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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBylaw Development Policy A Community of Communities By-Law Development Policy POLICY Respecting the Procedures For Developing By-Laws For Consideration By Regional Council BE IT RESOLVED AS A POLICY of the Council of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality as follows: Short Title 1. This Policy may be cited as the By-law Development Policy. Purpose 2. (1) The purpose of this Policy is to create a coordinated framework to expedite consistent by-law writing, consultation, approval process, referencing, storing and accessing and to ensure that all Departments are aware of the responsibilities they will have in respect of a By- law before it is introduced before Regional Council. (2) Subject to Section 3 herein, the procedure in this Policy applies to all by-laws including by-laws developed to amend existing by-laws. Exception 3. This Policy does not apply to planning documents adopted pursuant to Part VII (Planning and Development) and Part IX (Subdivision) of the Municipal Government Act. Initiation of By-law 4. By-laws may be initiated in one of two ways: By-law Development Policy Page - 2 1) A recommendation from Council/Committee which is sent to staff for a report and ultimately considered at a Regional Council meeting; or . 2) Staff, by means of a staff report to Directors’ Group By-law Development Process 5. Staff to prepare an Issue Paper using the by-law implementation template and forward to Directors’ Group for review and recommendation, which is to be forwarded to Committee or back to staff for further investigation. If the Directors recommend proceeding to Committee and the Committee deems it appropriate to proceed, a recommendation shall be made to Regional Council to initiate the By-law supported by the backup information in the Issue Paper, which shall include who originated the request, the need for the by-law, who will enforce it, who will administer it, and the costs involved (cost/benefit analysis). Writing of By-laws 6. (1) By-laws are written by staff of the originating/lead Departments. (2) The template for drafting by-laws is attached as Schedule “A”. Fonts on all by-laws must be consistent (Times New Roman 12). (3) The originating Department shall contact the Legal Department to assist with the by-law drafting and approvals process. The Clerk’s Department will assign a by- law number which must be used on all documents. (4) The originating Department will consult with all affected Departments which will be involved in the licensing, administration, remedy and enforcement of the By-law to ensure the by-law is enforceable and shall circulate the draft by-law to all those affected for comment. (5) The originating Department will consult with any Committees of Council with a stake in the By-law. (6) The originating Department will consult with any External Stakeholder groups where appropriate. Methods of consultation with external stakeholders may vary and is at the discretion of the originating Department. (7) Any applicable license, permit and processing fees pursuant to a by-law shall be established by Recorded Resolution entitled the License, Permits and Processing Fees Resolution. Where applicable, the originating Department shall prepare an amendment to the Resolution with respect to associated fees. (8) When the originating Department has completed the draft by-law and amendment to the Resolution respecting fees, it shall forward the documents to the Legal Department for final review, noting a date at which time a response is required from the Legal Department, which date shall not be less than 10 business days from the time the By-law Development Policy Page - 3 By-law is received by the Legal Department. The Legal Department shall immediately advise the originating Department if the target date cannot be met and shall provide the Department with a date on which the review will be completed. Upon completion of the review of the documents on or before the agreed date, the Legal Department shall provide the originating Department with a list of deficiencies, or if there are no deficiencies, shall stamp the By-law and Policy amendments “approved as to form” and return them to the originating Department. (9) When the By-law and the Resolution amendments have been approved as to form by the Legal Department, the originating Department shall forward the documents along with the draft staff report and completed by-law implementation template to the Directors’ Group for review and comment. (10) After the By-Law and Resolution amendments have been approved by the Directors’ Group, the originating Department shall forward the staff report, draft by-law and Resolution amendments to the appropriate Standing Committee. The Committee would then review same and forward it to Regional Council. Approval By Regional Council (First Reading) 7. (1) At the next regular scheduled meeting, Council will have the opportunity to review the recommendation from Committee, the staff report and draft By-law and Resolution amendments, if required. If Council accepts the report and draft By-law as All by-laws require Two Readings. presented, a motion for First Reading is in order. (2) Any amendments to by-laws as a result of debate/discussion at Council will be made by the originating Department in consultation with all affected Departments and the Legal Department. The Clerk’s Office will provide information to confirm Council’s action. After