- Cannot sub-delegate such decisions to an official or body other than council;
Councils pass by-laws regulating everything from planning, to zoning, to animal control

Quasi-judicial = the council has powers and procedures resembling those of a court of law or judge, and is obligated to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action.

Ex:
Settling disputes between parties when passing a zoning bylaw;
Granting of a municipal license.

At large system: Voters across the municipality as a whole elect the entire council
Used more in rural areas

Ward system: Municipalities are divided into wards modelled after the constituencies at the federal or provincial level of government, voters elect councillors in each ward.
More diverse city councils, represent minorities, but where boundaries are drawn can have an effect of which values of represented (gerrymandering)
Most municipalities use this

Administrative powers
Causing the laws municipality to be implemented;
Supervising and inspecting the conduct of all officials;

Legal powers of the mayor
Does not have substantial legal powers beyond those of a councillor.
No specific legal duties guide were in to use their power

Provide a leadership role in the development of policy;
Committee can only exercise those powers that are delegated to it by statute;
Cannot make independent decisions;
Play an important advisory role – making recommendations to the full council;

Roles of the Clerk:
Records of council decisions;
Copies of by-laws and resolutions;
Providing such info to citizens;
Clerk = central bureaucrat within the municipal structure

Commissioners with various types of expertise
Examples: Treasurer, Commissioner of Works (water and sewer), Commissioner of Roads, Commissioner of Planning, etc.

Special purpose bodies are mandated for a number of specific functions
Ex: policing, local public health, libraires, transportation services, managing parks and other public facilities

Key point: both SPB and municipalities are creatures of the province – i.e. created by higher levels of government through enabling legislation – therefore both have distinct responsibilities spelled out in the statutes.

1. The boundary problem = issues of finance, planning and service delivery;
Toronto did not have the funds to expand the city as the periphery were quite rural and had no tax base

2. The infrastructure problem = issues involving basic infrastructure and land-use planning.
Roads, water mains, etc had to run beyond municipal boundaries

upper-upper: metro plan = PMAD
- communaute metropolitaine de montreal (CMM), CMQ (quebec city) , CMG-H (gatineau, not mtl)

upper-tier: RCM plan (SAD in french)
- Regional government = regional county municipality (RCM)

lower-tier: city of Montreal
lower-lower: boroug

only 2 tiered in other municipalities

Water supply:
Establishment, construction, operation and extension of the water supply system, ability to pass by-laws for regulating all aspects of supply.

Sewage disposal:
Collecting and receiving sewage and dealing with sewage treatment and disposal

Generally speaking – upper-tier municipalities are created to deal with HARD SERVICES – water, sewage and transportation.

Goals: are generalized statements of intentions
Objectives: state operational procedures through which the stated goals might be achieved

Objectives vs. policies:
Both have a subject of planning concern and a recommended course of action for achieving a desired result
KEY DIFFERENCE: Policies should be more precisely defined than objectives and more closely adapted to the particularities of the study area.

Goals → objectives → policies

1. Subdivision control
Decide parcels

2. Zoning sets out how it can be used and permissible use of land, permissible

In 90s regional govs under attacks as they were created for efficiency and this was not happening for some services
Legislation force those under 2 tiers to become one government
Montreal, quebec and haul
All borughs in city of montreal → not popular (did not want to share their tax base with whole island)
In 2006, Jean Charais demerged certain boroughs (mostly west island)

Upper- Upper tier Municipality: Communauté Metropolitan de Montréal

Upper-tier- Montreal Urban agglomeration (the whole island)
Created January 1, 2006 = after demerger
Mayor of Montréal + 30 elected officials representing all the municipalities on the island of Montréal

Lower tier municipality- city of montreal
Lower-lower tier: borough/Arrondissement

This was relatively late
Begins with construction standards (security, nuisances), street plans, sanitary infrastructure

1930 – Zoning powers
1959 – Master plan (Plan d’urbanisme)
1968 - Report of the La Haye Commission
Looked into developing planning law
1972-1978 – process of drafting, dialoguing, revising the proposed Act Respecting Land Use Planning and Development
1979 – Adoption into law - LUPDA

American (policed urbanization)
Planning local responsibility
Mechanism: Zoning and the land-use plan, Greater importance of by-laws compared to overall plan
controls/ enforcement: By property owners themselves, Courts - regulation of conflicts between private interests

European model (managed urbanization)
Planning a responsibility shared by multiple levels of gov’t
Mechanism:
National plans --> Regional plans --> Local plans
Supremacy of the plan ≠ bylaws
By-laws used to bring situation into conformity with existing plan
controls/enforcement: By administration, By administrative tribunals

Major reforms in Québec including:
Provincial management of schools and hospitals
Major investments in modern infrastructure such as airports and highways

New policies and laws incl. Land Use Planning and Development Act (1979) i

(hybrid approach)
KEY ELEMENT - importance accorded to coordination and inter-municipal and inter-governmental consultation – which is enshrined in the law through the creation of the REGIONAL COUNTY MUNICIPALITY

Mechanisms:
- Rests at the same time on overarching orientations, land uses, and major infrastructures/public facilities
- Relies on the principle of conformity:

controls/enforcement: More political than administrative – notably the creation of the RCM

Acts in between provincial gov, ministers, civil servants and local municipalities
Main obligatory responsibility = creation/amendment of Regional Land Use and Development Plan (Schema d’amenagement et developpement)

RCM has real municipal status

86 RCM in Quebec

In Montreal, the role of the RCM is instead fulfilled by the Communaute Metropolitan de Montreal – Montreal Metropolitan community

