TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: January 27, 2025 Report No. DEV-25-002
TO: Council
FROM: Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT: Amendments to Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019 No. 2961
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council give first, second, and third readings to “Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150” attached as Appendix “A” to Staff Report DEV-25-002
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Amendments are proposed to the following three Schedules of the “Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961:
1) Schedule “A” Administration - Housekeeping amendment to remove disclaimer since it is superfluous along with fees for titles as the Township no longer offers this service.
2) Schedule “B” Finance Fees and Charges - Removal of the Annual Gross Tax Information file since it is no longer generated along with the requests for tax certificates which are now being performed by a third party.
3) Schedule “C” Development Services - Adding fees for Requests for Routinely Available Building Plan Records by Property Owner or Owner’s Authorized Agent.
BACKGROUND:
Amendments to Schedule “A” Administration are proposed to delete the disclaimer related to obtaining digital images from the Esquimalt Archives since they are provided at no cost. In addition, the fees for a Land Title Search are proposed for deletion from the schedule because this service is no longer offered by the Township. Requests for Land Title Searches are to be submitted directly to LTSA (Land Title & Survey Authority). Also the $10.00 fee “Maximum per meeting” pertaining to printing of meeting agendas and the $20.00 fee for “Maximum per bylaw” noted in the Schedule are proposed to be deleted as these service requests are no longer relevant and would generally be provided either at no cost or in accordance with the established photocopying fees included in Schedule A to the Bylaw depending on the size of the document. Further, this information is either available online, or electronically at no cost.
Amendments to the Schedule “B” Finance are also proposed. These changes involve the removal of one item and the redefinition of an existing service that is now provided by a third party. The annual gross tax information file is no longer generated and, while certain tax information can be provided upon request, the reference to an annual gross tax file is no longer relevant. Within the current schedule, there is also reference to certificates of outstanding taxes. These are commonly referred to as tax certificates which are frequently requested by law offices involved with property sale and purchase transactions. While this service used to be performed internally, the Township recognized that this function could be more cost effectively performed by a third party. The schedule is proposed to be amended to reflect this service shift.
Amendments to Schedule "C” Development are proposed to implement cost recovery for requests for Building Plans that are Routinely Available records. Currently these records are provided at no cost notwithstanding the significant staff time involved in processing the applications and the cost associated with retrieving records stored off-site. Because much of the benefit accrues to the building owner(s) and not the taxpayer, it is appropriate to implement cost recovery charges for these requests.
ANALYSIS:
Proposed amendments to Schedule “A” - Administration - are housekeeping amendments that help clarify the interpretation of the bylaw. The proposed amendments reflect current practice and do not impact any administrative or political functions of the Township and do not have any financial impact on the Township’s budget.
Proposed amendments to Schedule “B” - Finance - reflect recent changes to practices in the Finance Department. The Annual Gross Tax Information file is no longer generated so this item is being removed from the Schedule. In addition, the department has determined that it is more efficient and cost effective for people to obtain Tax Certificates from the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia than from the department.
Proposed amendments to Schedule “C” - Development Services institute a new series of fees related to requests for building plans. In 2024, the department received the following number of requests for building plans:
- Between January and April 2024, the department received 18 requests for building plans.
- Between May and August 2024, the department received 18 requests for building plans.
- Between September and December 2024, the department received 34 requests for building plans.
Typically, the plans are requested by building owners who want to renovate their building. Preparing renovation plans is generally easier when you have the original building plans since they illustrate the underlying structure of the building including important factors such as the location of load bearing walls.
The amount of time required to process each request depends on the following:
- Whether the plans are located on-site or off-site.
- How old the plans are.
- How many sheets are in each plan set.
- The size of the plan sheets.
- Whether or not the plans have a specific copyright notice.
- Other confounding factors.
Processing these requests consumes a significant amount of staff time. Because these requests are currently free, applicants ask for as much information as possible. Implementing a fee will likely reduce the number of requests received. For the remaining requests, it is appropriate to establish a cost recovery fee system based on estimated processing costs for each application. While there is variability in the time required to process each application, the proposed fee schedule is based on the best estimates of typical processing costs.
OPTIONS:
1) That Council give first, second, and third readings to “Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150” attached as Appendix “A” to Staff Report DEV-25-002.
2) That Council give first reading to Amendment Bylaw No. 3150, make any desired amendments and give second and third reading to Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150, as amended.
3) That Council give first reading to “Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150” attached as Appendix “A” to Staff Report DEV-25-002 and request that staff return with more detailed information related to the proposed amendments.
4) That Council defeat first reading of the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150” attached as Appendix “A” to Staff Report DEV-25-002.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Good Governance and Organizational Excellence
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The only amendment that is likely to have a financial impact is the implementation of fees for requests for routinely available building plans. With the implementation of the fees, it is anticipated that the number of requests will decrease from the current level. It is noted that the proposed fees are based on a cost recovery model for staff time and overhead. It is estimated that the average fee for a plan set will be between $100 and $200. It is estimated that there will be between 20 and 30 applications per year. Annual revenues are anticipated to be between $2000.00 and $6000.00. It is important to note that this is a cost recovery initiative that puts the financial burden on the benefiting party and helps to relieve the property tax burden, even if only by a miniscule amount.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
As the proposed changes impact a very small segment of Esquimalt’s property tax payers and has negligible impact on the vast majority of Esquimalt residents, there has not been any formal public engagement.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
Once the bylaw has third reading, it will be put on the next Council agenda for adoption after which time staff will implement the new fees.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services, Reviewed
2. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
3. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
List all items attached to the Staff Report
1. Appendix “A” - Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3150”
2. Appendix “B” - Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, showing track changes.