10 16 2024 SpCouncil Agenda
The Township of Oro-Medonte
Special Council Meeting Agenda
Electronic Hybrid Meeting
Wednesday October 16, 2024
4:30 p.m. - Open Session
The Township of Oro-Medonte is committed to providing and maintaining a working
environment that is based on respect for the dignity and rights of everyone within the
organization and for those individuals visiting our organization.
The Township of Oro-Medonte supports and fosters an environment that is safe,
welcoming and respectful for all residents, visitors, members of Council and staff.
Residents and business owners are encouraged to continue to utilize on
line and telephone services for Township related business; and staff continue to be
available to provide assistance by telephone, email and in person.
Input on agenda items are welcome and encouraged by emailing
agendacomment@oro-medonte.ca or registering to provide Open Forum comments
at the "Request for Participation Form" link below.
The Township of Oro-Medonte has amended its Procedural By-law to allow for
electronic participation at Council meetings. In-person attendance at public meetings
is also available. Protocols have been established to advise how to electronically
participate in the public portions of these meetings. Please visit the following links for
additional information:
Request for Participation Form
Protocols for Public Participation Council and DS Committee
All electronic Council meetings will be streamed live, where possible, on the Township
YouTube Channel. Council Agendas will continue to be published on the Civic Web
Meeting Agendas in advance of the meeting date in accordance with the Township’s
Procedural By-law.
Page
1.Call to Order - Reading of Land Acknowledgement:
The Township of Oro-Medonte acknowledges that we are situated on the
traditional land of the Anishnaabek (A- nish- in- aa- beh) people, and
ancestral territory of the Huron-Wendat. The Anishnaabek include the Odawa
\[Oh-DAH-wah\], Ojibwe \[O-jib-we\] and Pottawatomi \[boh-tah-WAH-toh-mee\]
Page 1 of 16
Council Meeting Agenda - October 16, 2024
nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. It continues
today as the home for diverse Indigenous Peoples including the historic
Métis Community in Penetanguishene.
The Anishnaabek people continue to have an enduring relationship with this
land, specifically the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, the Chippewa Tri-
Council and the Williams Treaties First Nations. The Huron-Wendat Nation
also continues to pay respect and protect their ancestors and heritage on this
land. We honour the Indigenous history and culture that has thrived for
millennia in this territory and the Treaties that bind us together as partners in
the spirit of a shared sustainable and prosperous future. We are all Treaty
People. Our commitment begins with acknowledging the Truth so that we
can move forward together towards Reconciliation.
2.Adoption of Agenda:
a)Motion to Adopt the Agenda.
3.Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest:
4.Reports of Municipal Officers for Information Only:
4 - 7a)DS2024-124, George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning, Special Projects
re: Council Education Session Pertaining to Enforcement Challenges in
Addressing Short-Term Rental Commercial Accommodations in the
Municipality.
DS2024-124
5.Presentations:
a)W. Paul Dray, Prosecutor Provincial Offences Act, President, Paul Dray
Legal Services Professional Corporation re: Short Term Rentals (STR).
8 - 14b)Gerald Spencer, Manager of Municipal Law Enforcement, City of Niagara
Falls re: Short Term Rentals (STR).
Presentation
6.Questions from Members of Council/Public:
7.By-Laws:
15a)2024-107: A By-law to Appoint a Treasurer and to Repeal By-law No. 2022-
065.
2024-107
8.Confirmation By-Law:
16a)2024-108: Being a by-law to confirm the proceedings of the Special Council
meeting held on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
2024-108
Page 2 of 16
Council Meeting Agenda - October 16, 2024
9.Adjournment:
a)Motion to Adjourn.
Page 3 of 16
4.a) DS2024-124, George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning, Special Project...
Staff Report
______________________________________________________________________
To: Council
From: George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning Special Projects
Meeting Date: October 16, 2024
Report No.: DS2024-124
Subject: Council Education Session Pertaining to Enforcement Challenges
in Addressing Short-TermRental Commercial Accommodations in
the Municipality
Type: For Information Only
Motion No.:
___________________________________________________________
Recommendation
It is recommended:
1. That Information Report No. DS2024-124be received for information.
Introduction
The purpose of this information report is to provide some context for the Council
education session pertaining to enforcement challenges in addressing short-term rental
commercial accommodations in the municipality. It builds on Information Report
DS2024-093received by Council at its meeting on September 11, 2024.
Short-term rentals (STRs) can be broadly described as dwelling units offered for rent via
electronic platforms for the purpose of commercial gain and profit for periods as short as
a day, but more typically for three (3) days and typically no longer than a month.
