1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


HONOURABLE ARTHUR CHARBONNEAU
MINISTER OF EDUCATION

BILL 43 -- 1995

SCHOOL SITES ACQUISITION STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 1995

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

 
Municipal Act

1 Section 992 (4) of the Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 290, is amended by striking out "The amount" and substituting "Subject to section 992.1 (5), the amount".

2 The following section is added:

Provision of school sites

992.1 (1) An owner of land being subdivided shall, if an agreement referred to in subsection (2) has been entered into by the local government and the school board having responsibility for the school district in which the land being subdivided is located, provide to the local government, without compensation, one of the following as required by the local government:

(a) land for a school site

(i) of an amount and in a location specified by the agreement, or

(ii) if the amount and location of the required land is not specified in the agreement, of an amount and in a location on which the local government and the school board have agreed pursuant to the agreement;

(b) a payment equal to the value, determined under subsection (6), of

(i) the amount of land that is required under the agreement for school site purposes, or

(ii) if the amount of land required for school site purposes is not specified in the agreement, the amount of land on which the local government and the school board have agreed pursuant to the agreement;

(c) a combination of land and payment for land on which the local government and the school board have agreed pursuant to the agreement.

(2) A local government and a school board may enter into an agreement respecting the provision of land or payments for school sites under this section which agreement may include agreement on one or more of the following:

(a) whether and to what extent paragraph (a), (b) or

(c) of subsection (1) shall apply to subdivisions that are in whole or in part within the school district of the school board;

(b) the conditions on which and the procedures by which the local government and the school board may decide, in respect of any specific subdivision, on

(i) whether paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) shall apply to the subdivision, and

(ii) the amount and location of any land and the amount of any payment that is to be provided under subsection (1) in respect of that subdivision;

(c) in respect of the land provided to the local government under subsection (1) and section 992, the proportion of the land that is to be used for park purposes and the proportion of the land that is to be used for school purposes;

(d) the terms under which and the procedures by which land and payments provided to the local government under this section are to be provided to the school board;

(e) the manner in which the value of land may be determined and agreed on under subsection (6).

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply

(a) unless the school board has indicated a school site requirement in its current School District Capital Plan, as approved by the Minister of Education under the School Act, or

(b) to a

(i) subdivision where fewer than 3 additional lots would be created,

(ii) subdivision where the smallest lot being created is larger than 2 ha, or

(iii) consolidation of existing parcels.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), none of the following may exceed 5% of the land being proposed for subdivision:

(a) the amount of land that may be required under subsection (1) (a);

(b) the amount of land that may be used for establishing the amount that may be paid under subsection (1) (b);

(c) the amount of land of which one part may be provided under subsection (1) (c) and of which the other part is to be used to establish an amount to be paid under that subsection.

(5) Either of the following may exceed 5% of the land being proposed for subdivision provided that they do not, in the aggregate, exceed 10% of that land:

(a) the amount of land referred to in subsection (4) (a), (b) or (c);

(b) the amount of land that may be required under section 992 (1) (a) or used for establishing the amount that may be paid under section 992 (1) (b).

(6) If an owner is required to pay money under subsection (1) (b) or (c), the value of the land is

(a) the average market value of all the land in the proposed subdivision calculated as at either

(i) the date of preliminary approval of the subdivision, or

(ii) if no preliminary approval is given, a date within 90 days before the final approval of the subdivision,

as though

(iii) the land is zoned to permit the proposed use, and

(iv) any works and services necessary to the subdivision have not been installed, or

(b) if the local government, the school board and the owner agree on a value for the land, the value on which they have agreed.

(7) Where, for the purpose of subsection (6), the local government, the school board and the owner do not agree on the value of the land, it shall be determined in the manner prescribed in the regulations that the minister may make for the purpose.

(8) If land or payment has been provided to a local government under subsection (1) in respect of land being subdivided, subsection (1) does not apply to any further subdivision of that land.

(9) Subject to subsection (10), the land, payment or land and payment referred to in subsection (1) shall be provided to the local government in accordance with the agreement referred to in subsection (2) before final approval of the proposed subdivision is given.

(10) The local government may, in accordance with the terms of the agreement referred to in subsection (2), enter into an agreement with the owner that the land, payment or land and payment referred to in subsection (9) be provided by a date, specified in the agreement with the owner, after final approval of the proposed subdivision has been given.

(11) Notwithstanding subsections (9) and (10), the minister may, by regulation, authorize the payment that may be required by this section be made by instalments and may prescribe conditions under which instalments may be paid.

(12) Final approval shall not be given to a subdivision referred to in this section unless one or more of the following, as required by the local government, has occurred:

(a) if land is required to be provided under subsection (1), a registerable transfer of the land has been provided to the local government and the approving officer has endorsed on the subdivision plan a statement that final approval to the subdivision is given on the condition that the registerable transfer of land will accompany the application to deposit the subdivision plan in the land title office;

(b) if a payment is required under subsection (1), the payment has been provided to the local government;

(c) the owner has provided to the local government, in a form satisfactory to the local government, security for one or both of the land or payment required under subsection (1).

(13) If the owner pays money for school site land under subsection (1) (b) or (c), the local government to which the payment is made shall, forthwith after receipt of the money, provide the money to the school board having responsibility for the school district in which the land being subdivided is located.

(14) If land is provided for a school site under subsection (1) (a) or (c), the local government to which the land is provided shall, forthwith after receipt of title to the land, transfer title to the land to the school board having responsibility for the school district in which the land being subdivided is located.

Transitional -- application

3 Section 992.1 of the Municipal Act as enacted by this Act does not apply to a subdivision of land if, before the coming into force of this Act,

(a) an application for the subdivision had been submitted, and

(b) either or both of preliminary approval or final approval for the subdivision had been obtained.

 
School Act

4 The School Act, S.B.C. 1989, c. 61, is amended by adding the following section to Division 1 of Part 7:

Provision of school sites under the Municipal Act

118.1 (1) Where money is paid to a board by a local government under section 992.1 (13) of the Municipal Act or where land is acquired by a board under section 992.1 (14) of the Municipal Act and is subsequently disposed of by the board for money, the board shall, forthwith after receipt of the money so paid or realized, deposit it in a land capital reserve trust account in the board's name.

(2) The money deposited by a board in a land capital reserve trust account under subsection (1) shall be accounted for in accordance with the directions of the minister and shall be spent by the board only for the acquisition of land for school site purposes in accordance with the capital plan prepared by the board and approved by the minister under section 156.

Commencement

5 Sections 1 to 4 are deemed to have come into force on the day that this Act receives First Reading in the Legislative Assembly and are retroactive to the extent necessary to give them effect on and after that date.

 
Explanatory Notes

 
Municipal Act

SECTIONS 1 and 2: [Municipal Act, amends section 992 and adds section 992.1] require that owners of land seeking to subdivide that land must, where the school board has shown a need for school land and has entered into an agreement with the local government in respect of that requirement, ensure that provision is made for school sites, either by dedicating land or providing payment or by a combination of both.

SECTION 3: [Municipal Act, transitional] provides that the requirement to make provision for school site land in relation to a proposed subdivision applies only to subdivisions for which preliminary or final approval has not been obtained.

 
School Act

SECTION 4: [School Act, adds section 118.1] requires that a school board that receives money under section 992.1 of the Municipal Act as enacted by this Bill must keep that money in a designated trust account, account for it in accordance with the directions of the Minister of Education and spend it only to acquire land for schools.


[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]

Copyright © 2002: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada