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1998/99 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE PAUL RAMSEY

MINISTER OF EDUCATION

BILL 35 – 1998

EDUCATION STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 1998

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

Islands Trust Act

Section 29 (1) (

a) of the Islands Trust Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 239, is amended by striking out "Division 10" and substituting "Division 10 and sections 937.2, 937.3 and 937.5 to 937.91" .

Municipal Act

2 The Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 323, is amended by adding the following Division to

Part 26:

Division 10.1 – School Site Acquisition Charges

Definitions

937.2 In this Division:

"approved capital plan" means the current capital

plan of a school board as approved under

section 142 of the School Act ;

"eligible development" means

(

a) a subdivision of land in a school district, or

(

b) any new construction, alteration or extension of a building in a school district that increases the number of self-contained dwelling units on a parcel;

"eligible development unit" means a self-contained dwelling unit

(

a) authorized by a zoning bylaw or any other enactment, for a parcel created by a subdivision of land in a school district, or

(

b) created by any new construction, alteration or extension of a building in a school district that increases the number of self-contained dwelling units on a parcel;

"eligible school district" means a school district for which the school board has indicated an eligible school site requirement in its approved capital plan;

"eligible school site requirement" means a requirement for a school site that is set out in

(

a) the final resolution of a school board under

section 937.4 (5) (a), and

(

b) the approved capital plan of the school board;

"school board" means a board as defined in

section

1 of the School Act ;

"school site acquisition charge" means the charge set under

section 937.5.

School site acquisition charge payable

937.3

(1) Every person who obtains subdivision approval or a building permit in respect of an eligible development in an eligible school district must pay to the local government, for each eligible development unit that is authorized or will be created, the school site acquisition charge applicable to that category of eligible development.

(2) A school site acquisition charge is imposed under subsection (1) for the purpose of providing funds to assist school boards to pay the capital costs of meeting eligible school site requirements.

(3) A school site acquisition charge is not payable under subsection (1) if any of the following applies:

(

a) the eligible development is within a category that is exempt from school site acquisition charges under the regulations;

(

b) a school site acquisition charge has previously been paid for the same eligible development unless, as a result of a further subdivision or issuance of a building permit, more eligible development units are authorized or will be created on the parcel;

(

c) the eligible development is authorized by a building permit and will, after the construction, alteration or extension, contain fewer than 4 self-contained dwelling units.

(4) A school site acquisition charge payable under this

section must be paid at the applicable time as follows:

(

a) if a development cost charge is payable under Division 10 in respect of the eligible development, at the same time as the development cost charge is paid;

(

b) if no development cost charge is payable under Division 10, at the time of approval of the subdivision if subdivision is required in respect of the eligible development;

(

c) if neither paragraph (

a) nor (

b) applies, at the time that a building permit is issued in respect of the eligible development.

(5) As an exception to subsection (4), the minister may, in respect of all or different categories of eligible development, by regulation

(

a) authorize the payment of school site acquisition charges in instalments, and

(

b) prescribe conditions under which the instalments may be paid.

Eligible school site requirements

937.4

(1) In this section, "local government"

includes a local trust committee established under the Islands Trust Act .

(2) Before submitting a capital plan for approval under

section 142 of the School Act , a school board must consult with each local government in the school district, and the school board and local government must make all reasonable efforts to reach agreement on the following:

(

a) a projection of the number of eligible development units to be authorized or created in the school district in the time frame specified by the minister under

section 142 of the School Act for school site acquisition planning;

(

b) a projection of the number of children of school age,

as defined in the School Act , that will be added to the school district

as the result of the eligible development units projected under paragraph (a);

(

c) the approximate size and the number of school sites required to accommodate the number of children projected under paragraph (b);

(

d) the approximate location and value of school sites referred to in paragraph (c).

(3) Following the consultation under subsection (2) with each local government in the school district, the school board must make a written proposal that sets out its projections on each matter referred to in subsection (2) (

a) to (

d) for the school district.

(4) The school board must

(

a) consider the proposal referred to in subsection (3) at a public meeting of the school board, and

(

b) provide written notice of the date, time and place of the meeting to each local government in the school district.

