Inter-Municipal Business Licence Agreement Bylaw No. 8487, 2024 — full text

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BY-LAW NO. 8487, 2024 A By-law to enter into an agreement among the City of Burnaby, the City of Delta, the City of New Westminster, the City of Richmond, the City of Surrey, and the City of Vancouver (the "Participating Municipalities") regarding an Inter-municipal Business Licence Scheme THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW WESTMINSTER, in public meeting, enacts as follows: Council hereby authorizes the City to enter into an Agreement with the City of Burnaby, the City of Delta, the City of New Westminster, the City of Richmond, the City of Surrey, and the City of Vancouver, in substantially the form and substance of the Agreement attached to this by- law as Schedule A, and also authorizes the Director of Legal Services to execute the agreement on behalf of the City, and to deliver it to the Participating Municipalities on such terms and conditions as the Director of Legal Services deems fit. 2. This by-law is to come into force and take effect upon enactment. 3. This by-law is to be cited as the "Inter-municipal Business Licence Agreement By-law No. 8487, 2024". Adopted November 4, 2024 Schedule A INTER-MUNICIPAL BUSINESS LICENCE AGREEMENT WHEREAS the City of Burnaby, the City of Delta, the City of New Westminster, the City of Richmond, the City of Surrey, and the City of Vancouver (hereinafter the "Participating Municipalities") wish to permit certain categories of Businesses to operate across their jurisdictional boundaries while minimizing the need to obtain a separate municipal business licence in each jurisdiction; NOW THEREFORE the City of Burnaby, the City of Delta, the City of New Westminster, the City of Richmond, the City of Surrey, and the City of Vancouver agree as follows: 1. The Participating Municipalities agree to establish an inter-municipal business licence scheme among the Participating Municipalities, pursuant to section 14 of the Community Charter and section 192.1 of the Vancouver Charter. 2. The Participating Municipalities will request their respective municipal Councils to each ratify this Agreement and enact a by-law to implement an inter-municipal business licence scheme effective January 1, 2025. 3. In this Agreement: "Business" has the meaning in the Community Charter; "Community Charter" means the Community Charter, S.B.C. 2003, c.26; "Inter-municipal Business" means any of the following businesses that provide services outside of their Principal Municipality: (a) a trades contractor or other professional related to the construction industry; (b) a contractor who performs maintenance, repair and/or inspections of land and buildings; and (c) a health care professional or a health care service provider who provides services by visiting clients in their homes; "Inter-municipal Business Licence" means a business licence which authorizes an Inter-municipal Business to be carried on within the jurisdictional boundaries of any or all of the Participating Municipalities; "Inter-municipal Business Licence By-law" means the by-law adopted by the Council of each Participating Municipality to implement the inter-municipal business licence scheme contemplated by this Agreement; "Municipal Business Licence" means a licence or permit, other than an Inter-municipal Business Licence, issued by a Participating Municipality that authorizes a Business to be carried on within the jurisdictional boundaries of that Participating Municipality; "Participating Municipality" means any one of the "Participating Municipalities"; "Person" has the meaning in the Interpretation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 238; "Premises" means one or more fixed or permanent locations where the Person ordinarily carries on Business; "Principal Municipality" means the Participating Municipality where a Business is located or has Premises; and "Vancouver Charter" means the Vancouver Charter, S. B.C. 1953, c.55. 4. Subject to the provisions of the Inter-municipal Business Licence By-law, the Participating Municipalities will permit a Person who has obtained an Inter-municipal Business Licence to carry on Business within any Participating Municipality for the term authorized by the Inter-municipal Business Licence without obtaining a Municipal Business Licence in the other Participating Municipalities. 5. A Principal Municipality may issue an Inter-municipal Business Licence to an applicant if the applicant is an Inter-municipal Business and meets the requirements of the Inter-municipal Business Licence By-law, in addition to the requirements of the Principal Municipality's by-law that applies to a Municipal Business Licence. 6. Notwithstanding that a Person may hold an Inter-municipal Business Licence that would make it unnecessary to obtain a Municipal Business Licence in other Participating Municipalities, the Person must still comply with all other regulations of any municipal business licence by-law or regulation in addition to any other by-laws that may apply within any jurisdiction in which the Person carries on Business. 7. An Inter-municipal Business Licence must be issued by the Participating Municipality in which the applicant maintains Premises. 8. The Participating Municipalities will require that the holder of an Inter-municipal Business Licence also obtain a Municipal Business Licence for Premises that are maintained by the licence holder within the jurisdiction of a Participating Municipality. 9. The Inter-municipal Business Licence fee is $300 and is payable to the Principal Municipality. 10. The Inter-municipal Business Licence fee is separate from and in addition to any Municipal Business Licence fee that may be required by a Participating Municipality. 11. Despite section 15, the Inter-municipal Business Licence fee will not be pro-rated. 12. The Participating Municipalities will distribute revenue generated from Inter-municipal Business Licence fees amongst all Participating Municipalities based on the Principal Municipality retaining 90% of the Inter-municipal Business Licence fee and the remaining 10% distributed equally to the remaining Participating Municipalities. 13. The Participating Municipalities will review the Inter-municipal business licence scheme and the revenue sharing formula established by this Agreement from time to time and may alter the formula in section 12 by written agreement of all Participating Municipalities. 