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THE
CORPORATION
OF THE
MUNICIPALITY
OF THAMES
CENTRE
BY- LAW NO. 33- 2024
Being a by- law to provide for the dedication of parkland or the payment
in lieu thereof for all development or redevelopment in the Municipality
Parkland
Dedication
By- law)
WHEREAS
section
42 of the Planning Act provides that for the development or
redevelopment
of land, the council of a local municipality
may, by by- law, require that
land in an amount not exceeding, in the case of land proposed for Development or
Redevelopment for Commercial or Industrial purposes 2 per cent, and in all other cases
5
per
cent, be conveyed to the municipality for park or other public recreational
purposes;
AND WHEREAS section 51 . 1 of the Planning Act provides that an approval authority
may impose, as a condition of the approval of a plan of subdivision, that land be
conveyed
to the local municipality
for park or other public recreational
purposes, such
land not to exceed, in the case of a subdivision proposed for Commercial or Industrial
purposes 2 per cent, and in all other cases 5 per cent;
AND WHEREAS section 53 of the Planning Act provides that section 51 . 1 of the
Planning Act also applies to the granting of consents;
AND WHEREAS a parks plan being the Community Services and Facilities Master
Plan was prepared
in consultation
with the local school boards and other persons or
public bodies the municipality considered appropriate, and made publicly available in
2023 through several consultation sessions leading to its approval in September;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the Municipality of Thames Centre wishes to use the
provisions of the Planning Act for the purposes of acquiring and providing parkland for
the use and enjoyment of the residents of the Municipality of Thames Centre;
Now therefore the Council of the Municipality of Thames Centre hereby enacts as follows:
Part
1: Interpretation
Definitions
1.
In this by- law:
a) " Act" means the Planning Act, R. S. O. 1990, c. P. 13
b) " Affordable
Residential
Unit" means
a residential
unit that meets the criteria
set
out in subsection
4. 1( 2) or 4. 1( 3) of the Development
Charges Act;
c) " Attainable
Residential
Unit" means
a residential
unit that meets the criteria set
out in subsection 4. 1( 4) of the Development Charges Act;
d) " Board
of Education"
has
the
same
meaning
as " board", as
defined
in
the
Education Act, R. S. O. 1990, c. E. 2, as amended;
e) " Commercial"
means the use of land, buildings, or structures
for a use which is
not industrial, and which are used
in connection
with:
i.
the selling of commodities to the general public; or
ii. the supply of services to the general public; or
iii. office or administrative
facilities.
f) " Council" means the Council for the Municipality of Thames Centre;
g) " Development"
means
the
construction,
erection, or placing
of one
or more
buildings
or
structures
on
land
or the
making
of
an
addition
or
alteration
to
a
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 2
building or structure that has the effect of substantially increasing the size or
usability thereof;
h) " Gross Floor Area" has the same meaning as in the Municipality's Development
Charges By- law, as amended.
i) "
Industrial"
means
lands, buildings
or structures
used or designed
or intended
for
use
for
manufacturing,
processing, fabricating
or
assembly
of
raw
goods,
warehousing
or bulk storage
of goods, and
includes
office
uses and the sale of
commodities to the general public where such uses are accessory to an industrial
use, but does not include the sale of commodities
to the general
public through
a
warehouse
club;
j) "
Institutional" means
the
use
of
land, buildings, or structures
for
hospitals,
correctional institutions and associated facilities, municipal facilities, elementary
and
secondary
schools, colleges, universities, places
of worship
and
ancillary
uses, military and cultural buildings, daycare centres, residential care facilities for
more than ten persons and long term care centres;
k) " Mixed Use" means the physical
integration
of two or more of the following
uses
within a building or structure or separate buildings or structures on the lands
proposed
for
Development
or
Redevelopment:
Commercial;
Industrial;
Institutional; Residential; or any other use not noted herein;
1) "
Non- profit housing development" means development of a building or structure
intended for use as residential premises by,
i.
a corporation
without
share capital
to which the Corporations
Act applies,
that is in good standing under that Act and whose primary object is to
provide housing;
ii. a corporation
without share capital to which the Canada Not- for- profit
Corporations Act applies, that is in good standing under that Act and
whose primary object is to provide housing; or
iii. a non- profit housing co-operative that is in good standing under the Co-
operative Corporations Act, or any successor legislation.