approval as to form by the Legal Department, the originating Department shall then prepare a supplementary report, if necessary, and accompanying by-law (with amendments if any) and be forwarded to the appropriate Committee for review and recommendation to Council for First Reading. (3) The Municipal Clerk’s Office is responsible, with support from the originating Department and the Legal Department, for coordinating the approval process once the by-law and accompanying report has received First Reading approval by Council. Second Reading (Public Hearing) and Advertisement At least 14 days prior to the Council meeting where Second Reading is intended to be given, public notification of such intent is placed in the local newspaper and the CBRM Internet site. The advertisement must state the object of the by-law, the date of the Council meeting when the Public Hearing will be held and the location(s) where the proposed by-law may be inspected or a copy obtained. The preparation of any amendments to a By-law arising as a result of the Public Hearing shall be processed using the procedure set out in Section 7(2) above. By-law Development Policy Page - 4 nd If Council refers the by-law back to Committee for further review and the 2 reading by Council is scheduled to a later date, an advertisement to that effect must be placed 14 days prior to the Council meeting. Signing, advertisement and effective date 8) Once approved by Council – i The originating Department forwards the complete electronic version (including schedules and maps) of the by-law to the Municipal Clerk’s Office; ii Copies of the by-law are signed by the Mayor and Municipal Clerk and notification of the approved by-law is advertised in the newspaper and on the CBRM Internet site; iii Instances where Ministerial approval is required, the Clerk’s office will forward two certified copies of the by-law to the appropriate Provincial department; iv Once this approval has been received, notification of the approved by-law is advertised and placed on the CBRM Internet site, and pursuant to Section 169 of the Municipal Government Act, the Clerk also files a certified copy of the by- law with the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. Unless otherwise stated in the by-law, its effective date is the date of publication. v Certified copy of the ad announcing approval of the by-law is placed with the signed copy of the by-law. Distribution, storage and indexing of by-law 9) The original by-law is securely filed in the Municipal Clerk’s office. All approved by- laws are electronically stored for access both internally and externally, on the “Y” drive under CBRM Common Directory and on the CBRM Internet site. By-law Development Policy Page - 5 10)A by-law index (detailing First and Second readings, dates advertised, date of Ministerial approval, if required, effective date, etc.) is maintained by the Municipal Clerk’s Office. I, Bernie White, Municipal Clerk of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, hereby certify that the above noted policy was passed at a meeting of Cape Breton Regional th Council held on the 19 day of December, 2006. ___________________________ Bernie White, Municipal Clerk By-law Development Policy Page - 6 Schedule “A” BY-LAW TEMPLATE By-law #: (to be determined by the Clerk’s Department) By-law Name: Short Title: Interpretation/Definitions By-law: (insert the by-law content in this space, including penalty clause if required) Repeal Section: (if necessary) ___________________________ Mayor ___________________________ Municipal Clerk I, Bernie White, Municipal Clerk of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, hereby certify that the above noted by-law was passed at a meeting of Cape Breton Regional Council held date on (). ___________________________ Bernie White, Municipal Clerk ISSUE PAPER – Template BY-LAW DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND Clearly indicate what the intent of the By-law is what situation (s) it attempts to address. PURPOSE What to expect/what do we want or expect. LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY Relevant sections of Municipal Government Act. DISCUSSION Associated legislation/by-laws overlap if any; groups or individual’s approached/involved. PROS/CONS Options FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Current budget Future budget/dept. IMPLEMENTATION/ CONTROL Dept. – Why Impact on Resources Internal/External ENFORCEMENT Department Responsible TIMELINE Development Implementation RECOMMENDATIONS Clear, concise supported by factual information. Flow Chart – By-Law Development Procedure Initiation of By-law (by Council/Committee/Staff) Staff Drafts Issue Paper Send to Directors (using by-law implementation template) If approved or deemed unwarranted by If not approved – Directors – back to staff send to Committee Revised Issue Paper back to Directors Committee approves or rejects Approved by Directors Issue Paper – Then to Committee & Council Recommends to Council Council Sanction (proceed with by-law) Staff Drafts By-law Forward to Legal Dept. for If not approved by review (response time not less Committee/Council– than 10 days) Back to staff with instructions for Send to Directors amendments st Committee – Council (1 reading) Advertisement 14 days before nd 2 Reading/Public Hearing Revised by-law sent back to (if public hearing postponed by Committee/Council Council – then re-advertise date st For 1 Reading of public hearing) Advertisement Final Passage SNSMR By-law book, Web, Y-Drive