It has been the Township’s position that STRs are only permitted in certain zone
categories. The Township’s Zoning By-law No. 97-95 permits STRs in Village Resort
Commercial within the Village (V1) and Residential Two, exception 123 (RS-123)
Zones. They are not permitted in most residential zones.
Development Services October 16, 2024
Report No. DS2024-124 Page 1 of 4
Page 4 of 16
4.a) DS2024-124, George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning, Special Project...
A time-share is another form of STR.These types of uses are only permitted in the
following areas:
- Horseshoe Resort Condos
- The Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge developments.
Bed and Breakfast uses are another form of STRs and are only permitted as of right in
the Agriculture/Rural Zone (A/RU) or Private Recreation (PR) Zone under the Zoning
By-law. They are only permitted elsewhere by exception approved through a Zoning
Amendment.
Under the Zoning By-law a Dwelling Unit is defined as:
“Dwelling Unit \[By-law 2015-192\]
Means one or more rooms in a building, designed as, or intended as, or capable of
being used or occupied as a single independent housekeeping unit and containing
living, sleeping, sanitary and food preparation facilities or facilities for the installation of
kitchen equipment and has an independent entrance. For the purposes of this By-law,
a dwelling unit does not include any commercial accommodation or a recreational
trailer.” (Emphasis added)
Generally, under the Zoning By-law, unless a use is specifically listed as being
permitted, it is not permitted. The only way it could be permitted is through a Zoning By-
law Amendment or minor variance.
The municipality introduced a definition of Commercial Accommodation through a
Zoning By-law Amendment, which was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
The decision of the OLT was to repeal the By-law amendment. The municipality
appealed the OLT decision to the Divisional Court and in March 2024, the Court issued
its decision agreeing with the OLT decision, which removed the amended definition of
Commercial Accommodation. See Information Report DS2024-093 for details.
Take Aways from OLT and Divisional Court Decisions
The Court recognized that the current Zoning By-law already prohibits commercial
accommodation in dwelling units but stated it must be something “other than simply
renting a dwelling unit for money”.
The Court went on to suggest that the term “commercial accommodation” in the current
definition of dwelling unit, “… could mean that temporary accommodation provided as
part of an ongoing commercial enterprise akin to a hotel, motel, resort or bed and
breakfast are prohibited as commercial accommodations.”
Municipal Law Enforcement Actions
Municipal Law Enforcement has beenattempting to enforce the Zoning By-law and gain
compliance since it started receiving complaints associated with STRs in 2017.
Development Services October 16, 2024
Report No. DS2024-124 Page 2 of 4
Page 5 of 16
4.a) DS2024-124, George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning, Special Project...
Municipal Law Enforcement Officers have also enforced Municipal By-laws related to
noise, garbage and parking through routine follow-up and investigation.
In the fall of 2023, Municipal Law initiated a Municipal Act Section 440 charge against
an owner that failed to cease their STR operation. Staff also initiated two charges under
the Zoning By-law through the Provincial Offenses Act (POA).
In early 2024 as staff were preparing to proceed to Court to have the POA charges
adjudicated, the Township’s prosecutor, being an independent officer of the Court,
determined that the evidence gathered to support the Section 440 charge and the two
POA charges against operators of STRs was not sufficient to obtain a conviction and
withdrew the charges. It was determined that the evidence provided was insufficient
secure convictions.
Based on the Divisional Court decision, proceeding with further prosecutions of STR
operators under the current Zoning By-law is not ideal unless sufficient evidence can be
obtained that crosses the threshold of the dwelling being used for commercial
accommodation.
Council Education Session
Staff have invited two professionalsto share their experiences in dealing with STRs.
Paul Dray is an experienced paralegal and prosecutor that has provided prosecution
services for 35 municipalities, including several in Simcoe County, along with various
government agencies. He also prepares by-laws for review by municipalities. Earlier in
his career he worked as Manager of Prosecutions for the City of Brampton for 16 years.
He will share his experiences and insights on the challenges of prosecuting STR
owners.
Paul DeMelo is a lawyer and co-partner with the firm Kagan Shastri DeMelo Winer Park
and a former Legal Counsel with a large municipality. His practice focuses on all
aspects of municipal and land use planning law. He represents both public and private
sector clients. He will be speaking on his experiences with the City of Niagara Falls.
Financial/Legal Implications/Risk Management
Council will be considering an Options Report at a future Council meeting. Depending
on the direction provided to staff, there may be legal and/or consulting costs associated
with implementing the preferred option.
