Appeals Committee By-law

Whereas:

The City is a single-tier municipality incorporated pursuant to an order made under section 25.2 of the Municipal Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.45.

The powers of a municipality must be exercised by its council (Municipal Act, 2001, 2001, s. 5 (1)).

A municipal power must be exercised by by-law unless the municipality is specifically authorized to do otherwise. (Municipal Act, 2001 s. 5 (3)).

A municipality may delegate legislative and quasi-judicial powers under the Municipal Act, 2001 to a body having at least two members of whom at least 50 per cent are:

1. members of its council;
2. individuals appointed by its council;
3. a combination of individuals described in clauses (a) and (b); or
4. an individual who is an officer, employee or agent of the municipality (Municipal Act, 2001, ss. 9, 10, 11 & 23.2 (1)).

On June 25, 1973, council passed By-Law Number 7514 to establish a committee to hear appeals from orders made under that by-law.

On May 17, 2005, council passed the Property Standards By-Law under s. 15.1 (3) of the Building Code Act to do the following things:

1. continue the committee established by By-Law Number 7514 as the "Appeals Committee";
2. prescribe standards for the maintenance and occupancy of property within the City of Kingston and prohibiting the occupancy or use of such property that does not conform with the standards; and
3. require property that does not conform with the standards to be repaired and maintained to conform with the standards or the site to be cleared of all buildings, structures, debris or refuse and left in graded and levelled condition.

The Property Standards By-Law establishes the committee composed of such persons, not fewer than three, as council considers advisable to hold office for such term and on such conditions as the Property Standards By-Law establishes.

The members of the committee must provide for a secretary for the committee who must keep on file the records of all official business of the committee (Building Code Act, s. 15.6 (6)).

The committee may adopt its own rules of procedure, and any member may administer oaths (Building Code Act, s. 15.6 (8)).

The Statutory Powers Procedure Act applies to the committee's proceedings when it exercises it statutory power of decision conferred by the Building Code Act, any other Act of the Legislature, this by-law or any other by-law of council (Statutory Powers Procedure Act, s. 3 (1)).

The appeals committee may make rules governing the practice and procedure before it (Statutory Power Procedures Act, s. 25.1 (1)).

A single tier municipality may provide any service or thing that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for the public (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 10 (1)).

Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Municipal Act, 2001 authorize a municipality to provide for an appeal of a decision made by a person or body in the exercise or intended exercise of a power or the performance or intended performance of a duty delegated to them by the municipality under the Municipal Act, 2001 (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 284.1 (1)), and such power includes the power:

1. to designate the body that will conduct the appeal;
2. to provide for the powers the body conducting the appeal may exercise;
3. to establish procedures with respect to the appeal (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 284.1 (2).

Council considers it necessary and desirable for the public to designate the appeals committee as the body that will conduct appeals of certain decisions made by a person or body in the exercise or intended exercise of a power or the performance of a duty delegated to them by the City under the Municipal Act, 2001.

Therefore, council enacts:

1.1 This by-law may be cited as the Appeals Committee By-Law.

1.2 In this by-law:

Appellant means a person who brings an appeal of a decision made by a person or body in the exercise or intended exercise of a power or the performance or intended performance of a duty delegated to them by the City under the Municipal Act, 2001;

Building Code Act means the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23;

By-law means a by-law passed by council;

City means The Corporation of the City of Kingston;

Clerk means the person appointed by the City as clerk and includes the clerk's designate;

Committee means the committee established City of Kingston By-Law Number 7514 and continued under the Property Standards By-Law or its successor as designated by council;

Council means the council of the City;

Council Procedural By-Law means City of Kingston By-Law Number 2021-41, the "Council Procedural By-Law";

Decision includes:

1. an order made by an officer under section 15.2 (1) of the Property Standards By-Law; and
2. an order or decision designated by section 4.1 as being an order or decision that a person may appeal to the appeals committee,

Meeting has the meaning given to it in the Council Procedural By-Law;

Municipal Act, 2001 means the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25;

