PL190051: Private Roads By-law

This project is now closed. Please visit [insert url] for up-to-date information on private roads.

NOTICE OF APPROVAL

Council approved the Private Roads By-law on June 9, 2020. The new By-law will be in effect starting June 17, 2020. Thank you everyone for participating!

BACKGROUND

A private road is any access or right-of entry not owned by the Municipality or the Province of Nova Scotia. This includes travel lanes, curbs, sidewalks, gutters, bridges, culverts and retaining walls that are associated with private roads. In the Municipality, 21% of the roads are privately owned, extending 331 kilometres.

While landowners are responsible for the maintenance of their private roads, the Municipality provides assistance in collecting fees through tax billing. Currently, 24 road associations are under agreement.

Members of the public raised a concern over the difficulty of forming such associations due to legal barriers, such as high thresholds required for petitions and budget approval. This By-law review seeks to remove those barriers faced by the landowners on private roads.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN 2019

A series of open houses was held in September 2019. 120 attendees participated in discussion around private roads. Staff received 219 comments as well, and made a conclusion that landowners would appreciate assistance from the Municipality to lower the barriers of operating private road associations.

PROPOSED CHANGES

The intention of the new By-law is to streamline the process of entering a contract with the Municipality for the collection of road maintenance fee. Some changes include:

1. lowering thresholds for the petition quorum and annual budget approval to more than 50%;
2. Introducing an alternative process if the petition process cannot be followed; and
3. Updating the By-law to simplify the process of entering into contract with the Municipality.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the Proportion of Private Roads? In the Municipality, there are 1,581 kilometres of roads. The Province owns 1,238 km (78%), the Municipality owns 11.8 km (0.75%), and “Private Roads” owned by persons or associations are 331 km (21%).

Can the Municipality acquire properties to widen private roads? Section 224 of the Municipal Government Act allows the Municipality to acquire properties for the purposes of widening, altering or diverting an existing street or pathway. However, the definition of existing street is limited to public roads, not private roads or legal rights-of-way.

Who is Currently Liable for Private Roads? Section 27 of the Societies Act states that residents are not liable for any debt or liability of the private road association beyond the amount of road maintenance fee. However, Board directors may potentially be personally liable for the debts of the association. Service Nova Scotia and the MODL Recreation Department recommend consulting with an insurance company for additional information on the Directors Liability Insurance. Incorporated societies may be sued under its legal name.

Do I now have to upgrade my private road to municipal road standards? The new By-law does not mandate minimum standards on existing private roads. It was evident in the public engagement process that the majority of landowners did not want road standards to be imposed.