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Home My WebLink AboutCL 16-02 REPORT TO COUNCIL FROM: Bruce Taylor, AMCT , CMM City Clerk DATE: Mayl0,2002 - REPORT NUMBER: CL 16-02 SUBJECT: Fortification of Land and Buildings RECOMMENDATION: 1. That Clerk's Report CL 16-02 regarding the fortification of land and buildings be received; and 2. That the. draft by-law to prohibit the excessive barricading or fortification of all lands and buildings within the City of Pickering be enacted. ORIGIN: Newspaper reports and resident concerns that biker gangs may be locating in Pickering. Also, the Durham Region Police Service is requesting municipalities to consider such a by-law to assist them with dealing with gangs that are contemplating setting up permanent residence within the City and the Region. - AUTHORITY: Section 217 of the Municipal Act FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Not applicable EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Attached to this Report is a draft by-law that prohibits the excessive barricading or fortifications oflands and buildings, which is commonly referred to as a "Bunker By-law". - BACKGROUND: The Municipal Act was amended within the past year to provide for by-laws to be passed to prohibit the excessive fortification of land and buildings in order to provide a deterrent to biker gangs ftom establishing clubhouses and meeting places that were not readily accessible to the Police and which provided a danger to the occupants of these buildings if there was a fire. Report to Council CL 16-02 Date: May 10, 2002 Subject: Fortification ofland and buildings Page 2 Attached is such a by-law that prohibits not only the excessive fortification of buildings that would have the effect of hindering access to a building by an emergency service such as the Police, Fire or Ambulance but also prohibits the installation of protective devices on land that would hinder the transportation of an emergency service over the land. The by-law also prohibits the installation of surveillance equipment that would hinder the action of an emergency service. - The Chief Building Official and the Municipal Law Enforcement Officers would jointly enforce this by-law because the technical aspects of the fortification ofa building comes iÌ'om the Ontario Building Code. . ATTACHMENTS: 1. Draft By-law P.r.e...p..ar.)?¥y: ~' /;/' ~ ' ,/; /) I;:~~ : Taylor, City Clerk - Attachments -. Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council if .~ - ATTACHMEì\rr *t,",_~_TO REPORT #_C L, .../(". ~ 0 '1....- THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF PICKERING BY-LAW NO. Being a by-law to ,prohibit the excessive barricading or fortification of all lands, buildings and structures appurtenant to any land within the City of Pickering WHEREAS pursuant to Section 217(1) of the Municipal Act, RS.O. 1990, c. M.45, as amended, a municipality that is responsible for the enforcement of the Building Code Act, 1992, may, regulate in respect of the fortification of and protective elements applied to land in relation to the use of the land and prohibit the excessive fortification of land or excessive protective elements being applied to land in relation to the use of the land; and NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF PICKERING HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. .- - 2. DEFINITIONS In this By-law, a) "Chief Building Official" means the Officer appoint by Council as the Chief Building Official pursuant to Section 3 ofthe Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c.23, as amended, and includes a Building Inspector. b) "City" means the Corporation of the City of Pickering. c) "Emergency Services" means police, fire and ambulance services. d) "Land" means land, including buildings, mobile homes, mobile buildings, mobile structures, outbuildings, fences, erections, physical barriers and any other structure on the land or on or in any structure on the land. e) "Municipal Law Enforcement Officer" includes a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer appointed pursuant to either paragraph 45 of Section 207 of the Municipal Act or pursuant to subsection 18(1) of the Police Services Act, RS.O. 1990, c. P.15, as amended. f) "Person" means a natural person, an individual, a :firm, a corporation, an association or partnership and their heirs, èxecutors, administrators or other legal representative of a person to whom the context can. apply according to the law, and includes an owner, lessee and tenant of land within the geographic limits of the City of Pickering. g) "Protective Elements" means, but is not limited to, all of the elements referred to in subsection 2( d) below and includes surveillance equipment. GENERAL PROHffiITION No person shall: a) fortify or barricade any land for the purpose of, or which would have the effect of, restricting or hindering access by Emergency Services to that land. - - - 3. 4. REPORT #,.f..