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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Peter Loukes, Director of
Operations & Asset Management |
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PREPARED BY: |
Paul Ingham, General Manager,
Operations |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
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RECOMMENDATION:
That
the report titled ‘McCowan Road Fence Replacement’ be received.
And
that the Ward Councillor and representatives from the Operations and Asset
Management Department select the design and materials to be used
for the replacement fences, in consultation with the affected homeowners.
And that
Operations and Asset Management staff present the selected design option,
including the estimated cost of construction, at a future meeting of Council to
obtain approval to proceed with the fence replacement project.
And that the new replacement
fences be constructed on private property and that the replacement fences
become the responsibility of the individual property owners.
And that the
Town require each homeowner to enter into a formal agreement (undertaking) with
the Town for the new replacement fences, that will include
specific clauses to address the homeowner’s responsibility for all future
maintenance and replacement costs for the new fences.
And
that the Town’s representatives on Regional Council and/or Senior Management
assist the Operations Department in soliciting financial contributions from the
Region of York towards the replacement of these fences.
PURPOSE:
General Committee at its meeting held on
BACKGROUND:
In the late 1970’s Madrid Developments made application to the Town to
construct a McDonald’s restaurant at the south west corner of
Resolution to SSRA objections to the proposed McDonald’s restaurant
Upon receipt of notification of the proposed development, the South
Sherwood Ratepayers Association (SSRA) filed an objection with the Town citing
the following concerns.
These issues where presented at an OMB hearing and all conditions were
resolved to the satisfaction of the SSRA, with the exception of the generation
of noise and headlight glare. In their
petition the residents had requested that the OMB require the developer to
construct an earth berm and plant several conifers on the east side of McCowan
to shield the homes from the imminent headlight glare. The decision from the OMB was that this
request was beyond their jurisdiction and suggested to the homeowners that they
should arrange to meet with representatives from the Town and the Developer to
resolve this final issue.
In late 1979 or early 1980 the SSRA met with a sub-committee of planning
(that included both staff and members of Council) and a representative from
Madrid Developments (John Hurlbert). At
the conclusion of their meetings it was agreed that the developer would construct
and pay for the requested earth berm and tree planting that had been requested
by the SSRA.
Construction of the concrete fence
Around the time that this particular deal was struck between the SSRA,
Developer and the Town, the Region of York was in the process of initiating
construction for the widening of
At a Council meeting held in November 1981, the Director of Engineering
presented drawings depicting an 8 ft. high concrete fence to be constructed on
the east side of McCowan Road, to satisfy the resident’s concerns. This fence was approved for construction and
erected and paid for by the Developer in early 1982. The construction of this fence was completed
without the benefit of a formal agreement between the Town, Developer and
SSRA. From reviewing the original
development file, it does not appear that the Region of York was ever involved
in any discussions regarding the earth berm and trees or the concrete
fence. In addition, there is no
indication that Region approval was ever sought or obtained for the
construction of the concrete fence.
Subdivisions
constructed from the late 1970’s through to the early 1990’s, requiring back-lot fencing were
addressed through the Engineering design for municipal services. The fences were designed to be constructed on
the private side of the property line between the road allowance and the
individual residential properties.
Although some of these fences may have been constructed within the
municipal road allowance, the Town’s position on ownership and liability has
always been that the portion of the fence within the limits of their respective
property is owned by the homeowner, regardless of the actual location of the
fence. In addition, it is the
homeowners’ sole responsibility for all maintenance and replacement costs
associated with these fences.
These fences were usually constructed of
concrete panels which were thought at the time to provide many years of
maintenance-free life. This product
began to show deterioration shortly after construction and the product line was
discontinued. Over the years as the
deterioration continued many homeowners became concerned with the condition and
found it difficult for them to repair or replace the fence.
In 2002 staff and Council formed the Markham
Neighbourhood Beautification Committee who’s first objective was to look at a
revitalization of these fences.
The Town’s concrete fence replacement program was designed to address the fundamental objective of the Markham Beautification
Committee. The program enables
homeowners to realize substantial savings in the cost of removal and disposal
of the concrete fences and construction of new replacement fences.
The Markham Beautification concrete fence replacement
program includes a three-way cost sharing agreement whereby the Town, Corporate
sponsors and homeowners each contribute one-third of the cost for the fence
replacement program. Under this
program, individual homeowners enter into service agreements with the Town that
require them to either pay up-front, or agree to have their costs added to
their respective tax bill, for their portion of the cost to replace the
concrete fences. The Town then
coordinates the removal and disposal of the concrete fences (including erection
of temporary snow fence) and the construction of the new fence by the Town’s
contractor.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
When
comparing the concrete fences constructed under Subdivision Agreements to the
circumstances surrounding the decision to construct the subject fences on
Region of
Operations staff contacted the Region of York Transportation and Works
Department to request their participation in the removal and replacement of the
fence, either through financial contributions or services in kind. The Regional staff advised that they were not
involved in the original fence construction and, furthermore would not take any
ownership in the removal and replacement of this fence.
Region of
Operations staff have reviewed the most recent draft Noise Policy Update
prepared by the Region of York. Under
both the current and proposed policies, the criteria for increases in noise
levels as a result of the future
Applications that satisfy all retrofit criteria are ranked, priced and
submitted to Council for approval as part of the yearly capital budget
cycle. Depending on approved funding,
improvements are made based on highest ranking and would not be implemented
until 2006 at the earliest.
Recommended replacement of concrete fences
Several sections of the fences abutting the rear property lines of the
homes on Walkerton Drive have deteriorated to the point that they pose serious
safety risks for the homeowners as well as any pedestrians using the sidewalk
along the east side of McCowan Road.
Operations staff is in the process of dismantling and removing the most dangerous
sections of fence, and erecting temporary fencing to secure private properties.
In order to move
forward with the replacement of the concrete fences, the Operations Department
recommends the following:
FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
The removal and replacement of the concrete fences on the east side of
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Comments from the
Legal Services Department’s review of this proposal have been incorporated into
this report.
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Peter Loukes, P.Eng. Director, Operations and Asset Management |
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Jim
Sales Commissioner, Community and Fire Services |
Q:\Commission
Share\Operations and Asset Management\Reports\2005\Operations\Roads\McCown Road
Fence Replacement.doc
