This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document.
Snapshot 11d8103b7738 · verified 2026-08-28 ·
original document ·
archived snapshot ·
unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.
Page 1 of 13
The Corporation of The Municipality of Hastings Highlands
Bylaw 2023-074
A Bylaw to Regulate Work and Occupancy of Municipal Roads
______________________________________________________________________
Whereas subsection 8(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, as amended,
(the "Act") provides that the powers of a municipality shall be interpreted broadly so as
to confer broad authority on municipalities, a) To enable them to govern their affairs as
they consider appropriate; and b) to enhance their ability to respond to municipal issues;
And Whereas subsection 11(3) of the Act provides that the Corporation of the
Municipality of Hastings Highlands may pass by-laws with respect to the use of its
highway and matters concerning drainage;
And Whereas subsection 391(1) of the Act provides that without limiting sections 9, 10
and 11, those sections authorise the Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings
Highlands to impose fees or charges on person, for a) Services or activities provided or
done by or on behalf of it; b) Costs payable by it for services or activities provided or
done by or on behalf of any other municipality or any local board; and c) The use of its
property including property under its control;
And Whereas Section 10 of Ontario Regulation 584/06 under the Act authorises the
Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands to impose fees and charges to
recover the municipality's reasonable costs for issuing permit with respect to
telecommunications, electricity and gas services and activities to place the works on a
municipal highway and to cut the pavement of or otherwise dig up a municipal highway
for the works;
And Whereas subsection 27(1) of the Act authorises the Corporation of the Municipality
of Hastings Highlands to pass bylaws in respect of a highway under its jurisdiction;
And Whereas Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands
deems it desirable that criteria should be established to govern the installation of objects
in, on, within or under roads, sidewalks and road allowances under the jurisdiction of the
Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands;
Now Therefore the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands
hereby enacts as follows:
1.0
Definitions
For the purpose of this Bylaw,
"applicant" shall mean a person, group, or corporate body who applies to the
Municipality for a Road Occupancy Permit or Municipal Consent;
Page 2 of 13
"boulevard" shall mean that part of a road which is not used, or not intended to be
used, for vehicular travel by the public, and is situated between the portion of the road
used for vehicular travel by the public and the adjoining property line;
"emergency work" shall mean work that is required to reduce or eliminate a situation or
an impending situation that constitutes a danger that could result in serious harm to a
person or substantial damage to property, including the loss of an essential service or
damage to infrastructure or equipment, including, but not limited to:
a) A washout or cave-in;
b) Drainage impediment or ponding;
c) Softspot;
d) Settlement of the roadway surface greater than 50 mm;
e) Damaged or leaking gas pipe;
f)
Damaged underground electrical or communications facility;
g) Damaged or downed aboveground or overhead utility structure including, but
not limited to, a pole, anchor, guy wire, support stand, cable, splice enclosure,
pedestal or cabinet; or
h) Unscheduled interruption of utility service;
"engineering investigation" shall mean exploratory excavation, and the installation
and use of boreholes and monitoring wells in the road;
"equipment" shall include underground conduits and pipes, municipal storm water,
water and sanitary sewer services and service connections, cabinets, poles, towers,
anchors, guy wires, brackets, cross arms, insulators, foundations, overhead and
underground conductors, wires, lines, cables and transformers, access nodes, grade
level boxes, manholes, pedestals, boreholes, monitoring wells, ancillary appliances and
fittings and reasonably required associated protective installations;
"excavation" shall mean breaking, digging up, tearing up, tunneling, boring, coring,
attaching to, cutting into, or removing any portion of the surface or subsurface of a road,
including pavement, sidewalk, curbs, ditches, gutter or boulevard;
"infrastructure" includes, but is not limited to, any public or private utility structure,
copper or coaxial wire, fibre optic cable, pipe, conduit, pedestal, cabinet, antenna, vault,
support structure, culvert, noise barrier, fence, guiderail, barricade, traffic island, traffic
control device, sign, light, rail facility, pavement, subgrade, catch basin, handwell, valve
chamber, valve box, curb, gutter, sidewalk, driveway, mailbox, hydrant, sod, berm, ditch
or watercourse;
"Municipality" shall mean the Corporation of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands;
"Municipal Consent" or "MC" shall mean the written consent of the Municipality, with or
without conditions, to allow a public utility service to perform work within the Road. For
clarity, a Municipal Consent is consent given by the Municipality for a proposed location
for a public utility service to perform work within the Road;
Page 3 of 13
"Officer" shall mean a person designated by Council as an Officer for the purposes of
enforcing bylaws and for purposes of exercising any power of entry under this Bylaw.