Property Standards By-Law means City of Kingston By-Law Number 2005-100, A By-Law For Prescribing Standards For The Maintenance And Occupancy Of Property Within The City of Kingston;

Statutory Powers Procedure Act means the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22;

1.3 For the purposes of interpreting this by-law:

1. a reference to any legislation, regulation, or by-law or to a provision thereof includes a reference to any legislation, regulation or by-law enacted, made or passed in substitution thereof or amendment thereof;
2. any reference to legislation includes all of the regulations made thereunder;
3. "they", and all of its other grammatical forms, is a singular gender-neutral pronoun and includes all other pronouns in all of their grammatical forms;
4. "include", "includes" and "including" indicate that the subsequent list is not exhaustive; and
5. an "appeal" includes a review.

2.1 The Committee must consist of not fewer than five members.

2.2 Council must appoint the members of the Committee and designate the term of their appointment.

2.3 The Committee must hold the hearings and perform the other duties that are assigned to it by or under any Act, regulation or by-law.

2.4 Except as limited by this by-law, the Committee has all the powers that are necessary or expedient for carrying out its duties.

2.5 The Committee may make orders or give directions as may be necessary or incidental to the exercise of the powers conferred on the Committee under an Act, this by-law or any other by-law.

2.6 Three members of the Committee constitutes a quorum and may exercise all the powers of the Committee.

2.7 The Committee must elect a chair from among themselves one of the members as chair and may designate one or more other members as vice-chairs of the Committee.

2.8 When the chair is absent, the Committee may elect another member as acting chair.

2.9 The members of the Committee must provide for a secretary of the Committee.

2.10 The secretary must keep on file records of all official business of the Committee, including records of all applications made under section 9.3 of the Property Standards By-Law and minutes of all decisions respecting those applications.

2.11 The chair will have general supervision and direction over the conduct of the affairs of the Committee and must, with the assistance of the clerk, arrange the sittings of the Committee and assign members to panels to conduct hearings, either at regular intervals or as circumstances require.

2.12 The chair must appoint a chair for each panel from the members sitting on the panel.

2.13 If a panel of the Committee consists of an even number of members and there is no majority decision, the decision of the chair will be the decision of the panel.

2.14 A person who was a member of the predecessor committee immediately before the transition date continues as a member of the Committee until the day the person's term of office as a member of the predecessor committee would have expired, subject to the person's earlier death, resignation or removal.

2.15 The chair and any vice-chairs of the Committee holding office immediately before this by-law comes into force will be the chair and vice-chairs until the Committee elects their successors under section 2.7.

3.1 On an appeal under section 9.3 of the Property Standards By-Law, the Committee has all of the powers and functions of the officer who made the order and the Committee may do any of the following things if, in the Committee's opinion, doing so would maintain the general intent and purpose of the Property Standards By-Law and of the City's official plan:

1. confirm, modify or rescind the order to demolish or repair; and
2. extend the time for complying with the order.

3.2 Subject to a person's right of appeal under section 15.3 (4) of the Building Code Act, an order that is confirmed or modified by the Committee under section 3.1 is final and binding upon the owner and occupant.