(5) After considering the proposal referred to in subsection (3) at one or more meetings under subsection (4), the school board must

(

a) pass a resolution setting out its decisions respecting the matters referred to in subsection (3), and

(

b) forward a copy of the resolution to each local government in the school district and request that the local government consider the proposed eligible school site requirements.

(6) A local government that has received a request under subsection (5) (

b) must consider the school board's resolution at a regular council meeting and, within 60 days of receiving the request,

(

a) pass a resolution accepting the school board's resolution of proposed eligible school site requirements for the school district, or

(

b) respond in writing to the school board indicating that it does not accept the school board's proposed school site requirements for the school district and indicating

(

i) each proposed eligible school site requirement to which it objects, and

(ii) the reasons for the objection.

(7) If a local government fails to respond within the time required by subsection (6), it is deemed to have agreed to the proposed eligible school site requirements for the school district set out in the school board's resolution.

(8) If the local government provides notice under subsection (6) that it does not accept the proposed eligible school site requirements for the school district, the minister responsible for the School Act must appoint a facilitator, whose responsibilities are to

(

a) advise all local governments in the school district of his or her appointment, and

(

b) assist the school board and the local governments to reach an agreement on proposed eligible school site requirements.

(9) If the school board and the local governments reach an agreement under subsection (8), the school board must

(

a) amend the resolution under subsection (5) or pass a new resolution under that subsection to reflect the agreement, and

(

b) forward a copy of the new or amended resolution to each local government in the school district.

(10) If no agreement is reached under subsection (8), the facilitator must

(

a) make a report to the minister and the minister responsible for the School Act

setting out the disagreement between the parties and must make recommendations

as to the resolution of the disagreement, and

(

b) provide a copy of the report to the school board and each local government in the school district.

(11) The school board must attach a copy of the facilitator's report to its capital plan submitted under

section 142 of the School Act .

Setting school site acquisition charges

937.5

(1) Subject to the regulations, within 60 days of receiving approval of its capital plan under

section 142 of the School Act , the school board of an eligible school district must, by bylaw, set the school site acquisition charges applicable to the prescribed categories of eligible development for the school district in accordance with the following formula:

SSAC = [(A × B) ÷ C] × D

where

SSAC = the school site acquisition charge applicable to each prescribed category of eligible development;

A = the value of land required to meet the school board's eligible school site requirements;

B = 35%, or, if another percentage is set by regulation, that other percentage;

C = the number of eligible development units set out in the final resolution of the school board under

section 937.4;

D = a factor set by regulation for the prescribed categories of eligible development.

(2) The amount of a school site acquisition charge set under subsection (1) may not exceed the maximum charge prescribed by regulation for each prescribed category of eligible development.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a school site acquisition charge does not come into effect until 60 days after the day on which the bylaw setting the charge is adopted by the school board.

(4) If, after an application for a subdivision of land or for the issuance of a building permit in respect of an eligible development has been submitted to an approving officer or a local government, as the case may be, and the applicable fee has been paid,

(

a) a school site acquisition charge comes into effect with respect to that eligible development, or

(

b) the school site acquisition charge applicable to that eligible development is increased,

the charge or increase does not apply to that eligible development for a period of 12 months after the school site acquisition charge bylaw comes into effect.

Provision of land for school sites

937.6 A person who is required to pay a school site acquisition charge under

section 937.3 may, in place of the charge, or in partial payment of the charge, provide land to the local government or to the school board but only if all of the following agree to the provision of that land:

(

a) the local government;

(

b) the school board having responsibility for the school district in which the land is located;

(

c) the person otherwise required to pay the school site acquisition charge.

No subdivision or building permit unless charge paid

937.7 If a school site acquisition charge is payable under

section 937.3 in respect of a subdivision approval or the issuance of a building permit, final subdivision approval must not be given and a building permit must not be issued unless one or more of the following has occurred:

(

a) the applicable school site acquisition charge has been paid to the local government;

(

b) if land is to be provided in the place of a school site acquisition charge under

section 937.6,

(

i) a registrable transfer of land has been provided to the local government or the school board, as the case may be, or

(ii) in the case of an application for approval of a subdivision, the approving officer has endorsed on the subdivision plan a statement that final approval to the subdivision is given on the condition that the registrable transfer of land will accompany the application to deposit the subdivision plan in the land title office;

(

c) the person otherwise required to pay the charge has provided to the local government, in a form satisfactory to the local government, security for payment of the school site acquisition charge or security for the provision of the land referred to in paragraph (b).