m)" Official Plan" means the Municipality' s Official Plan, as amended.
n) "
PIL" means payment- in- lieu of parkland otherwise required to beconveyed.
o) " Planning Act" means the Planning Act, R. S. O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended,
p) " Redevelopment"
means the removal of a building or structure from land and the
further Development
of the land or, the expansion
or renovation
of a building
or
structure which results in a change in the character or density of the use in
connection therewith;
q) " Residential" means the use of land, buildings, or structures for human habitation;
r) " Residential
Unit" means
one
or
more
habitable
rooms
each
of
which
is
accessible
from
the others
and
which
function
as
an
independent
and
separate
housekeeping unit in which separate kitchen and sanitary facilities are provided for
the use of the occupants, with a private entrance from outside the building of from
a common hallway or stairway inside the building;
s) " Rural Area" means those areas designated as not being within a settlement area
by the Official Plan;
t) " Shared
Use Agreement"
means
an agreement
between
a Board
of Education
and Thames Centre for the sharing of buildings and/ or property;
u) " Thames
Centre"
means Municipality of Thames Centre;
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 3
v) " Municipality" means the Corporation of the Municipality of Thames Centre; and
w)" Zoning By-law" means the by- law passed pursuant to section 34 of the Planning
Act.
Rules of Interpretation
2. (
1) The following rules of interpretation shall be applied to interpretation of this by-
law:
a) References
to items in the plural include the singular, as applicable.
b) The
words " include", " including" and " includes" are not to be read as limiting the
phrases or descriptions that precede them. Any examples provided areintended to
be representative
examples
and not intended
to be an exhaustive
list.
c) Headings are inserted for ease of reference only and are not to be used as
interpretation
aids.
d) Specific references
to laws or by- laws are meant to refer to the current
laws
applicable at the time that this by- law was enacted and shall be interpreted to
include amendments, restatements
and successor
legislation.
e) The obligations imposed by this by- law are in addition to obligations otherwise
imposed
by law or contract.
f) Where this by- law provides
metric and imperial
units of measure, the metric unit
of
measure
shall
prevail. For
convenience
only, approximate
imperial
measurements may be provided but are of no force or effect. The abbreviation
mm" stands for millimetres
and " m" stands for metres.
g) Terms with capitals shall be read with the meaning in section
1 and other words
shall be given their ordinary meaning.
h) If any court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of this by- law is illegal or
ultra vires of the jurisdiction of the Municipality, such provision shall be deemed to
be severable and shall not invalidate any of the other provisions of this by-law.
i)
Nothing in this by- law relieves any person from complying with any provision of any
federal or provincial legislation or any other by-law of the Municipality.
j) Where a provision
of this by- law conflicts with the provisions
of another
by- law in
force in the Municipality, the more specific by-law shall prevail.
Application
3. The provisions
of this by- law apply to the entire geographic
area of the Municipality
of Thames Centre.
Exemptions
4. Development
or Redevelopment
described
in
the
subsections (
a) through
to and
including ( g) shall be exempt from the obligations to convey land or make a PIL under
Parts 2 and 3 of this by- law:
a) Development or Redevelopment of land, buildings or structures owned by and
used for the purposes of the Municipality of Thames Centre;
b) Development or Redevelopment of land, buildings or structures owned by and
used for the purposes of a Board of Education, where a Shared Use Agreement
exists;
c) The replacement of any building that is a direct result of destruction due to
accidental fire or other accidental cause provided that no intensification or
change
of
use
is proposed, including
but
not limited
to
an
increase
in total
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 4
Residential
Units count or Gross
Floor Area;
d) The enlargement of an existing Residential Unit provided that the enlargement
does
not result
in additional
Residential
Units;
e) Institutional
Development;
f) Development or Redevelopment of land, buildings or structures for temporary
construction uses as defined by the Municipality' s Zoning By- law; and
g) Development
or Redevelopment
of,
i.
