Subdivision Regulation and Discretion 2019

Course Chairs
Nathalie J. Baker — Eyford Partners, Vancouver
Raymond E. Young, QC — Local Government and Planning Law Chambers, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
Nathalie Baker is a litigator practising primarily in the area of municipal law. She has a particular interest in land use matters and issues of procedural fairness and represents landowners, developers, citizens groups and business owners on wide range of local government matters arising under the Local Government Act, the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter. Nathalie has represented clients in the Provincial Court of British Columbia on bylaw prosecution matters, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on applications for judicial review and in the Court of Appeal. She also has experience before administrative tribunals, including the Board of Variance. The daughter of former City of Vancouver councillor and well respected municipal lawyer, Jonathan Baker, she has had an interest in this area of law since well before she started practising with her father in 2002.

Raymond practices law full-time both as a litigator and as a solicitor. Ray’s practice focuses on judicial review litigation, local government law and governance, growth management, planning and land-use, and real estate development. Ray has a Master’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Planning Institute of British Columbia, and the American Planning Association. As an adjunct professor at UBC Law School, he has taught municipal law and land use law for eighteen years, and is concurrently teaching planning and land use law at the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning. He taught land use law as Visiting Professor at the University of Florida, and Growth Management Law at Georgia State University Faculty of Law (Atlanta). In 2003-2004, Ray was designated a Senior Fulbright Scholar by the Canada/U.S. Fulbright Foundation, and spent some of that time in Atlanta researching the impact of NAFTA on planning and growth management legislation and regulation in Canada and the United States.

Faculty
Sara Dubinsky — Lidstone & Company, Vancouver
Chuck Goddard — Manager of Development and Environmental Services/Subdivision Approving Officer, City of Maple Ridge, Maple Ridge
Pamela J. Jefcoat — Civic Legal LLP, Vancouver
Peter D. Johnson — Stewart McDannold Stuart, Victoria
Emily McClendon — Civic Legal LLP, Vancouver
Guy Patterson — Young Anderson, Vancouver
Michael E. Quattrocchi — Young Anderson, Vancouver
Olga Rivkin — Lidstone & Company, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Introduction

Nathalie J. Baker — Eyford Partners, Vancouver
Raymond E. Young, QC — Local Government and Planning Law Chambers, Vancouver

Subdivision Bylaws, Process, Statutory Considerations, and the Broad Powers of the Approving Officer

• the role of the Approving Officer
• the subdivision application process, including general subdivision requirements under the Land Title Act
• the preliminary review process and issuance of Preliminary Layout Approvals;
• matters considered by the Approving Officer on application for approval and statutory grounds for refusing to approve a subdivision plan; and the exercise of discretion by the Approving Officer

Michael E. Quattrocchi — Young Anderson, Vancouver

Break

Statutory Basis and Anatomy of a Works and Services Bylaw and of a Works and Services Agreement

• what is a works & services bylaw?
  • what is the authority?
  • when does it apply?
  • works required – types and standards
  • requiring connections
• what is a works & services agreement?
  • postponement of construction obligations: s509 LGA
  • timing of installation of works & services
  • setting the standards
  • security for completion maintenance obligations

Peter D. Johnson — Stewart McDannold Stuart, Victoria

Public Dedications, Statutory Rights of Way, School Lands, Highways and 219 Restrictive Covenants

• when land dedications can be required and for what purpose
  • rezoning/development
  • subdivision
• how can dedication be achieved
  • dedication on a plan
  • fee simple transfer
  • advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to dedication
• interesting situations
  • plan cancellations
  • notations on title (park/road purposes) mistakes on plans

Olga Rivkin — Lidstone & Company, Vancouver

Networking Lunch (provided)

Bare Land Strata Plans, Phased Strata Plans, and Relevant Provisions of the Strata Property Act

• bare land stratas, phased stratas and strata conversions
• the roles of the approving officer and the approving authority
• when are approvals required?
• what is the scope of discretion in the strata context?
• what does the approving officer or authority look for? unusual Issues faced by approving officers and approving authorities

Guy Patterson — Young Anderson, Vancouver

Latecomer Agreements and Extended Services

• legislative provisions governing latecomer charges and excess and extended services and the judicial consideration of these legislative provisions
• compare and contrast these financing mechanisms with other development services funding, considering the preferences and perspectives of both local governments and the development community

Pamela J. Jefcoat — Civic Legal LLP, Vancouver
Emily McClendon — Civic Legal LLP, Vancouver

Break

Judicial Review of Approving Officers' Decisions

• statutory appeal vs. judicial review; procedure and substance
• 85(3) the scope of the public interest jurisdiction
• s 86 and the scope of considerations relating to: injurious effect on established amenities; flooding erosion, landslip, and avalanche; and excessive public cost
• s. 87 conformance with local government bylaws

Sara Dubinsky — Lidstone & Company, Vancouver

An Approving Officer's Perspective, Woes, and Trials and Tribulations

• decisions that an approving officer needs to make and the considerations
• challenges faced in the decision making process
• scenarios that approving officer faces and how they deal with them

Chuck Goddard — Manager of Development and Environmental Services/Subdivision Approving Officer, City of Maple Ridge, Maple Ridge

Closing Remarks

Raymond E. Young, QC — Local Government and Planning Law Chambers, Vancouver