Credit for previous contributions

937.8

(1) If a person who is required to pay a school site acquisition charge under

section 937.3 has already

(

a) provided land for a school site in the school district, or

(

b) paid all or part of the cost of a school site in the school district,

the local government may, with the agreement of the school board, deduct the value of that land or the amount paid or a portion of either from the school site acquisition charge that is payable in respect of an eligible development.

(2) A deduction may not be made under subsection (1)

(

a) for land or money provided to the local government under an agreement entered into under

section 942 as it read before this

section comes into force, or

(

b) for land or money provided to the local government or the school board under a bylaw made under

section 937.5.

Transfer to school board

937.9

(1) The local government to which a school site acquisition charge has been paid must, promptly after receiving payment, provide the money to the school board of the school district in which the eligible development is located.

(2) If land is provided to a local government under

section 937.6, the local government to which the land is provided must, promptly after receiving title to the land, transfer title to the land to the school board having responsibility for the school district in which the eligible development is located.

(3) Despite subsection (1) or (2), a local government may charge a school board administration fees and disbursements authorized by the regulations.

Regulations for this Division

937.91 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(

a) prescribing categories of eligible development that are exempt from school site acquisition charges under

section 937.3 (1);

(

b) requiring a local government or school board to supply information for the purpose of

section 937.4;

(

c) prescribing categories of eligible development for the purposes of this Division;

(

d) prescribing a percentage for the value "B" in the formula set out in

section 937.5 (1);

(

e) prescribing factors for each prescribed category of eligible development for the value "D" in the formula set out in

section 937.5 (1);

(

f) establishing maximum school site acquisition charges payable with respect to the different categories of eligible development;

(

g) respecting the setting of school site acquisition charges under

section 937.5 and, without limitation, enabling or requiring a school district to calculate different school site acquisition charges for one or more local governments in the school district;

(

h) governing the procedure a local government or a school board must follow for the purpose of the calculation referred to in paragraph (g);

(

i) respecting administration fees and disbursements that may be charged under

section 937.9 (3).

Section 941 (4) is amended by striking out "Subject to

section 942 (6), the amount" and substituting "The amount" .

Section 942 is repealed.

School Act

Section 75 (8) of the School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 412, is repealed and the following substituted:

(

a) to attend an educational program, or

(

b) to enroll in an educational program that provides instruction sufficient to meet the requirements for graduation set out in the orders of the minister.

Section 82 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsections:

(2.1) Subject to subsection (2.2), if a board permits a student who is older than school age and is ordinarily resident in its school district to enroll in an educational program leading to graduation, the board must provide free of charge to that student

(

a) instruction in the educational program sufficient to meet the requirements for graduation set out in the orders of the minister, and

(

b) educational resource materials necessary to participate in the educational program.

(2.2) Subsection (2.1) does not apply to a student who has

(

a) already met the requirements for graduation set out in the orders of the minister, or

(

b) completed the requirements for graduation from a secondary school or high school in another jurisdiction. , and

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "Subject to subsection (1)" and substituting "Subject to subsections (1) and (2.1)" .

Section 101 is repealed and the following substituted:

School sites under the Municipal Act

(1) If money is provided to a board by a local government under

section 937.9 (1) of the Municipal Act, or money is received as proceeds of a sale of land provided to the school board under

section 937.6 or transferred to the board under

section 937.9 (2) of that Act, the board must, immediately after receipt of the money, deposit it in a land capital reserve trust fund in the board's name established for that purpose.

(2) The land capital reserve trust fund established under subsection (1) must be kept separate from the other accounts held in the board's name.