a second
residential
unit in a detached
house, semi- detached
house or
rowhouse on a parcel of land on which residential
use, other than
ancillary residential use, is permitted, if all buildings and structures
ancillary to the detached
house, semi- detached
house or rowhouse
cumulatively contain no more than one residential unit;
ii.
a third residential
unit in a detached
house, semi- detached
house or
rowhouse on a parcel of land on which residential use, other than
ancillary residential
use, is permitted, if no building or structure ancillary
to the detached house, semi-detached house or rowhouse contains any
residential
units; or
iii. one residential unit in a building or structure ancillary to a detached
house, semi- detached
house or rowhouse
on a parcel of residential
land,
if the detached
house, semi- detached
house or rowhouse
contains
no
more than two residential
units and no other building or structure ancillary
to the detached house, semi-detached house or rowhouse contains any
residential
units.
Part 2: Conveyance
of Land for Park Purposes
5. Land shall be required to be conveyed to Thames Centre for park purposes as a
condition
of Development
or Redevelopment
of land in an amount to be determined
in accordance with subsections (a) through to and including (e).
a) In the case of lands proposed for Residential uses, the greater of the following:
i.
if the density of the development is 30 units per hectare of less, at a rate of
five per cent ( 5%) of the land being Developed or Redeveloped, or
ii.
if the density of the development is greater than 30 units per hectare, at a
rate
of
one ( 1)
hectare
for
each
six
hundred ( 600) net
residential
units
proposed.
With
respect
to
land
proposed
for
development
or
redevelopment
that will include affordable
residential
units or
attainable
residential
units, as defined
in subsection
4. 1 (
1)
of
the
Development
Charges
Act, 1997, or
residential
units
described
in subsection
4. 3 ( 2) of that Act, the amount of land
that may be required to be conveyed under subsection (
1) shall
not exceed 5 per cent of the land multiplied by the ratio of A to
B where,
A" is the number of residential units that are part
of the development or redevelopment
but are not
affordable
residential
units, attainable
residential
units or residential
units described
in subsection
4. 3 ( 2) of the Development Charges Act, 1997;
and
B" is the number of residential units that are part
of the development or redevelopment; or
b) In the case of lands proposed for Commercial, or Industrial uses, land in the amount
of two per cent ( 2%) of the land to be Developed
or Redeveloped.
c) In the case of a Mixed- Use Development
or Redevelopment, land in the aggregate,
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 5
calculated
as follows:
i.
the Residential component, if any, as determined by Thames Centre, of the
lands being Developed or Redeveloped, shall require the conveyance of land
as determined in accordance with subsection ( a) of this by- law; plus
ii.
the Commercial, or Industrial component of the lands being Developed or
Redeveloped, if any as determined by Thames Centre, shall require the
conveyance
of land as determined
in accordance
with subsection (
b) of this
by- law; plus
iii.
the component of the lands proposed for any use other than Residential,
Commercial
or
Industrial
if any
as determined
by
the Municipality, shall
require the conveyance
of land as determined
in accordance
with subsection
d) of this by- law.
d) In the case of lands proposed for Development or Redevelopment for a use other
than those referred
to
in
subsections (
a), ( b) and ( c) of this section, land
in the
amount
of five per cent ( 5%) of the land to be Developed
or Redeveloped.
e) Where the development of land results from the approval of a site plan or zoning
by- law amendment and the approval of the application occurred within two years
of building permit issuance, the conveyance shall be determined on the date of the
planning
application.
Where
both planning
applications
apply, conveyance
shall
be determined on the date of the later planning application.
Location
of Conveyance
and Condition
of Title
6. Subject to restrictions
in the Planning Act, the location and configuration of land
required
to be conveyed
pursuant to this by- law shall be as determined
by Thames
Centre and all such lands shall be free of all encumbrances, including but not limited
to such
easements
which
Thames
Centre, in its sole and absolute
discretion,
is not
prepared to accept and shall be free of any contamination, including but not limited
to
any
toxic, noxious
or
dangerous
contaminants, and
shall
otherwise
be
in
a
condition satisfactory to Thames Centre.
7. A requirement as part of Development or Redevelopment to convey any valley land
or watercourse
corridors, woodlands, natural
heritage
system
lands and associated
buffers, easements, vista
blocks
and
storm
water
management
ponds, as those
terms are defined in the Official Plan or any secondary plan adopted under the Official
Plan, shall not be considered to be a conveyance of land for park purposes in
satisfaction of a requirement under this by- law.
Timing of Conveyance
8. Where land is required to be conveyed in accordance with this by- law, the lands shall
be conveyed
as follows:
a) in the case of Development
or Redevelopment
to be approved
pursuant to
sections 51 . 1 or 53 of the Planning Act, the conveyance of land may be
required
as a condition
of approval, and said lands shall
be conveyed
to
Thames Centre either prior to or immediately upon registration of the plan
of subdivision
or upon the consent being given, as determined
by Thames
Centre; and
b) in the case of Development
or Redevelopment
where
land
has
not been
conveyed
or has not been required
pursuant to sections
51 . 1 or 53 of the
Planning Act, Thames Centre shall require the conveyance of land as a
condition
of Development
or
Redevelopment
prior to
building
permit
issuance in accordance with section 42 of the Planning Act.
Part 3: Payment- in- Lieu of Parkland
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 6
9. In lieu of requiring the conveyance of land required by part 2 of this by- law, Thames
Centre may require the payment of the value of the lands otherwise required to be
conveyed, calculated in accordance with the following:
a) Where the PIL has been required for a consent pursuant to sections 51. 1 or
53 of the Planning Act, PIL may be provided on per lot basis where the land
is used for a Residential use in accordance with the Municipality's Fees and
Charges By- law in full force and effect.
The per lot rates shall be indexed annually on January 1st of each year
commencing January 1, 2025, by the Statistics Canada New Housing Price
Index ( house and land, most recent month year-over-year) and posted by
Thames
Centre. Thames Centre's failure to post the indexed rate shall not
waive the requirement for compliance with this by- law.
If the applicant
does
not agree
with the per lot rate, they may submit
a
property appraisal subject to the PIL requirements is subsection b).
b) For all other development or redevelopment, the PIL shall be calculated
as
the equivalent
value of the land
required
based
on a property
appraisal
provided by the applicant, as follows:
L
in the case of lands proposed for Residential, the greater of the
following:
1) if the density of the development is 50 units per hectare or less,
at a rate of five per cent ( 5%) of the value of land being
Developed
or Redeveloped, or
2) If the density of the development is greater than 50 units per
hectares, at a rate of the value of one ( 1) hectare of land for
each one thousand ( 1 , 000) net residential units proposed.
With respect to land proposed for development or redevelopment
that will include
affordable
residential
units or attainable
residential
units, as defined
in subsection
4. 1 (
1) of the Development Charges
Act, 1997, or residential
units described
in subsection
4. 3 ( 2) of that
Act, the PIL that may be required shall not exceed
5 per cent of the
value of the land multiplied by the ratio of A to B where,
A" is the number of residential
units that are part of the
development
or
redevelopment
but
are
not
affordable
residential
units, attainable
residential
units or residential
units
described
in subsection
4. 3 ( 2) of the Development
Charges Act, 1997; and
B" is the number of residential units that are part of the
development
or redevelopment; or
ii.
in the case of lands proposed for Commercial or Industrial uses,
the
value of two
per cent ( 2%)
of the
land
to
be Developed
or
Redeveloped;
iii.
in the case of a Mixed- Use
Development
or Redevelopment,
the
value of the land
in the aggregate, calculated
as follows:
1)
the Residential component, if any as determined by Thames
Centre, of the lands being Developed or Redeveloped, shall
require
the
PIL
of
the
value
of
land
as
determined
in
accordance with paragraph ( i) of this subsection; plus
2) the Commercial or Industrial component of the lands being
Developed or Redeveloped, if any as determined by Thames
Centre, shall require the conveyance of land as determined in
accordance with paragraph ( ii) of this subsection; plus
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 7
3) the component of the lands proposed for any use other than
Residential, Commercial, or Industrial if any as determined by
the
Municipality, shall
require
the
conveyance
of
land
as
determined
in
accordance
with
paragraph ( iii) of
this
subsection; and
iv.
in the case of lands proposed for Development or Redevelopment
for a use other than
those
referred
to in paragraphs (
i), (
ii) and ( iii)
of this subsection, the value of five per cent ( 5%) of the land to be
Developed
or Redeveloped.
