NOTICE OF MOTION Date: June 2, 2016 To: Mayor and Council From: Councillor Brian Skakun Subject: Cost Recovery for Repeated Calls for Services related to Nuisances Attachment: None RECOMMENDATION: That Council direct Administration to report back on the possibility of Council adopting a bylaw to address the recovery of RCMP and staff costs from the owners of properties where there have been repeated calls for service related to bylaw infractions or other nuisances. DISCUSSION: Council held a special meeting on May 25, 2016 to consider an appeal by the owner of the Connaught Motor Inn in connection with a three month suspension of its business licence. There were numerous grounds cited by Administration forits decision to suspend the business licence, including repeated calls for service from the RCMP and Bylaw Services related to nuisances, disturbances and other bylaw infractions. In particular, the RCMP say they have been called to that property about 750 times since 2012. Some municipal Councils in BC have adopted bylaws to recover staff and RCMP costs associated with responding to such repeated calls for service at problem properties. If the owner does not pay the invoices submitted to recover the costs, then it may be possible to collect the costs by adding them to the owner?s property tax bill. I am recommending that Administration be asked to report back to Council on this issue, including recommendations on what bylaw amendments or new bylaws could be prepared for Council?s consideration to enable cost recovery for repeated calls for service to problem properties. y?ully ubmitted, Councillor Brian Skakun DATE: DECEMBER 29, 2017 TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL NAME AND TITLE: WALTER BABICZ, GENERAL MANAGER OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SUBJECT: City of Prince George Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw ATTACHMENTS: Notice of Motion from Councillor Skakun RECOMMENDATION: 1. THAT Council grant first three readings to City of Prince George Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 8940, 2018. PURPOSE: In response to the attached Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Skakun, Council passed a resolution directing Administration to report back for the purpose of Council adopting a bylaw to address the recovery of RCMP and staff costs from the owners of properties where there have been repeated calls for service related to bylaw infractions or other nuisances. The purpose of this report is to recommend that Council grant first three readings to City of Prince George Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 (“Bylaw No. 8940”). POLICY / REGULATORY ANALYSIS: Bylaw No. 8940 fully addresses the issue raised in Councillor Skakun’s attached Notice of Motion. Bylaw No. 8940 is designed to allow the City to recover the costs of RCMP, bylaw enforcement staff, fire department staff and other staff attendance at properties that have been determined to be “nuisance” properties. Vehicle and equipment costs involved in the staff attendances are also recoverable. Bylaw No. 8940 would provide the City with yet another tool to address problematic properties, in addition to the remedial action orders and business licence suspension processes that Council is already familiar with. With respect to the difference between Bylaw No. 8940 and the matters that can be addressed by remedial action orders under the Community Charter, remedial action orders are limited to things such as buildings and structures that are hazardous or so dilapidated or unclean as to be offensive to the community. In contrast, Bylaw No. 8940 would be directed more at conduct or behaviour of owners and occupiers of property which give rise to or cause a nuisance. If the source of the nuisance is the physical condition of a building or structure as opposed to the conduct of the owners or occupants of the building, then the appropriate remedy would still be to proceed with a remedial action order under the Community Charter. In summary, the proposed Bylaw No. 8940 does the following: (a) prohibits the use of land by an owner or occupier in a manner that creates a nuisance; (b) requires the owner or occupier of land to abate any nuisance that they create or allow to occur on the property that they own or occupy; Document Number: 451224 (c) provides City Council with the authority to order the owner or occupier of premises to abate a nuisance on or emanating from the premises; (d) authorizes the City through its employees, the RCMP or contractors to enter onto property and to abate a nuisance at the cost of the owner/occupier, where an owner/occupier fails to abate the nuisance (once having been ordered to do so by City Council); (e) sets out, in Schedule “A”, a schedule of the hourly fees/rates that would be used to determine the cost of abatement that the owner/occupier is responsible for; and (f) provides that the City may, amongst other things, recover the cost of abating a nuisance in the same manner as property taxes. As noted above, Bylaw No. 8940 provides City Council with the authority to order the owner or occupier of premises to abate a nuisance on or emanating from the premises. Before that order is made, the owner must be given an opportunity to be heard by Council. The process would be similar to a remedial action order reconsideration (appeal) hearing with Council. This is to satisfy the common law requirements of natural justice and procedural fairness. What this means is that before the City can start charging for RCMP, fire department, bylaw enforcement, or other staff attendance at the property, the situation will need to have escalated to the point where City staff consider the matter serious enough to warrant Council’s involvement. In other words, Bylaw No. 8940 does not allow the City to send a bill to any property owner on a “one off” basis simply because the RCMP responded to an isolated complaint. When Council is asked to consider making an order, City staff will need to ensure that there is an adequate factual basis (including statements from complainants, RCMP reports, bylaw enforcement reports, etc.) for Council to find that the activities complained of do in fact amount to a legal “nuisance”. Once an order is made by Council, on a going-forward basis the City may start sending the owner of the nuisance