Policies/Legislation
Municipal Act
Planning Act
Provincial Offences Act
Township of Oro-Medonte Zoning By-law
Development Services October 16, 2024
Report No. DS2024-124 Page 3 of 4
Page 6 of 16
4.a) DS2024-124, George Vadeboncoeur, Manager, Planning, Special Project...
Consultations
Chief Administrative Officer
Director, Development Services
Manager, Planning Services
Chief Municipal Law Enforcement Officer
Conclusion
The OLT and Divisional Court in recent decisions pertaining to the repeal of a Oro-
Medonte’s proposed Zoning Amendment to define Commercial Accommodation
indicated that the short-term rental of a dwelling unit must reach the threshold of
commercial accommodation before it can be determined it is in violation of the Zoning
By-law.
The purpose of the Council Education Session is to provide members of Council with
information on the challenges of prosecuting STRs using a Zoning By-law.
Arrangements have been made for an experienced Prosecutor and Solicitor to attend
the meeting to share their experiences while representing Ontario municipalities in
dealing with STRs. Due to the interest in this matter the session is open to the public.
In the coming weeks staff will bring forward a report outlining options for Council to
arrive at a strategy to improve the regulations and enforcement of short-term rentals in
Oro-Medonte.
Respectfully submitted;
George Vadeboncoeur, RPP,
Manager, Planning Special Projects Oct.. 9, 2024
Approvals: Date:
Brent Spagnol, Director, Development Services October 9, 2024
Shawn Binns, CAO October 10, 2024
Development Services October 16, 2024
Report No. DS2024-124 Page 4 of 4
Page 7 of 16
Strategy to Enforce Bylaws related to illegal
Vacation Rental Units (VRUs)
What is the City of Niagara Falls doing to Enforce
unlicensed and illegally run VRU’s?
•OnAugust18,2021,theOntarioLandTribunalapproved
OfficialPlanAmendmentNo.127,whichamendstheCity’s
OfficialPlantoadddefinitionsandpoliciesrespecting
VRU’sandB&B.
•ALicensedVRU,withupto3bedroomsispermittedin
existingdwellingsoradwellingunit,withintheTourist
Commercial(TC),GeneralCommercial(GC),and
CommercialBusiness(CB)zonessubjecttoregulations
containedinBy-lawNo.2018-92
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
How did we get here?
•AggressiveVRUplatform(s),establishedmomentumofthisindustrywithothermunicipalities,thusallowing
aneasytransitionintothemunicipality,priorzoningby-law(s)languageandtheinabilitytoaggressively
enforcethesepriorby-lawsthroughthecourts.
•VacationRentalUnitsareaglobaltrend.Notafadbutarealindustryweneedtodealwith.
•Morethan6millionlistingsworldwide
•450millionpeopleusedvacationrentalsworldwide
•23%ofAmericanshaveusedavacationrentalplatform
•Marriotthelargesthotelcompanyhas60,000VacationRentalshomesinadditiontoitstraditionalhotel
assets.
•TheCityhasaccesstosoftwarethatidentifiedapproximately1000currentactiveillegalVRU’s.Therental
channelofthissoftwaredepicts80%fromtheAirBandBsite,6%fromtheVRBOand14%fromboth. We
aretryingtoobscureourmethodsanddatabaseusedsonottoadverselyeffectourcurrent
inspections/investigationsofillegalVRUsthroughouttheCityandpendingcourtactions. Wearetrackingthe
advertisementsandplatformsutilized.
•Throughtheuseofthisdatabasewebsiteweanalyzemarket-leveltrendsinsupplyanddemand,dailyrates,
andoccupancy. Thesiteidentifieda45%occupancyrateforthepurposeofthepresentation.
•MLEOstaffwillutilize/reviewthisplatformandtheotherplatformssuchastheVRBO,AirBandB,toaddress
concerns(thisplatformre-directs)tothoseplatforms
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Software used to track VRU listings
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Our Approach
1.LegalRegisteredNotices-Owner(s),Financialinstitutionwithasecurityinterestintheproperty
2.IssuanceofaPart3summonstoowner/operatorfornon-complianceoftheby-lawafterthelegal
letterissuance
3.Continuetoseekhigherfines
st
•1offence-afineofnotmorethan$50,000;
nd
•2Offence&eachsubsequentoffence-afineofnotmorethan$100,000ascontainedinnew
bylaws
4.OntarioCourtsofJusticeareapprisedofmin./max.finesubmissionsthroughtheCrownBrief/Legal
LegislatedBy-lawprocess.MLEOstaffareatthe“mercy”ofthecourtforfineallocationsoncethe
courtsdetermineguilt
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Accountabilities
•KeyPerformanceIndicator’soncomplaintbasedVRUmattersand
actionstakenagainstillegaloperationsinresidentialneighborhoods.