4.1 The Committee is designated as the body that will hear appeals of decisions made under the following:

1. a decision under section 7.4 of By-Law Number 2021-166, A By-Law to Regulate Animals, to refuse to grant a kennel permit, breeder permit, hen coop permit or pigeon loft permit;
2. a decision under section 7.6 of By-Law Number 2021-166, A By-Law to Regulate Animals to suspend a kennel permit, breeder permit, hen coop permit or pigeon loft permit;
3. a decision under section 17.2 of By-Law Number 2021-166, A By-Law to Regulate Animals to require an owner to muzzle a dog;
4. a decision under section 3.11 of By-Law Number 2006-213, A By-Law to License, Regulate and Govern Certain Trades to refuse to grant a licence;
5. a decision under section 3.12 of By-Law Number 2006-213, A By-Law to License, Regulate and Govern Certain Trades to suspend a licence;
6. a decision under section 2.4 of By-Law Number 2021-10, A By-Law to License and Regulate Short-term Rentals in the City of Kingston to refuse to grant a licence or to suspend a licence;
7. a decision under section 4.1 of By-Law Number 2022-6, A By-Law to Regulate and License Transportation Network Companies in the City of Kingston to refuse to grant or renew a licence;
8. a decision under section 4.3 of By-Law Number 2022-6, A By-Law to Regulate and License Transportation Network Companies in the City of Kingston to impose conditions as a requirement of obtaining, continuing to hold or renewing a licence; and
9. a decision under section 14.1 of By-Law Number 2022-6, A By-Law to Regulate and License Transportation Network Companies to suspend or revoke a licence.
10. a decision under section 6.1 of By-Law Number 2026-86, A By-Law to Regulate Passenger Transportation Services, to suspend or revoke a licence.

4.2 The Committee is designated as the body to hear applications for a minor variance made under section 3.4 of By-Law Number 2003-405, A By-Law to Regulate Fences and under section 6.2 of By-Law Number 2009-140, A By-Law to Regulate Signs in the City of Kingston.

5.1 Notwithstanding section 2.1 of the Council Procedural By-Law, the Council Procedural By-Law does not apply to the Committee's proceedings when it exercises its power to hear an appeal or to hear an application under section 3.4 of By-Law Number 2003-405, A By-Law to Regulate Fences or under section 6.2 of By-Law Number 2009-140, A By-Law to Regulate Signs in the City of Kingston.

5.2 The Statutory Powers Procedure Act applies to the Committee's proceedings when it exercises its power to hear an appeal.

5.3 The City, the appellant and the other persons that the Committee specifies are parties to the hearing.

5.4 The clerk must give reasonable notice of the hearing to the parties in the manner they consider appropriate.

5.5 The Committee has jurisdiction to determine all questions of fact or law that arise in matters before it.

5.6 An order of the Committee takes effect immediately unless the order provides otherwise.

5.7 Despite any limitation of time fixed by or under any by-law for the giving of any notice, if the Committee is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for granting relief, it may:

1. extend the time for giving notice either before or after the expiration of the limitation of time; and
2. give the directions that it considers proper as a result of extending the time.

5.8 At any stage of a hearing, the Committee may examine any of the following persons:

1. a party to the proceeding; and
2. a witness in the proceeding.

5.9 At any stage of a proceeding, the Committee may, in determining any matter, consider any relevant information obtained by the Committee in addition to evidence given at the hearing, if the Committee first informs the parties to the proceeding of the additional information and gives them an opportunity to explain or refute it.

5.10 The Committee may require or permit a person to give evidence before it by affidavit.

6.1 The Committee may make rules establishing procedures for hearings held by the Committee and the rights of parties to the hearings.

6.2 A rule made under section 6.1 does not prevail over any provision of this by-law or any Act or other by-law that sets out requirements for procedures for hearings held by the Committee or rights of parties to the hearings.

7.1 Except as provided for in any other Act or by-law, orders and decisions of the Committee are final.

8.1 The Committee may hold meetings at regular intervals or otherwise as the chair or the clerk considers appropriate.

8.2 City of Kingston By-Law Number 2021-41, the Council Procedural By-Law applies to the Committee's proceedings when it exercises its power to hold a meeting.

9.1 If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision, or any part of a provision, of this by-law to be invalid, or to be of no force and effect, it is the intention of council in enacting this by-law that each and every provision of this by-law authorized by law be applied and enforced in accordance with its terms to the extent possible according to law.

9.2 An appeal that was commenced under a by-law or Act before the date that this by-law is passed but is not disposed of before that date will be continued and disposed of by the Committee under City of Kingston By-Law Number 2015-159 as it read immediately before its repeal.

9.3 "City of Kingston By-Law Number 2015-159, Appeals Committee Procedure By-Law" is repealed.

9.4 This by-law will come into force and take effect on January 1, 2025.