14. The revenue generated from Inter-municipal Business Licence fees collected from January 1 to December 31 inclusive that is to be distributed to other Participating Municipalities, in accordance with section 12, will be distributed by February 28 of the year following the year in which fees were collected. The Participating Municipalities will designate one municipality, which may change from time to time, to calculate and distribute the revenue generated from Inter- municipal Business Licence fees. 15. The length of term of an Inter-municipal Business Licence is twelve (12) months, except that, at the option of a Principal Municipality, the length of term of the initial Inter-municipal Business Licence issued to an Inter-municipal Business in that municipality may be less than twelve (12) months in order to harmonize the expiry date of the Inter-municipal Business Licence with the expiry date of the Municipal Business Licence. 16. An Inter-municipal Business Licence will be valid within the jurisdictional boundaries of all of the Participating Municipalities until its term expires, unless the Inter-municipal Business Licence is suspended or cancelled or a Participating Municipality withdraws from the inter- municipal business licence scheme among the Participating Municipalities in accordance with the Inter-municipal Business Licence By-law. 17. Each Participating Municipality will share a database of Inter-municipal Business Licences, which will be available for the use of all Participating Municipalities. 18. Each Participating Municipality which issues an Inter-municipal Business Licence will promptly update the shared database after the issuance of that licence. 19. A Participating Municipality may exercise the authority of the Principal Municipality and suspend an Inter-municipal Business Licence in relation to conduct by the holder within the Participating Municipality which would give rise to the power to suspend a business licence under the Community Charter or Vancouver Charter or under the business licence by-law of the Participating Municipality. The suspension will be in effect throughout all of the Participating Municipalities and it will be unlawful for the holder to carry on the Business authorized by the Inter-municipal Business Licence in any Participating Municipality for the period of the suspension. 20. A Participating Municipality may exercise the authority of the Principal Municipality and cancel an Inter-municipal Business Licence in relation to conduct by the holder within the Participating Municipality which would give rise to the power to cancel a business licence under the Community Charter or Vancouver Charter or the business licence by-law of the Participating Municipality. The cancellation will be in effect throughout all of the Participating Municipalities. 21. The cancellation of an Inter-municipal Business Licence under section 20 will not affect the authority of a Participating Municipality to issue a business licence, other than an Inter- municipal Business Licence, to the holder of the cancelled Inter-municipal Business Licence. 22. Nothing in this Agreement affects the authority of a Participating Municipality to suspend or cancel any business licence issued by that municipality or to enact regulations in respect of any category of Business under section 15 of the Community Charter or sections 272, 273, 279A, 279A.1, 279B, and 279C of the Vancouver Charter. 23. A Participating Municipality may, by notice in writing to each of the other Participating Municipalities, withdraw from the inter-municipal business licence scheme among the Participating Municipalities, and the notice must: (a) set out the date on which the withdrawing municipality will no longer recognize the validity within its boundaries of Inter-municipal Business Licences, which date must be at least six months from the date of the notice; and (b) include a certified copy of the municipal Council resolution or by-law authorizing the municipality's withdrawal from the Inter-municipal Business Licence scheme. 24. Prior to the effective date of a withdrawal under section 23 of this Agreement, the remaining Participating Municipalities will review and enter into an agreement to amend the revenue distribution formula set out in section 12 of this Agreement. 25. Nothing contained or implied in this Agreement shall fetter in any way the discretion of the Council of the Participating Municipalities. Further, nothing contained or implied in this Agreement shall prejudice or affect the Participating Municipalities' rights, powers, duties or obligation in the exercise of its functions pursuant to the Community Charter, Vancouver Charter, or the Local Government Act, as amended or replaced from time to time, or act to fetter or otherwise affect the Participating Municipalities' discretion, and the rights, powers, duties and obligations under all public and private statutes, by-laws, orders and regulations, which may be, if each Participating Municipality so elects, as fully and effectively exercised as if this Agreement had not been executed and delivered by the Participating Municipalities. 26. Despite any other provision of this Agreement, an Inter-municipal Business Licence granted in accordance with the Inter-municipal Business Licence By-law does not grant the holder a licence to operate in any jurisdiction other than within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Participating Municipalities. Furthermore, a business licence granted under any other inter- municipal business licence scheme is deemed not to exist for the purposes of this Agreement even if a Participating Municipality is a participating member of the other inter-municipal business licence scheme. 27. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original. Such counterparts together shall constitute one and the same instrument, notwithstanding that all of the Participating Municipalities are not signatories to the original or the same counterpart. 28. This Agreement replaces and supersedes the Inter-municipal Business Licence Agreement entered into by the City of Burnaby, the City of Delta, the City of New Westminster, the City of Richmond, the City of Surrey, and the City of Vancouver in 2016. Signed and delivered on behalf of the Participating Municipalities, the Councils of each of which has, by By-law, ratified this agreement and authorized their signatories to sign on behalf of the respective Councils, on the dates indicated below. The City of Burnaby City Clerk Date The City of Delta Mayor Clerk Date The City of New Westminster Mayor Corporate Officer Date The City of Richmond Chief Administrative Officer General Manager Corporate and Financial Services Date The City of Surrey Mayor Clerk Date The City of Vancouver Director of Legal Services Date