•Courtstatisticalanalysisoftheactionstaken,finesreceived,andthe
statusofthatVRUmatter.
•Legalletterissuancetotheownerandthefinancialinstitutionthathasa
securityinterestintheproperty. Noteany/allpart3summonsissued
againstthoseowners/offendersthroughtheprosecutionandcourt
process.Keephistoricrecordsofcourtactionforincreasedfinesandany
furtheractions(s)takenormayberequiredagainstthesameindividual(s).
•Letters/ComprehensivePackageswereissuedtotheVRBOCEOandthe
ExecutiveOfficesforBandBplatforms. Eachletter/packagecontained
thecurrentlegislation/regulation,OLBhearingscase#PL180774,New
licensingby-laws,VRUapplicationprocessforTC,GCandBC.
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Summary
•Thisisaresourceintensiveaction. Eachinvestigationis
timeconsumingandthereisthepotentialforalarge
numberofillegalunits.
•Theplatformswillnotproactivelyenforceormonitor
compliancewithourby-law.
•Ourimprovedbylawwillbecourttestedinthenear
future. Wewillbeproactiveonaneducationcampaign
totrytoobtainvoluntarycompliance.
•Duetoresourcerestrictionsandmanyotherpriorities
thiswillremainacomplaintbasedenforcementstrategy.
•WeareevaluatingtheuseofAdministrativeMonetary
Penalties(AMPs)whichcouldbehelpfulwithVRUs.
A GREAT CITY…FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
7.a) 2024-107: A By-law to Appoint a Treasurer and to Repeal By-law No. ...
The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
By-law No. 2024-107
A By-law to Appoint a Treasurer
and to Repeal By-law No. 2022-065
Whereas Section 286(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended,
provides that a Municipality shall appoint a Treasurer who is responsible for handling all
of the financial affairs of the Municipality on behalf of and in the manner directed by the
Council of the Municipality;
And Whereas Section 224 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended,
provides that it is the role of Council to ensure that administrative policies, practices and
procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to
implement the decisions of Council; and to maintain the financial integrity of the
Municipality;
And Whereas the Council of The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte does
now find it expedient to appoint a Treasurer
Now Therefore the Council of the Township of Oro-Medonte hereby enacts as follows:
1. That Shannon Johnson be appointed Treasurer of The Corporation of the
Township of Oro-Medonte;
2. That such duties and responsibilities associated with this appointment be carried
out in accordance with legislation and as provided within the respective job
description;
3. That By-law No. 2022-065 is hereby repealed in its entirety;
4. And That this by-law shall come into force and take effect on October 15, 2024.
th
By-law read a First, Second and Third time, and Passed this 16 day of October,
2024.
The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
Mayor, Randy Greenlaw
Clerk, Yvonne Aubichon
Page 15 of 16
8.a) 2024-108: Being a by-law to confirm the proceedings of the Special ...
The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
By-Law No. 2024-108
Being a By-Law to Confirm the Proceedings of the Special Council Meeting
held on Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Whereas Section 5 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, C. 25, as amended
provides that the powers of the Municipal Council shall be exercised by By-Law,
unless the municipality is specifically authorized to do otherwise;
And Whereas The Council of The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
deems it expedient that the proceedings at this Council Meeting be confirmed and
adopted by By-Law;
Now Therefore the Council of The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
hereby enacts as follows:
1. That the actions of the Council at its Special Council Meeting held on
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, and in respect to each Motion, Resolution and
other actions passed and taken by the Council at its said Meeting is, except
where prior approval of the Ontario Land Tribunal is required, hereby adopted,
ratified and confirmed.
2. That the Mayor and the proper Officials of the Township are hereby authorized
and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to the said action or to
obtain approvals where required and to execute all documents as may be
necessary on behalf of the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Oro-
Medonte.
3. That the Mayor/Chair and Clerk/Designate are hereby authorized and directed to
execute and affix the corporate seal to all necessary documents.
4. And That this by-law shall come into force and take effect on the final passing
thereof.
th
By-Law Read a First, Second and Third time, and Passed this 16 day of
October, 2024.
The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
__________________________
Mayor, Randy Greenlaw
__________________________
Clerk, Yvonne Aubichon
Page 16 of 16