1994 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
HONOURABLE MOE SIHOTA
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, LANDS
AND
PARKS AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE
FOR MULTICULTURALISM
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 Section 215 of the Land Title Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 219, is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (1.1) (e),
(b) by adding the following subsections:
(1.2) A covenant described in subsection (1.3) in favour of
(a) the Crown or a Crown corporation or agency,
(b) a municipality, regional district or local trust committee under the Islands Trust Act, or
(c) any person designated by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks on terms and conditions he or she thinks proper, as covenantee, may be registered against the title to the land subject to the covenant and, subject to subsections (7) and (8), is enforceable against the covenantor and the successors in title of the covenantor even if the covenant is not annexed to land owned by the covenantee.
(1.3) A covenant registrable under subsection (1.2) may be of a negative or positive nature and may include one or more of the following provisions:
(a) any of the provisions under subsection (1.1);
(b) that land or a specified amenity in relation to it be protected, preserved, conserved, maintained, enhanced, restored or kept in its natural or existing state in accordance with the covenant and to the extent provided in the covenant.
(1.4) For the purpose of subsection (1.3) (b), "amenity" includes any natural, historical, heritage, cultural, scientific, architectural, environmental, wildlife or plant life value relating to the land that is subject to the covenant. ,
(c) in subsection (2) by striking out "under subsection (1)" and substituting "under this section",
(d) in subsection (5) by striking out "A charge registered under subsection (1) may be" and substituting "A covenant registrable under this section may be",
(e) in subsection (6) by striking out "under subsection (1)" and substituting "under this section", and
(f) by adding the following subsections:
(7) On the death or dissolution of an owner of a covenant registrable under subsection (1.2) (c), the covenant ceases to be enforceable by any person, including the Crown, other than
(a) another covenantee named in the instrument creating the covenant, or
(b) an assignee of a covenantee if the assignment has been approved in writing by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks.
(8) If a covenantee or assignee referred to in subsection (7) is a corporation that has been dissolved and subsequently restored into existence under an enactment of British Columbia, the covenant continues to be enforceable by the restored corporation from the date of its restoration.
(9) A recital in a covenant that a person "has been designated by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks under section 215 (1.2) (c) of the Land Title Act", or a statement to that effect in the application to register the covenant, is sufficient proof to a registrar of that fact.
2 Every covenant entered into by the Crown, the British Columbia Heritage Trust or a council under the Heritage Conservation Act that has been registered in the land title office is hereby continued as if it were entered into under section 215 of the Land Title Act, as amended by section 1 of this Act.
3 Section 26 of the Assessment Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 21, is amended by adding the following subsection:
(3.5) In determining actual value, the assessor shall give consideration to any terms or conditions contained in a covenant registered under section 215 of the Land Title Act.
4 Section 27 of the Heritage Conservation Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 165, is repealed.
5 Section 5.2 (1) (b) (i) of the Property Transfer Tax Act, S.B.C. 1987, c. 15, is amended by striking out "described in section 215 (1.1) (e)" and substituting "described in section 215 (1.3) (c)".
6 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
SECTION 1:
(a) repeals a provision of the Land Title Act that is now covered under paragraph (b) of this section of the Bill;
(b) enables non-government organizations to enter into conservation covenants with property owners, and provides a mechanism to have a notation of these covenants entered on the title of the affected property;
(c) to (e) are consequential to the restructuring of section 215 of the Land Title Act;
(f)
SECTION 2: continues the application of covenants entered into under the Heritage Conservation Act that are now entered into under section 215 of the Land Title Act, as amended by section 1 of this Bill.
SECTION 3: clarifies the basis for the evaluation of properties under the Assessment Act that are subject to a covenant under section 215 of the Land Title Act, as amended by section 1 of this Bill.
SECTION 4: repeals a provision of the Heritage Conservation Act that is now covered by section 215 of the Land Title Act, as amended by section 1 of this Bill.
SECTION 5: makes a cross reference change.
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