"Operations Manager" shall mean the Operations Manager of the Municipality, or
designate;
"Permit" shall mean any permit issued under Section 4 of this Bylaw and may be
referred to as a Road Occupancy Permit, Work in Right-of-Way (ROW) Permit, Road
Cut Permit, or Road Work Permit;
"Permit Holder" shall mean the person to whom a Permit is issued and includes an
authorized owner, a property owner, an individual, an association, a partnership or a
corporation or any other agents or contractor carrying out works within the right-of-way;
"public utility service" shall mean any telecommunications, electricity and gas services
company and shall include an individual, an association, a partnership or a corporation
or any other agents, contractor subcontractors carrying out any works for the company;
"road" shall mean a common and public Highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway,
square, place, bridge, viaduct, trestle, or an unopened and unassumed Highway, any
part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles
and pedestrians and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof under
the jurisdiction of the Municipality;
"Road Cut" shall mean a surface or subsurface cut in any part of a Road made by any
means, including any excavation, reconstruction, cutting, saw cutting, overlaying, crack
sealing, breaking, boring, jacking or tunneling operations;
"temporary road occupation" shall mean the temporary occupation of any portion of a
road for the placing or operation of any machinery, vehicles, storage containers, waste
bins, materials, mobile cranes, construction safety fencing, overhead construction safety
fencing, temporary/mobile construction office trailers, hoists and platforms, temporary
construction driveway accesses, crane booms extending from other land into the
airspace over a road;
"work" means, but is not limited to, any temporary road occupation, road cut,
excavation, engineering investigation, installation, removal, construction, maintenance,
repair, replacement, relocation, adjustment, breaking up, disturbance or alteration of
equipment within a road.
Page 4 of 13
2.0
Application of this Bylaw
2.1 This Bylaw applies to all roads in the Municipality.
2.2 This Bylaw does not apply to work within a road for which the Province of Ontario
has jurisdiction.
2.3 The Operations Manager may waive the permit application of all or part of this
Bylaw if the Operations Manager is satisfied that the work is adequately regulated
by an agreement with the Municipality or another form of approval given by the
Municipality.
2.4 Nothing in this Bylaw shall be construed as permitting anything which is prohibited
under federal or provincial legislation, and where there is a conflict in this respect
between federal or provincial legislation and this Bylaw, the federal or provincial
legislation prevails.
3.0
General Requirements, Prohibitions and Exemptions
3.1 No person shall undertake any work without first obtaining a permit issued in
accordance with this Bylaw.
3.2 No person shall close or obstruct a road or a portion of a road to traffic unless
authorized to do so in accordance with this Bylaw.
3.3 Notwithstanding subsections 3.1 and 3.2, emergency work may be undertaken
without first obtaining a permit if the Operations Manager is notified within 24
hours of the emergency work being commenced with all required permits being
applied for.
3.4 Any work shall be undertaken as far as feasibly possible from infrastructure and be
as close as possible to be within 1 metre of the boundary or edge of a road. For
clarity, the boundary or edge of a road is the lateral property lot lines of a road
allowance or, in the case of a forced road, the furthest maintained portion of a
forced road.
3.5 A copy of the Road Occupancy Permit and/or Municipal Consent shall be on site at
all times and available for review upon request.
3.6 Every person undertaking work shall comply with this Bylaw, all applicable
statutes, regulations, standards, codes, bylaws, rules and similar requirements.
3.7 The Permit Holder shall undertake work in such a manner as to do the least
possible damage to the road and to any utility.
