PL190051: Private Roads By-law

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Consultation has concluded

Three Pastures Road in Second Peninsula

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.

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.

Consultation has concluded

Do you have a question? Ask municipal staff to clarify some of the aspects on the proposed Private Roads By-law. You may help other members of the Public by doing so.

  • Share I have a property in a subdivision which contains Two roads and one road that has not been built as of yet.The area has a mix of permanent residence and seasonal.The road network is old and the roads have not been maintained over the years.The developer owns the road network pays $1.00 per year in taxes and the residents in their deeds are to maintain the roads but does not say how or how often.Therfore There has been little or no work done on the roads In the new by-law it does not spell out how the roads would be maintained in my area.Why would you maintain a road that has not been maintained and you do not own.Your comments please. - Green Bay on Facebook Share I have a property in a subdivision which contains Two roads and one road that has not been built as of yet.The area has a mix of permanent residence and seasonal.The road network is old and the roads have not been maintained over the years.The developer owns the road network pays $1.00 per year in taxes and the residents in their deeds are to maintain the roads but does not say how or how often.Therfore There has been little or no work done on the roads In the new by-law it does not spell out how the roads would be maintained in my area.Why would you maintain a road that has not been maintained and you do not own.Your comments please. - Green Bay on Twitter Share I have a property in a subdivision which contains Two roads and one road that has not been built as of yet.The area has a mix of permanent residence and seasonal.The road network is old and the roads have not been maintained over the years.The developer owns the road network pays $1.00 per year in taxes and the residents in their deeds are to maintain the roads but does not say how or how often.Therfore There has been little or no work done on the roads In the new by-law it does not spell out how the roads would be maintained in my area.Why would you maintain a road that has not been maintained and you do not own.Your comments please. - Green Bay on Linkedin Email I have a property in a subdivision which contains Two roads and one road that has not been built as of yet.The area has a mix of permanent residence and seasonal.The road network is old and the roads have not been maintained over the years.The developer owns the road network pays $1.00 per year in taxes and the residents in their deeds are to maintain the roads but does not say how or how often.Therfore There has been little or no work done on the roads In the new by-law it does not spell out how the roads would be maintained in my area.Why would you maintain a road that has not been maintained and you do not own.Your comments please. - Green Bay link

    I have a property in a subdivision which contains Two roads and one road that has not been built as of yet.The area has a mix of permanent residence and seasonal.The road network is old and the roads have not been maintained over the years.The developer owns the road network pays $1.00 per year in taxes and the residents in their deeds are to maintain the roads but does not say how or how often.Therfore There has been little or no work done on the roads In the new by-law it does not spell out how the roads would be maintained in my area.Why would you maintain a road that has not been maintained and you do not own.Your comments please. - Green Bay

    over 4 years ago

    If the deed to your property indicates that you have a right to access the two roads in your subdivision, and a responsibility to maintain the roads, then you may want to ensure access is sufficient to your property in case of an emergency (i.e. for fire trucks and EHS ambulances). As for the details of your obligations on those rights-of-way, I would highly recommend consulting with a lawyer.

    Having said that, the Municipality has no jurisdiction over private roads, including their maintenance. That is why the new by-law does not spell out how the existing private roads would be maintained, because it would be decided amongst the affected landowners. It is up to the landowners to decide what is an acceptable level of emergency access, and the Municipality has no intention to force any maintenance or improvement requirements for existing private roads.

    The purpose of this new By-law is to help residents in the collection of road maintenance fees, if and only if the majority of landowners want it.

  • Share My only concern is that there is nothing in the by-law to say what happens if you cannot get 50% to form an Association.Who is liable then if emergency vehicles cannot access the road? Thanks, on Facebook Share My only concern is that there is nothing in the by-law to say what happens if you cannot get 50% to form an Association.Who is liable then if emergency vehicles cannot access the road? Thanks, on Twitter Share My only concern is that there is nothing in the by-law to say what happens if you cannot get 50% to form an Association.Who is liable then if emergency vehicles cannot access the road? Thanks, on Linkedin Email My only concern is that there is nothing in the by-law to say what happens if you cannot get 50% to form an Association.Who is liable then if emergency vehicles cannot access the road? Thanks, link

    My only concern is that there is nothing in the by-law to say what happens if you cannot get 50% to form an Association.Who is liable then if emergency vehicles cannot access the road? Thanks,

    over 4 years ago

    In terms of the liability question, it would be an excellent question for lawyers. The reason that the By-law does not mention about liability is because it is a civil court matter – as it is a private road.

    “What happens if you cannot get 50% to form an association” is a valid concern. Municipality, in the new By-law, is suggesting two ways to mitigate the concern:

    • Lowering the percentage from 66.6% to 50%, so the threshold is lower
    • If 50% could not be reached, offering an alternative process

    New Section 8 covers the alternative process. Basically, a landowner can ask the Council to consider forming a Private Road Charge Area that would act similar to a road association. Council would consider multiple aspects as to why the 50% could not be reached, and then if it is deemed reasonable to collect fees to maintain the private road(s), then it is possible for the roads to be maintain even if the 50% couldn’t be reached. The intention for this section is that it would only be used if necessary.