(3) A board may only use money provided from a local government under

section 937.9 (1) of the Municipal Act , or received as proceeds of a sale of land provided to the school board under

section 937.6 or transferred to the board under

section 937.9 (2) of that Act,

(

a) for the acquisition of land to meet the board's eligible school site requirements,as defined in

section 937.2, of that Act,

(

b) to pay administration fees and disbursements authorized by a regulation made under

section 937.91 (

i) of that Act, and

(

c) to pay any disbursements related to the sale, transfer or subdivision of land received under Division 10.1 of

Part 26 of that Act.

Section 107 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsections:

(3.1) The minister may, in determining the number of full time students or the equivalent of full time students under subsection (2) (

a) or (3) (a), take into account the aggregate of the maximum number of students that the minister establishes under

section 108 (2.1) for each board.

(3.2) The minister may, in determining the reasonable costs referred to in subsection (3) (a) (ii), use different per student amounts for different categories of students. , and

(

b) by repealing the definition of "student" in subsection (4) and substituting the following:

"student" means a person enrolled in an educational program provided by a board to whom instruction in the educational program is required to be provided free of charge under

section 82 (1) or (2.1) but does not include a person who is enrolled in a Provincial resource program or a distance education school.

Section 108 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsections:

(2.1) The minister may, by order, establish a maximum number of students referred to in

section 82 (2.1) that the minister will include in the determination of the number of students or equivalents under subsection (1) (

a) or (2) (

a) of this section.

(2.2) The minister may, in determining the reasonable costs referred to in subsection (1) (

b) or (2) (b), use different per student amounts for different categories of students.

(2.3) If, in relation to a particular board, the minister is of the opinion that the rate of successful completion of courses for students referred to in

section 82 (2.1) enrolled with the board is unsatisfactory, the minister may withhold or reduce, to a maximum of 10%, that portion of an allocation under subsection (1) or (2) of this

section that relates to those students. , and

(

b) by repealing the definition of "student" in subsection (9) and substituting the following:

"student" means a person enrolled in an educational program provided by a board to whom instruction in the educational program is required to be provided free of charge under

section 82 (1) or (2.1) but does not include a person who is enrolled in a Provincial resource program or a distance education school.

Section 166.25 (7) is repealed and the following substituted:

(

a) to attend a francophone educational program provided by the authority, or

(

b) to enroll in a francophone educational program that provides instruction sufficient to meet the requirements for graduation set out in the orders of the minister.

Section 175 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(

k) deeming one or more categories of persons to be ordinarily resident in a school district or in British Columbia for the purposes of

section 82.

Transitional – school sites

(1) Section 937.3 of the Municipal Act ,

as enacted by this Act, does not apply to

(

a) a subdivision of land if, before the coming into force of this section,

(

i) an application for the subdivision had been submitted, and

(ii) either or both of preliminary approval or final approval for the subdivision had been obtained, and

(

b) a building permit issued before the coming into force of this section.

(2) Despite the repeal of

section 942 of the Municipal Act by this Act, the obligation of a person to pay money or provide land under an agreement entered into under that

section continues to apply to that person for a period of 12 months after a bylaw under

section 937.5 (1) of that Act comes into effect.

Transitional – funding

13 Sections 107 (3.1) and 108 (2.1) and (2.3) of the School Act, as enacted by sections 8 and 9 of this Act, apply for the purposes of the 1998-99 and subsequent fiscal years of school boards.

Commencement

(1) This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(2) When brought into force by regulation, sections 8 and 9 are retroactive to the extent necessary to give them force and effect in accordance with

section 13.

Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Islands Trust Act, amends

section 29 (1) (a)] adds a reference to the new Division added to the Municipal Act by this Bill.

SECTION 2: [Municipal Act, enacts Division 10.1] adds Division 10.1 to

Part 26 of the Municipal Act .

Section 937.2 contains the

definitions of terms used in the Division.

Section 937.3 imposes the obligation to pay a school site acquisition charge, provides exceptions to the requirement to pay the charge and sets out the time for payment.

Section 937.4 provides a consultative process for school boards and local governments to work together to determine whether and by how much new residential development will create a demand for new or expanded school sites. Failing agreement between the applicable local governments and the school board, the

section provides a dispute resolution mechanism that leaves the final decision with respect to any dispute to the Minister of Education as part of the School Act capital plan approval process.