1. Management of urbanization
Improvement of natural and built environments in urbanized areas
Strategic spatial planning

2. Specific planning of the territory to determine an integrated evaluation of resources
Management of land in the public domain
Protection of and planning for the forestry sector
Access to wildlife areas and recreational areas
Development of the territory for tourism purposes
Transportation infrastructure and regional development

3. The strengthening of municipal structures

S. 158 – Special Planning Zones (SPZ)
PURPOSE: to solve a developmental or environmental problem deemed to be serious enough that it warrants provincial intervention

Order to create a SPZ must contain the following:
1. Descriptionoundaries of the area concerned;
2. The objectives of the SPZ
3. Land use planning and development controls that apply within the SPZ
4. Designation of the authority responsible for enforcing the SPZ land use planning framework
5. The terms and conditions of amendment, review or repeal of the applicable land use planning and development controls.

S. 165.2

If Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks – thinks that a particular sub-division or building by-law of a municipality:
fails to comply with S. 2.1 of Environmental Quality Act; or
fails to consider or provide adequate protection for lakeshores, riverbanks, littoral zones and/or floodplains;
Minister can request the municipality to amend it.

2 types of zones where floods damaged
Strong current zones- change of recurrence 0-20 years
Weak current zones (chance of recurrence 20-100)

Declared SPZ, affected 25 municipalities
Prov decided to declare SPZ for heavy flood zone

Objectives
To give people whole house was flooded opportunity to repair/ reconstruct
To encourage reintegration of household into their home environment
To avoid additional financial and physiological prejudice

All repairs & reconstruction of buildings destroyed, deemed dangerous, or that lost at least 50% of their value is forbidden in heaviest current zone (flooding every 0-2 years)

All repairs and reconstruction of buildings destroyed, deemed dangerous, or that lost at least 50% of their value is permitted in the heavy current zone (where flooding occurs every 2-20 years) with the following conditions:
The affected building is housing;
The reconstruction is done by the owner in the 12 months following the declaration of the SPZ;

The reconstruction includes certain preventative norms.

Preventative standards/norms set by Provincial Government in SPZ
Reconstruction includes certain preventative norms
No new construction permitted in the 0-20 year flood zone, except for certain construction work intended for public access purposes or for municipal, industrial, commercial or public purposes that are required to port activities,

1 need to take integrated approach to regional problems
2 need for planning to take place in coordination with adjoining areas

Planning for watersheds
Planning for rural land resources
Planning in economic development regions
- Mostly in areas whose economic focuses around natural resources
Planning for large urban regions

1. Regional planning deals with large areas
2. Regional planning is concerned with the location of activities and resources
3. The scope of regional planning includes social, economic and environmental factors
4. Planning regions have no constitutional basis

S. 2.2. - Every metropolitan community is responsible for creating a metropolitan plan (PMAD)
S. 2.3 - Every regional county municipality is responsible for creating a RCM plan (SAD)
S. 2.3: Both metropolitan community or RCM must begin with adoption of a strategic vision statement:
- Cultural; Economic; Environmental; and Social development of its territory.

Definition of policy directions, objectives and criteria for the following areas:

Land transportation planning
Protection/enhancement of natural and built environment
Identification of areas for integrated land use and transportation planning
Definition of minimum density
Development of agricultural activities
Territories reserved for urbanisation
Areas with specific planning constraints
Identification of metropolitan level facilities

General aim of land development policy for the territory
Policies of land use for different parts of territory
Urbanization perimeters
Zones where development is restricted due to environmental hazards and/or environmental protection
Identification of principal thoroughfares
Identification of historic sights
Organization of land transport – including location of major transport infrastructure
Identification of other major existing infrastructure
Indicate areas where new major infrastructure is planned

Must revise regional plan every 5 years
56.3 first draft or revised plan must come after 3 years
56.4 must conform of the aims of the minister
120 days for RCM
180 days for Metropolitan

Concordance by laws: after 6 months of plan, every municipality shall adopt concordance by laws
Any bylaws local municipality is responsible for needs to match plan
S. 58- 59: 6 months for amendments and 2 years for revisions (big changes)

Interim control: free development while your thinking
Just affects what they are trying to stop going forward
5 years

2 steps:

1. Ss. 62 – Must pass an Interim Control Resolution – which may prohibit:
New uses of land;
New structures;
2. Ss. 64 – After adopting an Interim Control Resolution – the council of responsible body may adopt a Interim Control By-law and may prescribe special rules for zoning, subdivision or building and the issuance of permits–

Ss. 68 – Effects of Interim Control Bylaw –
No building permit
No Subdivision permit
Ss. 71 – I.C. by-law ceases to have effect (if not repealed previously) from the date of coming into force of the last concordance by-laws required to take account of the amendment or revision of the RCM or metropolitan plan

1. Importance of the built environment
2. Patterns and processes of local development
3. Establishing good planning principles
4. Coordinations
5. Need for policy
- Community or local plan = essentially a statement of public policy with regards to the physical built environment in effect stating:
“In these kinds of situations, we will act this way for these reasons.”

PRIMARY PURPOSE: to define the general location, character, and extent of desirable future development and to provide a guide against which detailed proposals can be evaluated

Policy determination = Determining what the policy approach of a municipality is

Policy implementation = 2 main levels of action

1. Legislative – passing of local by-laws based on the principles and policies of the plan
Zoning, subdivision control and development control
2. Routine council decisions