Timing of PIL Payment and Determination of Value
10. PIL shall be paid as follows:
a) For Development or Redevelopment where the payment of PIL
is not
required
as
a
condition
of
an
approval
or
a consent, pursuant
to either
sections 51. 1 or 53 of the Planning Act, the PIL shall be paid prior to the
issuance
of
the
building
permit
in
respect
of
the
Development
or
Redevelopment in accordance with section 42 of the Planning Act. The
value of the land shall be determined as of the day before the day the
building permit is issued in respect of the Development or Redevelopment
or, if more than one building permit is required for the development or
redevelopment, as of the day before the day the first permit is issued.
b)
In the event that an extension
of an approval
described
in subsection ( a) or
b) is requested, the value of the land shall be determined as of the day
before the day of the approval of the extension.
c) Where the development of land results from the approval of a site plan or
zoning by-law amendment and the approval of the application occurred
within two years of building permit issuance, the PIL shall be calculated on
the value of the land
on the date of the planning
application.
Where
both
planning applications apply, PIL shall be calculated on the value of the land
on the date of the later planning application.
Part 4: Other
Previous
or Required
Conveyances
11. Notwithstanding parts 2 and 3 of this by- law, if land has been conveyed or is required
to be conveyed to Thames Centre for park or other public recreational purposes or
PIL has been received by Thames Centre or is owing to it pursuant to a condition
imposed
pursuant
to
sections
42, 51.
1
or 53 of the Planning
Act, no additional
conveyance or payment in respect of the lands subject to the earlier conveyance or
payment will be required by Thames Centre in respect of subsequent Development
or Redevelopment
unless:
a) There
is a change
in the proposed
Development
or Redevelopment
which
would increase the density or non- residential floor area of the development;
or
b)
Land
originally
proposed
for
Development
or
Redevelopment
for
Commercial
or
Industrial
uses
is
now
proposed
for
Development
or
Redevelopment
for other uses.
12. Where
there
is
a
claim
of
previous
conveyance
or
PIL
payment, it
is
the
applicant' s/ owner' s
responsibility
to
provide
suitable
evidence
of such
previous
conveyance or PIL payment, to Thames
Centre' s satisfaction.
By- law No. 33-2024
Page 8
13. Land or PIL required to be conveyed or paid to Thames Centre for park or other public
recreation purposes pursuant to parts 2 and 3 of this by- law shall be reduced by the
amount of land or PIL previously received by Thames Centre pursuant to sections 42,
51.
1
or
53
of
the
Planning
Act
in
respect
of the
lands
being
Developed
or
Redeveloped.
Phased
Development
14. Where approvals are issued in phases for Development or Redevelopment, Thames
Centre shall calculate and require the conveyance of land for park purposes or the
payment of PIL, in accordance with parts 2 and 3 of this by- law, on a phase-by- phase
basis.
Redevelopment
15. In the case
of redevelopment, the maximum
amount
of the
parkland
dedication
and/ or PIL shall not exceed an amount equal to the amount calculated as per the
previous sections of this by- law, multiplied by the ratio of "A" to " B" where,
A" is the floor area of any part of a building or structure, which part is proposed
to be erected or located as part of the development or redevelopment, and
B" is the floor area of all buildings and structures that will be on the land after the
development
or redevelopment.
Part 5: General
16. Where a determination is required to be made by Thames Centre in this by- law, that
determination
shall
be
made
by
the
Municipality's
Director of
Planning
and
Development
Services.
The
Director
of
Planning
and
Development
Services'
decision
shall be final.
17. This by- law shall be referred to as the "Parkland Dedication By- law".
18. This by- law shall come into force and effect on the final passing thereof.
READ a FIRST and SECOND time this 291" day of April, 2024
READ a THIRD time and FINALLY PASSED this 29t" day of April, 2024.
Mayor, S. McMillan
Clerk, J. Nethercott