Section 937.5 requires that a school board whose approved capital plan

indicates an eligible school site requirement sets a school site acquisition

charge for the district by bylaw within 60 days of receiving approval of the

plan and limits the amount of a school site acquisition charge to an amount

set by regulation for each category of development.

The

section also provides a 60 day grace period before a school site acquisition

bylaw becomes effective and a 12 month grace period to developers

who have already submitted an application for approval of a subdivision or

issuance of a building permit and paid any applicable application fee.

Section 937.6 provides that if it is in the best interests of the school board,

the local government and the developer, as evidenced by agreement of all 3

parties, a developer may provide land to the school board or the local

government instead of paying the charge.

Section 937.7 provides local governments, who will be administering the

charge on behalf of school boards, with the authority to withhold subdivision

or building permit approval until the developer pays the charge,

transfers land or makes some other arrangement for payment or provision

of security that is acceptable to the local government. This

section also

prohibits the local government from issuing a building permit or providing

final approval of a subdivision unless at least one of the listed conditions

have been met.

Section 937.8 (1) addresses the situation when a developer has, in the past, and without a legal obligation to do so, provided land for a school or has provided funds for a school site in the school district and

section 937.8 (2) disallows any deduction under

section 937.8 (1) if the land or money was provided under an agreement made under the current school sites acquisition legislation (section 942 of the Municipal Act ) or under this Bill.

Section 937.9 directs local government to promptly transfer to the school board the school site acquisition charges paid to it and the property it has received instead of a school site acquisition charge.

This

section also permits a local government to charge a school board the fees authorized by regulation for the administration of the school site acquisition charge. Those fees may be taken from the school site acquisition charges collected before the transfer of the charges to the school board.

Section 937.91 provides specific regulatory powers to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the purposes of the Division enacted by this Bill.

SECTION 3: [Municipal Act, amends

section 941 (4)] strikes out references to the previous school site acquisition scheme, which is contained in

section 942 of the Municipal Act .

SECTION 4: [Municipal Act, repeals

section 942] repeals the current school site acquisition scheme.

SECTION 5: [School Act, repeals and replaces

section 75 (8)] clarifies that a school board may enroll a person who is over school age in an educational program leading to graduation.

SECTION 6: [School Act, amends

section 82] adds subsections (2.1) and (2.2) to provide that, if a school board permits a person who is over school age and has not yet graduated to enroll in an educational program leading to graduation, the board is required to provide that program free of charge.

SECTION 7: [School Act, re-enacts

section 101] re-enacts the

section relating to the school site acquisition scheme to reflect the changes made to the Municipal Act by this Bill.

SECTION 8: [School Act, amends

section 107]

subsection (3.1) permits the minister to take into account the maximum number of students set under

section 108 (2.1) when establishing Provincial funding,

subsection (3.2) permits the minister to use different per student amounts for different categories of students when establishing Provincial funding, and

repeals and replaces the definition of "student" in subsection (4).

SECTION 9: [School Act, amends

section 108]

subsection (2.1) permits the minister to establish a maximum number of students over school age in respect of whom an allocation will be made,

subsection (2.2) permits the minister to use different per student amounts for different categories of students when allocating Provincial funding to school boards,

subsection (2.3) permits the minister to withhold or reduce an allocation to a school board as a result of unsatisfactory completion rates for over school age students, and

repeals and replaces the definition of "student" in subsection (9).

SECTION 10: [School Act, repeals and replaces

section 166.25 (7)] clarifies that a francophone education authority may enroll a person who is over school age in a francophone educational program leading to graduation.

SECTION 11: [School Act, amends

section 175 (2)] adds paragraph (

k) to permit the making of regulations that deem categories of persons to be ordinarily resident in a school district or in British Columbia for the purposes of

section 82.

SECTION 12: [Municipal Act, Transitional – school sites]

subsection (1) exempts from the school site acquisition charge any subdivision of land that has received either preliminary approval or final approval and any building permit issued before this Bill comes into force;

subsection (2) retains the effect of agreements entered into under

section 942 (repealed by this Bill) for a period of 12 months after a school site acquisition bylaw comes into effect.

SECTION 13: [School Act, Transitional – funding] provides that certain provisions of the School Act apply for the purposes of the current fiscal year of school boards.

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