3.8 No person shall hinder or obstruct, or attempt to hinder or obstruct, any person
who is exercising a power or performing a duty under this Bylaw.
Page 5 of 13
3.9 No person shall provide false or inaccurate information in an application for a
permit issued under this Bylaw or in any document or thing required to be
submitted under this Bylaw.
3.10 Every person undertaking work on a road which requires an excavation shall
submit a request to Ontario One Call to locate and mark underground
infrastructure prior to the commencement of any work, in accordance with the
Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012.
3.11 The Operations Manager may grant an exemption to any person from any
provision of this Bylaw and impose conditions for such exemption as may be
considered reasonable and necessary provided such exemption does not interfere
with the general integrity of this Bylaw.
3.12 A permit is not required by a person undertaking any work for or on behalf of the
Municipality or for road occupancy or closures ordered by the Operations
Manager.
3.13 This Bylaw shall be read in conjunction with the Municipality's Entrance Bylaw and
any other applicable federal and provincial legislation and municipal bylaw.
4.0
Road Occupancy Permit and Municipal Consents
4.1 Application
4.1.1 Every application for a Road Occupancy Permit and for a Municipal Consent
shall be made to the Operations Manager on the prescribed form and no permit
shall be issued until the required information and material is provided to the
Operations Manager as may be required by the Municipality and the required
permit fees and security deposit, as prescribed in the applicable User Fees and
Service Charges Bylaw or Municipal Access Agreement, has been paid and
deposited to the Municipality.
4.1.2 Every application for a Municipal Consent shall include:
a) the name, signature and position of the contact individual for the applicant
and the applicant's organization name, street address, telephone number,
and e-mail address;
b) a description of the location for the work;
c) description of the type and purpose of the work;
d) a description of the design of the work including whether the work is in, on,
over, under, across or along the road, the placement of the work, and the
proposed depth, width and length of any excavation, cut or trench;
e) construction design drawings and other related documentation for the work;
f)
any proposed closure of a road or sidewalk or part thereof;
g) whether the work is emergency work, and if so, the nature of the emergency;
and
Page 6 of 13
h) any additional information or documentation for the purposes of administering
this Bylaw.
4.1.3 Every application for a Road Occupancy Permit shall include:
a) the name, signature and position of the contact individual for the applicant
and the applicant's organization name, street address, telephone number,
and e-mail address;
b) the name and telephone number of the most senior field personnel of the
applicant or of the proponent's agent, servant, employee, subcontractor or
licensee who is assigned to oversee the work;
c) a description of the location for the work;
d) description of the type and purpose of the work;
e) where the Operations Manager does not require Municipal Consent, a
description of the design of the work including whether the work is in, on,
over, under, across or along the road, the placement of the work, and the
proposed depth, width and length of any excavation, cut or trench;
f)
where the Operations Manager requires Municipal Consent, a copy of the
Municipal Consent and any associated construction design drawings;
g) the scheduled starting date of the work and length of time estimated to
complete the work;
h) any proposed closure of a road or sidewalk or part thereof;
i)
the requirement for any proposed prohibition of shoulder parking, change to
pavement markings or change to a traffic sign;
j)
whether the work is emergency work, and if so, the nature of the emergency;
k) a signed indemnity, satisfactory to the Operations Manager, indemnifying and
saving harmless the Municipality from any and all claims, demands, suits,
actions and judgments made, brought or recovered against the Municipality
and from all loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses that may be
incurred, sustained or paid by the Municipality by reason of the granting of
the permit; and
l)
any additional information or documentation for the purposes of administering
this Bylaw.
4.1.4 The applicant shall provide the Operations Manager with a certificate of
insurance in accordance with the provisions as identified on the Road Occupancy
Application form, Municipal Consent form, or otherwise as satisfactory to the
Operations Manager.
4.1.5 Where work will be occupying a road or part thereof, or where work will require
the closing or occupation of a road or part thereof, the applicant shall submit a
Traffic Control Plan to the satisfaction of the Operations Manager. The
Operations Manager is authorized to require that a Traffic Control Plan be
submitted with any application. The Operations Manager is authorized to have
discretion to require, review, approve, refuse, revoke, and request amendments
to a Traffic Control Plan.
Page 7 of 13
4.1.6 Where the applicant is planning to undertake the work by means of an agent,
subcontractor or licensee, then the agent, subcontractor or licensee shall provide
the Operations Manager with a certificate of insurance in accordance with the
provisions as identified on the Road Occupancy application form, the Municipal
Consent form, or otherwise as satisfactory to the Operations Manager.
4.1.7 This Bylaw shall not apply so as to require a security deposit from a public utility
service or a subcontractor acting on behalf of the public utility service in the
Municipality unless stated otherwise in the executed Municipal Access
Agreement between the Municipality and the public utility service.
4.2 Timing
4.2.1 The applicant shall submit their application to the Operations Manager at least 10
business days prior to the commencement of the proposed work.
4.2.2 The applicant shall consult with the Operations Manager as early as possible
about the work prior to its commencement, taking into consideration the scale
and complexity of the work.
4.3 Review, Approval, Refusal, Revocation
4.3.1 The Operations Manager is authorized to receive and consider all applications,
and to conduct all investigations necessary to determine whether a Road
Occupancy Permit or Municipal Consent should be issued.
4.3.2 The Operations Manager shall have the authority to approve, refuse, administer
and/or revoke all Road Occupancy Permits and Municipal Consents, and may
include any conditions in a permit that they deem appropriate, including, but not
limited to, the applicant having a Municipal Access Agreement with the
Municipality.
4.3.3 The Operations Manager shall have the authority to determine and, from time to
time, amend the forms, information, and special conditions required in the
administration of this Bylaw.
4.3.4 Prior to making a decision on any application, the Operations Manager shall
consult with such other persons or agencies as they consider necessary.
4.3.5 When reviewing an application, the Operations Manager shall consider:
a) Any potential adverse impact on public health and safety;
b) Any potential adverse impact to existing and future roads and infrastructure;
c) Any work shall be undertaken as far as feasibly possible from infrastructure
and be as close as possible to be within 1 metre of the boundary or edge of a
road. For clarity, the boundary or edge of a road is the lateral property lot
lines of a road allowance or, in the case of a forced road, the furthest
maintained portion of a forced road;
Page 8 of 13
d) Any potential contraventions to the public;
e) Any potential traffic impacts, including the adequacy of detour routes;
f)
Any concerns for the security of persons or property; and
g) The past or present conduct of the Applicant affords reasonable grounds to
believe the construction, maintenance or other works may not be adequately
managed in accordance with this Bylaw.
4.3.6 When the applicant is requesting work, the Operations Manager reserves the
right to issue a single Road Occupancy Permit or multiple Road Occupancy
Permits for the works, including, but not limited to, the scope of work involved,
work occurring at different locations, and quantity of work.
4.3.7 The Operations Manager may revoke a Road Occupancy Permit at any time
without prior notice to the Permit Holder if:
a) It was issued in error;
b) It was issued as a result false, mistaken, incorrect or misleading information
in the application;
c) There are reasonable grounds to believe that the continuation of the road
occupancy may pose a risk to the factors outlined in 4.3.5 above.
4.4 Expiry, Extension, Renewal
4.4.1 If a Permit Holder has obtained a Municipal Consent or a Road Occupancy
Permit and has not commenced construction of the approved work associated
with a particular Municipal Consent or Road Occupancy Permit within one (1)
year of the date of issuance of the Municipal Consent or Road Occupancy Permit
and has not sought and received an extension to the Municipal Consent or the
Road Occupancy Permit from the Municipality, which extension shall not be
unreasonably withheld, the Municipal Consent or Road Occupancy Permit shall
be null and void.
4.4.2 If onsite work has not commenced within ninety (90) days of issuance of the
Road Occupancy Permit in relation to a particular Municipal Consent or Road
Occupancy Permit and the work will be commencing within one (1) year of the
date of issuance of the Municipal Consent or Road Occupancy Permit, the public
utility service or permit holder must notify the Operations Manager two (2) weeks
prior to starting the work. The Operations Manager reserves the right to approve
or deny requests.
4.4.3 The Operations Manager may, upon application, renew or extend any permit
issued under this Bylaw, at no charge to the applicant, if he deems it expedient.
An application to renew or extend any permit issued under this Bylaw shall be
submitted a minimum of five (5) business days prior to the Permit expiry date and
such application shall include any modified documentation from the permit issued
or any information and material deemed necessary by the Operations Manager.
4.5 Appeal
Page 9 of 13
4.5.1 Any applicant who has been refused a Road Occupancy Permit, has had a Road
Occupancy Permit revoked, is denied an extension or renewal, or who objects to
conditions imposed may appeal to Council and the decision of Council shall be
considered final and binding on the applicant.
4.5.2 In review of the Appeal, Council shall make their decision with regard to the intent
and purpose of this Bylaw with special consideration for 4.3.5 above.
4.6 Restoration
4.6.1 The Permit Holder shall be responsible for:
a) The temporary and permanent restoration of a Road Cut subject to the
provisions of this Bylaw;
b) The maintenance of temporary restorations as provided for in this Bylaw on
every Road Cut which on or after November 15th in any year is not in a
condition to be permanently reinstated and is carried over for permanent
restoration prior to May 31st of the following year.
4.6.2 A Road shall be restored with:
a) Materials and specifications meeting Municipal standards with;
b) The removal of all debris, refuse and excess excavated material from the
work area leaving it in a neat, safe and clean condition free from nuisance
and similar to or better than the work area condition prior to the work to the
satisfaction of the Operations Manager; and
c) Accompanying geotechnical information/verification where required by the
Operations Manager.
4.6.3 Temporary surfacing of a road with asphalt, concrete, or surface treatment shall
meet the following requirements:
a) The Road Cut shall be temporarily restored immediately after backfiling is
completed;
b) The restoration shall be to the same level as the adjacent surface;
c) Prior to the road being opened to traffic, the Road Cut shall be surfaced with
hot mix asphalt, concrete, or if hot mix asphalt is unavailable, with high
performance emulsified cold mix asphaltic all hand tamped or rolled to a
smooth fill condition;
d) Leave the work area in a neat, safe and clean condition; and
4.6.4 All restoration activity shall be to the satisfaction of the Operations Manager.
4.7 Completion of Work
Page 10 of 13
4.7.1 Upon completion of the temporary surfacing or permanent restoration of the
Road Cut, all excess material shall be removed from the area of the Road Cut
and the area shall be left in a safe, neat and clean condition, similar to the
condition of the road area adjacent to the Road Cut, all to the satisfaction of the
Operations Manager.
5.0
Administration and Enforcement
5.1 General
5.1.1 Any administrative forms required under this Bylaw may be prescribed from time
to time by the Operations Manager.
5.1.2 The Operations Manager is authorized to negotiate and enter into agreements
with respect to work as required to ensure compliance with this Bylaw and to
generally protect the Municipality's interests.
5.1.3 This Bylaw may be enforced by the Operations Manager, an Officer, or a police
officer.
5.2 Inspections
5.2.1 An Officer may enter on land at any time and in accordance with the conditions
set out in Sections 435 and 437 of the Municipal Act, 2001 for the purpose of
carrying out an inspection to determine whether or not the following are complied
with:
a) An Order or other requirement made under this Bylaw;
b) A permit issued under this Bylaw;
c) A term or condition of a permit issued under this Bylaw; or
d) An Order made under Section 431 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
5.2.2 An Officer, for the purposes of the inspection under Section 5.2.1 and in
accordance with the conditions set out in Section 436 of the Municipal Act, 2001,
may:
a) Require the production for inspection of documents or things relevant to the
inspection;
b) Inspect and remove documents or things relevant to the inspection for the
purpose of making copies or extracts;
c) Require information in writing or otherwise as required by an Officer from any
person concerning a matter related to the inspection;
d) Alone or in conjunction with a person possessing special or expert
knowledge, make examinations or take tests, samples or photographs
necessary for the purposes of the inspection.
