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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Notice - Municipal Act 2001, As Amended - ADM-COM-287Page 1 of 5 POLICY ADM-COM-287 PUBLIC NOTICE - MUNICIPAL ACT 2001, AS AMENDED Category ADM - Administration Sub-category COM - Communications Approval Type COUNCIL Department/Division Finance & Corporate Services/Legislated Services Author and Position City Clerk, Council/Committee Services Date Approved February 24, 2003 Last Reviewed/Amended November 18, 2024 Next Review Date June 1, 2027 Related Policies or Procedures • Municipal Act, 2001 • Legislation Act, 2006 Policy Purpose The Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 (the Act) requires municipalities to give notice to the public of the municipality’s intention to pass certain by-laws or take certain other actions at a public meeting for which the form and manner of the notice has not otherwise been prescribed in the Act. The notice to be given shall be adequate to give reasonable notice under each of the respective provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001. Definitions For the purpose of this policy the following definitions apply: a) “advertising” means advertising that is placed to promote overall awareness of the City or on behalf of the Corporation. b) “Council” means Kitchener City Council as a whole. c) “City Facility(ies)” means all physical property, buildings, facilities, lands, premises, goods and other assets owned, leased and/or maintained by the Corporation of the City of Kitchener. d) “Legislation Act” means the Legislative Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21 Sched. F, as may be amended. e) “newspaper” means a document that, (i) is printed in sheet form, published at regular intervals of a week or less and circulated to the general public, and consists primarily of news of current events of general interest; (“journal”) and; (ii) may include an online subscription option. Page 2 of 5 f) “online publication” means notices posted to the City’s website. g) “Procedure By-law” means the By-law that outlines the process that Kitchener City Council follows to adopt bylaws, pass resolutions, and conducts business. It establishes rules of procedure by which Kitchener City Council and Standing Committees function and facilitate public participation. h) “published” means published in a daily or weekly newspaper, that, in the opinion of the Clerk, has such circulation within the municipality as to provide reasonable notice to those affected thereby. i) “Regular Business Hours” means the time period(s) as defined in the location- specific access procedures and/or signage of each City Facility. j) “Website” means the official City of Kitchener website at www.kitchener.ca. Policy Scope Statutory notice to the public under the Act, other legislation or by-law, will be completed in accordance with this Policy as well as any prescribed notice content, signage or mailing requirements. Nothing in this Policy prevents the Clerk from using additional methods of notice that, in the Clerk’s opinion, are more effective or provide a longer notice period. Further, nothing in this Policy prevents the Clerk from using the public notification methods contained in this Policy for matters not otherwise required under this Policy. This Policy does not apply to public relations materials including advertising, posters, brochures or event program advertisements. Application ☒ Employees (Indicate below which categories apply: All employees, Permanent full-time, Temporary full-time, Continuous part- time, Casual, Probationary, Student, Management, Non-union) • All Permanent full-time and Temporary full-time ☐ Unions (Indicate below which categories apply: All Unions, CUPE 68 Civic, CUPE 68 Mechanics, CUPE 791, IATSE, IBEW, KPFFA) • Click or tap here to enter text. ☒ Council ☒ Specified Positions: City Clerk ☐ Other: Local Boards and Advisory Committees Policy Content 1. Accordingly, Council has directed that where notice of intention to pass certain by- laws or take certain actions at a public meeting is required to be given for which notice requirements are not prescribed under the provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, or its regulations, such notice shall be in the form and manner hereinafter set out: a) The notice shall include the following information: i) a description of the purpose for the meeting or the purpose and effect Page 3 of 5 of the proposed by-law; ii) date, time and location of the meeting at which the matter will be considered; iii) a description of how and where comments and/or objections can be made; and, iv) contact information for the purpose of submitting written comments, prior to the meeting, including any submission deadline; b) Notice shall be published in a newspaper; c) Notice in the newspaper shall be given at least once, not less than nine (9) days before the event the notice relates to; d) Personal notice by registered mail or prepaid (regular) mail or personal service shall be given in those situations where there are a limited number of people affected by the intention to pass a by-law pertaining to the permanent closure or altering of a highway, the designation of a highway as a controlled access highway or changing the name of a highway or private road; and, e) Where the notice relates to events affecting the fundamental structure of the municipality such as a restructuring proposal, changing the name of the municipality, changing the composition of Council and the establishment of wards, a second notice shall be placed in the newspaper, such that the notices are published in different weeks. 2. Where a legislated notice requirement under an Act or Regulation must be provided and there are no suitable printed newspapers that meet the definition of a Newspaper, notice shall be given in the form and manner set out: a) Notice to the public shall be posted on the “Public Consultations” page of the City’s website for at least the two-week period immediately preceding the Council or Committee meeting at which the matter will be considered, and an opportunity is provided for members of the public to speak to or submit correspondence regarding the matter. b) Notice to the public given under this section is sufficient even if there are times during the two-week period that the City’s website is not accessible. c) The Public Notice may also be sent to City Facilities for posting on appropriate bulletin boards accessible to the public during Regular Business Hours. Notices may also be sent to other community stakeholders as determined by applicable staff. Page 4 of 5 d) Notice to the public given under this section shall contain the required information from Section 1. 3. The form and manner of notice described in this Policy constitutes the minimum notification required by Council; however, it is recognized that circumstances may arise where it is advisable to extend the breadth of notice to encompass other notice formats such as public agenda, verbal notice at a public meeting, neighborhood newsletter, City-wide newsletter, tax bill insert, and separate mailings to households. Exceptions 4. Notwithstanding the Notice requirements established by this Policy, Council hereby acknowledges that no notice is required for any amendment to the budget that would not impact on the City levy for general purposes or the City capital budget and notice in the form of placement of a staff report discussing the said amendments, on a Committee and/or Council agenda shall be considered sufficient notice with respect to the following: a) amendments to licensing by-laws, its Procedural By-law and any other regulatory or administrative type by-laws for housekeeping purposes which are deemed to be of a minor and/or administrative nature; and, b) amendments to the budget that would impact on the City levy for general purposes or the City capital budget. Deferral 5. In the event consideration of certain actions at a public meeting for which notice was required to be given is deferred or the proposed by-law is not passed at the Council meeting specified on the notice, but deferred, no further notice is required, if a public statement is made at the meeting that the matter has been deferred and the municipality now intends to consider the subject matter/by-law at a later Council meeting as specified in the public statement. This applies to any further deferrals of the matters. Emergency 6. If a matter arises, which in the opinion of the CAO, in consultation with the Mayor, is considered to be of an urgent or time sensitive nature, or which could affect the health or well-being of the residents of the City of Kitchener, or if a State of Emergency is declared or if so advised by a Provincial Ministry, the Clerk shall make best efforts to provide as much prior notice as is reasonable under the circumstances or will provide notice of the action as soon as possible following the action. Page 5 of 5 Applicability 7. The notice requirements set out in this policy apply to those situations where the Municipality is required under the Municipal Act, 2001, or its regulations, to give notice to the public of the municipality’s intention to pass certain by-laws or take certain actions at a public meeting for which the form and manner of the notice has not been prescribed in the Municipal Act, 2001 or other provincial legislation except where notice is otherwise expressly provided in a by-law of The Corporation of the City of Kitchener. Results of Review ☐ No Edits Required ☐ Housekeeping Edits ☒ Substantial Edits ☐ Repeal/Replace Policy History Administrative and Housekeeping Changes Date Nature of Change 2016-06 I-287 policy template re-formatted to new numbering system and given number ADM-COM-287. Substantial Changes Date Council/CLT Directive 2024-11-18 As Per Council/CLT Directive - Report COR-2024-018