property a bill for staff attendance if and when additional complaints are received, provided that staff take action to “abate” the nuisance (i.e. by attending in response to a complaint and breaking up a loud altercation, noisy party, etc.). The City would not be able to bill retroactively for such attendances prior to City Council making the order. If Council proceeds with adoption of Bylaw No. 8940, Administration will consider implementing a procedure that will provide guidance in future cases when staff are considering whether to bring a particular property to Council’s attention for a nuisance abatement order. For example, as a matter of policy, the City might decide that a property will be brought forward to City Council if more than “x” complaints have been received about a specific property within a particular period of time, and where the complaints have been investigated and found to be substantiated, and where the RCMP and/or City staff consider there to be a serious enough concern about public order and safety to warrant action being taken by Council under this bylaw. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Bylaw No. 8940 would provide the City with an additional tool to address problematic nuisance properties. It is recommended that Council grant first three readings to City of Prince George Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 8940, 2018. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: ________________________________________________________________ Walter Babicz, General Manager of Administrative Services APPROVED: ________________________________________________________________ Kathleen Soltis, City Manager January 8, 2018 2 CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE BYLAW NO. 8940 A Bylaw of the City of Prince George to regulate, prohibit, and impose requirements in relation to the abatement of nuisances, and to provide for recovery of the costs of nuisance abatement where undertaken by the City. WHEREAS it is desirable for the protection and enhancement of the well-being of the community to regulate and require the abatement of nuisances in the City; AND WHEREAS it is undesirable for the costs incurred in the abatement of nuisance on private property to be paid by the public; AND WHEREAS pursuant to sections 8(3)(h) and 64 of the Community Charter, Council has the authority to regulate, prohibit and impose requirements in relation to nuisances; AND WHEREAS pursuant to section 17 of the Community Charter, Council has the authority to direct that if a person subject to a requirement fails to take the required action, the City may fulfill the requirement at the expense of the person and recover the costs incurred from that person as a debt; AND WHEREAS pursuant to section 194 of the Community Charter, Council may by bylaw impose fees payable in respect of municipal services and the exercise of regulatory authority. NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Prince George, in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows: PART 1 – INTERPRETATION 1.1 Definitions In this Bylaw: “City” means the City of Prince George; “Council” means the council of the City of Prince George; "Fire Chief" means the person duly appointed as such from time to time and includes any person appointed or designated by the Fire Chief to act on his behalf; “land” means any lot, block or other area in which land is held or into which it is subdivided and includes any improvement on a parcel but excludes streets, lanes, and municipal parks and public spaces; Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 Page 2 “nuisance” means any activity which substantially and unreasonably interferes with a person’s use and enjoyment of a highway, park or other public area or of land a person owns or occupies, or which causes injury to the health, comfort or convenience of an occupier of land, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes an activity such as a noisy party, a group of people making noise, loud music, car racing, revving engines, yelling, shouting, screaming, fighting, littering, trespassing, illuminations, vibration, odour, accumulation of water or other liquids on a property, irritations, annoyances, unsanitary conditions on property, or other objectionable situations that in law are a nuisance; “occupier” means any person who occupies land, or who is qualified to maintain an action for trespass in respect of the land, or who is in possession of the land under a lease, licence, agreement for sale or other agreement with the owner of the land; “owner” means means any person in relation to the land who is the registered owner of an estate in fee simple, the tenant for life under a registered life estate, or the registered holder of the last registered agreement for sale, and in the case of provincial Crown or City owned lands, means the occupier of the land; “person” includes any company, corporation, owner, partnership, firm, association, society or individual; and “RCMP” means the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, when providing municipal policing services within the City. PART 2 - PROHIBITION 2.1 Causing a Nuisance Prohibited (a) No person shall cause a nuisance on land he or she owns or occupies. (b) No person shall permit land he or she owns or occupies to be used so as to cause a nuisance. PART 3 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT 3.1 Requirement to abate nuisance A person who causes a nuisance or permits land he or she owns or occupies to be used so as to cause a nuisance shall abate or cause to be abated the activity which causes the nuisance. 3.2 Order for Nuisance Abatement (a) If a person fails to abate or fails to cause to be abated an activity that causes a nuisance, Council may issue a written order directing that the owner or occupier abate or cause to be abated the nuisance. Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 (b) 3.3 Page 3 Before Council makes an order under section 3.2(a), the owner or occupier must be provided an opportunity to be heard by Council in respect of the matter. City May Abate Nuisance If an owner or occupier who is subject to an order under section 3.2(a) fails to abate or cause to be abated the activity causing the nuisance, the City, by its employees, contractors and agents, and by the RCMP, may abate or cause to be abated the activity which causes the nuisance in accordance with section 17 of the Community Charter. 