Page 11 of 13
5.2.3 An Officer may undertake an inspection pursuant to an Order issued by a
Provincial judge or justice of the peace under Section 438 of the Municipal Act,
2001, in accordance with the conditions set out in that Section, where they have
been prevented or likely to be prevented from carrying out an inspection under
Section 5.2.1.
5.3 Order
5.3.1 If an Officer is satisfied that a contravention of this Bylaw has occurred, they may
make an Order requiring the person who contravened the Bylaw or who caused
or permitted the contravention or the owner or occupier of the land on which the
contravention occurred to discontinue the contravening activity.
5.3.2 An Order under Section 5.3.1 shall set out:
a) Reasonable particulars of the contravention adequate to identify the
contravention and the location of the land on which the contravention
occurred; and
b) The date or dates by which there must be compliance with the Order, which
may be of immediate effect should the Officer determine that the
circumstances warrant.
5.3.3 If an Officer is satisfied that a contravention of this Bylaw has occurred, they may
make an Order requiring the person who has contravened this Bylaw or caused
or permitted the contravention or the owner or occupier of the land on which the
contravention occurred to do work to correct the contravention.
5.3.4 An Order under Sections 5.3.1 or 5.3.3 shall set out:
a) Reasonable particulars of the contravention adequate to identify the
contravention and the location of the land;
b) The work to be completed which may include but is not limited to
requiring that prior to performing any work, all necessary permits or other
approvals be applied for and obtained;
c) The date or dates by which the work must be completed; and
d) Notice that if the Order is not complied with, then the work may be done
at the expense of the person ordered to do the work.
5.3.5 An Order under Sections 5.3.1 or 5.3.3 may be given verbally and shall be
confirmed in writing within two (2) business days and may be served:
a) Personally on the person to whom it is directed;
b) To an email address provided on a permit application form;
c) By registered mail to the last known address of a person who committed the
contravention, and in the case of the permit holder, the address of the permit
holder on the permit application form;
d) In a conspicuous place on the road where the contravention occurred; or
e) In a conspicuous place on or near the property affected by the work where
the contravention occurred.
Page 12 of 13
5.3.6 Where an Order under this Bylaw is served personally or by email by the
Municipality, it shall be deemed to have been served on the date of delivery to
the person or persons named.
5.3.7 Where an Order issued under this Bylaw is sent by registered mail, it shall be
sent to the address of the Permit Holder noted on the application, or last known
address of the person that committed the contravention, and shall be deemed to
have been served on the next business day following the date of mailing.
5.3.8 If there is no Road Occupancy Permit Application with respect to an Order issued
under this Bylaw, the Officer may issue the Order to the person the Officer
determines to be responsible for the work and the Order may be served in
accordance with Section 5.3.5.
5.3.9 Where a time frame is set out in the Order or other document for carrying out the
action, an Officer may extend the time for compliance beyond the established
time frame provided such extension is required and is acceptable to the Officer.
5.4 Offences
5.4.1 Any person who contravenes any provision of this Bylaw, the conditions of a
Permit, or an Order issued under this Bylaw is guilty of an offence.
5.4.2 If a condition of a Permit issued under this Bylaw has to been complied with, the
contravention of the Order shall be deemed a continuing offence for each day or
part of day that the Order is not complied with.
5.4.3 Every person who contravenes a provision of this By-law is guilty of an offence
and upon conviction is liable to a fine as provided for in the Provincial Offences
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as amended.
5.5 Severability
If any court of competent jurisdiction finds that any of the provisions of this Bylaw are
ultra vires the jurisdiction of Council, or are invalid for any reason, such provision shall
be deemed to be severable and shall not invalidate any of the other provisions of the
Bylaw, which shall remain in full force and effect.
5.6 Short Title
This Bylaw may be referenced as the "Road Occupancy Bylaw."
5.7 Repeal
5.7.1 That any former Bylaws pertaining to this matter are hereby repealed.
Page 13 of 13
Enacted and Passed in Council this 15th day of November, 2023
__________________________
______________________________
Tony Fitzgerald, Mayor
Suzanne Huschilt, Municipal Clerk