~~. Ie. ~ 0 L b) restrict or hinder anyone iÌ'om exiting, in a timely manner, any land for the purpose of calling or obtaining Emergency Services. c) assemble, install or maintain, nor permit to be assembled, installed or maintained, any material element which is intended to reinforce or fortifY land, or which does reinforce or fortifY land. d) assemble, install or maintain, nor permit to be assembled, installed or maintained, any protective element on land. For the purposes ofthis By-law, the following shall be deemed to be protective elements: a) protection plaques made of metal or any material and installed inside or outside a building. b) laminated glass or any other type of glass or material that is bulletproof or difficult to break in the event of a fire, installed in windows or doors including protection shutters. c) annoured or specially reinforced doors made for resisting the impact of firearms, battering rams or explosives. . d) grills or bars made of metal or any other material installed on doors, windows and other openings that limits the quick exit :fÌom a building or structure in an emergency situation. e) bricking of or over windows and doorways. f) the obstruction or installation of secondary walls in ftont of landings, doors or windows. g) concrete, metal or any other material installed as pillars or barriers prohibiting or hindering access onto any land through conventional means or modes of transportation. h) fences constructed, installed, maintained or reinforced with metal or like materials in excess of3 (three) millimeters in thickness. EXEMPTIONS The following shall be exempt ftom the provisions ofthis By-law: a) financial institutions zoned for such use or otherwise lawfully permitted by law. b) detention centres, zoned for such use or otherwise lawfully permitted by law. c) security service businesses, zoned for such use or otherwise lawfully permitted. d) all other commercial, business, industrial or institutional establishments where the nature of the undertaking necessitates particular elements of fortification or protection and where such use is permitted by the Zoning By-laws of the City or provided such use is otherwise lawfully permitted. POWER OF ENTRY A Municipal Law Enforcement Officer or Chief Building Official may, at any reasonable time, enter and inspect any land to determine whether this By-law, or an Order under this By-law, is being complied with. - - - 12. REPORl#~~~..I'- ð L.. ORDERS 5. If a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer or Chief Building Official is satisfied that a contravention of this By-law has occurred, the Officer may make an Order requiring work to be done to correct the contravention and the Order shall set out: a) the municipal address or the legal description of the land. b) reasonable particulars of the contravention and of the work to be done and the period within which there must be compliance with the Order. c) a notice stating that if the work is not done in compliance with the Order within the period it specifies, the City may have the work done at the expense of the owner. 6. The period described in Section 5(b) shall not be less than three months if the fortification or protective elements were present on the land on the day this By-law is passed. 7. If the work required by an Order under Section 5 or 6 is not done within the specified period, the Municipal Law Enforcement Officer or Chief Building Official may, at any reasonable time, enter upon the land or may make arrangements for municipal employees or a contractor retained by the municipality for that purpose, to enter upon the land to do the work. 8. No person shall exercise a power of entry under this By-law to enter a place, or a part of a place, that is used as a dwelling unless, a) the occupier of the dwelling consents to the entry, having first been informed of his or her right to refuse consent; or b) if the occupier refuses to consent, the power to enter is exercised under the authority ofa warrant issued under Section 158 of the Provincial Offences Act. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT 9 The Municipal Law Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for the administration of this By-law and the Chief Building Official and the Municipal Law Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this By-law. PENALTIES 10. Every person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is guilty of an offence and upon conviction thereof is liable to a fine in the amount provided for by the Provincial Offences Act, RS.O. 1990, c. P.33, as amended, or any successor legislation thereto. CONFLICT 11. Subject to Section 12, where a provision of this By-law conflicts with the provision of any other By-law of the City or any applicable government regulation, the provision that establishes the higher standard to protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public shall prevail. Notwithstanding Section 11 mid despite Section 35 of the Building Code Act, 1992, if there is a conflict between the Building Code under the Building Code Act, 1992 and this By-law, the Building Code prevails. / REPORT # ~~J c::.. - 0 (... SEVERABILITY 13. If a Court of competent jurisdiction should declare any Section in this By-law or part thereof, to be invalid, such Section or part of a Section shall not be construed as having persuaded or influenced Council to pass the remainder of this By-law as being invalid and is hereby declared that the remainder f the by-law shall be valid and remain in force. ..... BY-LAW read a first, second and third time and finally pas~d this 21 st day of May, 2002. Wayne Arthurs, Mayor Bruce Taylor, Clerk - -