3.4 Entry on Property (a) In accordance with section 16 of the Community Charter, the following persons are authorized to enter onto property to inspect and determine whether the requirements of this Bylaw are being met, and to carry out an action authorized under section 3.3 of this Bylaw: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) (xi) (xii) (xiii) (b) a member of the RCMP; the Manager of Bylaw Services; a Bylaw Enforcement Officer; an Animal Control Officer; a Building Inspector; a Plumbing Inspector; the Supervisor of Building Inspection; the Fire Chief; the Deputy Fire Chief; the Assistant Fire Chief; the Chief Fire Prevention Officer; a Fire Prevention Captain/Lieutenant/Officer; and a Fire Fighter. For the purposes of carrying out an action authorized under section 3.3 of this Bylaw, Council delegates to the Manager of Bylaw Services, the power to authorize a person, as the City’s contractor, to enter onto property in accordance with section 16 of the Community Charter. Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 Page 4 PART 4 - COST RECOVERY 4.1 Cost Imposition The City may impose the costs of abating a nuisance in accordance with section 3.3 of this Bylaw on one or more of the following: 4.2 (a) a person causing the nuisance; (b) the occupier of land from which the nuisance emanates; and (c) the owner of land from which the nuisance emanates. Cost Recovery The City may recover the costs imposed under section 4.1 in accordance with: 4.3 (a) section 231 of the Community Charter, as a debt due and recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction; (b) section 258 of the Community Charter, in the same manner as property taxes; or (c) in any other manner authorized by law. Costs Recoverable The costs recoverable by the City for nuisance abatement under this Bylaw shall be determined and calculated in accordance with Schedule “A” to this Bylaw. 4.4 Offence A person who contravenes, violates, or fails to comply with any provision of this Bylaw, or who suffers or permits any act or thing to be done in contravention or violation of this Bylaw, or who fails to do anything required by this Bylaw, commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine of not more than $10,000.00 (ten thousand dollars) and not less than $200.00 (two hundred dollars), together with the cost of prosecution and any other penalty or order imposed pursuant to the Community Charter or the Offence Act (British Columbia.) 4.5 Continuing Offence Each day that an offence against this Bylaw continues or exists shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offence. Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 Page 5 PART 5 - GENERAL PROVISIONS 5.1 Severability If any portion of this bylaw is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid portion may be severed and such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this bylaw. 5.2 Citation This bylaw may be cited as the “City of Prince George Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 8940, 2018”. READ A FIRST TIME THIS DAY OF , 2018. READ A SECOND TIME THIS DAY OF , 2018. READ A THIRD TIME THIS DAY OF , 2018. All three readings passed by a and eligible to vote. ADOPTED THIS BY A PRESENT AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE. decision of Members of City Council present DAY OF , 2018, DECISION OF ALL MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL ______________________________ MAYOR ______________________________ CORPORATE OFFICER Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 Page 6 CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE NUISANCE ABATEMENT BYLAW NO. 8940, 2018 SCHEDULE “A” The costs referred to in section 4.3 of this Bylaw are to be determined in part by multiplying the following hourly rates for the following individuals, vehicles or equipment involved in the abatement of a nuisance by the time spent by those individuals, and the time those vehicles and equipment are used, in the abatement of the nuisance. (a) Staff and Personnel Cost Recovery The following hourly rates apply for every hour or part thereof which any of the following City employees and RCMP members use to carry out the abatement of a nuisance where authorized under section 3.3 of this Bylaw. Depending upon the day of the week, the time of day, or the holiday status of when such services are required, the hourly rate may be increased by one and a half or two times. City Hall Employees Manager of Bylaw Services Bylaw Enforcement Officer Animal Control Officer Parking Control Officer Building Inspector I Building Inspector II Building Inspector III Plumbing Inspector Supervisor, Building Inspection RCMP Superintendent Inspector Staff Sergeant Sergeant Corporal Constable Hourly Rate (with overhead) Rounded to Nearest Dollar $85 $45 $40 $38 $50 $53 $56 $56 $65 Hourly Rate (with overhead) Rounded to Nearest Dollar $111 $100 $85 $78 $71 $65 Document Number: 451192 Bylaw No. 8940, 2018 Page 7 Fire/Rescue Fire Chief Deputy Fire Chief Assistant Chief - Suppression Chief Fire Prevention Officer Fire Prevention Captain Fire Prevention Lieutenant Fire Prevention Officer Captain - Suppression Fire Fighter (b) Hourly Rate (with overhead) Rounded to Nearest Dollar $95 $89 $77 $86 $75 $67 $62 $67 $55 Vehicle and Equipment Cost Recovery The following hourly rates apply for every hour or ¼ hour portion thereof where any of the following equipment and vehicles are used by City employees, RCMP or Fire Department personnel to carry out the abatement of a nuisance where authorized under section 3.3 of this Bylaw. Depending upon the day of the week, the time of day or the holiday status of when such services are required, the hourly rate may be increased by one and a half or two times. Equipment and Vehicles City Truck - Light City Vehicle - Other Fire Truck - Rescue Fire Truck - Pumper Fire Truck - Aerial Fire Truck – Tanker Fire Vehicle – Inspector/Service RCMP Vehicles (c) Hourly Rate in Dollars $10 $50 $100 $150 $250 $150 $60 $15 Contractor Cost Recovery For any work carried out by a contractor of the City to carry out the work required under section 3.3 on behalf of the City, the costs imposed will be the actual cost of the work plus 15% of the contract value. Document Number: 451192