Hamilton Idling Control By-Law (PD05092(A)) (City Wide)
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CITY WIDE IMPLICATIONS CITY OF HAMILTON PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Long Range Planning Division Report to: Chair and Members Submitted by: Lee Ann Coveyduck Planning & Economic General Manager Development Committee Planning and Economic Development Department Date: December 16, 2005 Prepared by: Linda Harvey (905) 546-2424 Ext. 1276 SUBJECT: Hamilton Idling Control By-law (PD05092(a)) (City Wide) RECOMMENDATIONS: (a) That the hiring of one (1) full-time employee for the Building and Licensing Division to enforce the Idling Control By-law and other Municipal By-laws be referred to the 2006 Budget process for consideration. (b) That, subject to Budget approval, the Draft By-law, attached as Appendix A to Report PD05092(a) be forwarded to City Council for enactment in June, 2006 after commencement of an Anti-idling Awareness Campaign to be delivered by the Planning and Economic Development Department staff in collaboration with community partners. (c) That the direction in Report PD05092, April 27, 2005, to develop and implement an Anti-idling Awareness Campaign delivered in partnership with Green Venture and other community partners be expanded to include a campaign that will educate and inform the general public as well as schools. Lee Ann Coveyduck General Manager Planning and Economic Development Department EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Pursuant to the April 27, 2005 direction of the Planning and Economic Development Committee, (Report PD05092), staff has reviewed the City of Burlington Idling Control By-law and are reporting back to Committee with a similar by-law and information on the implications for implementation in Hamilton. It should be noted that: (1) a by-law and an Awareness Campaign are both needed, (2) enforcement is mandatory given that the decision to impose standards brings the duty to enforce and the City could be found to SUBJECT: Hamilton Idling Control By-law (PD05092(a)) (City Wide) - Page 2 of 13 have acted negligently if it fails to enforce its by-laws, and (3) current resources for enforcement are stretched to their limit creating a need to fund one (1) addition full-time employee for the Building and Licensing Division for any level of service. It should be noted that enforcement may prove to be challenging and not overly effective given that the vehicle may no longer be idling by the time that the Enforcement Officer arrives at the site to respond to the complaint. The proposed By-law expands the initiative of the Hamilton Internal Anti-Idling Policy for City Vehicles to the general public. It will apply outdoors on private and public property. The By-law proposes to restrict idling to three (3) minutes in a 60-minute period, and provides for a number of exemptions, similar to those found in By-laws in other cities in South-Western Ontario. These exemptions include vehicles stopped due to traffic conditions, police and emergency vehicles, transit vehicles on layover or stopover, weather conditions when idling may be necessary for heating or air conditioning, among others. The Anti-idling Awareness Campaign will be delivered in partnership with Green Venture and other community partners, using the Planning and Economic Development Budget allocation for the Air Quality Program, pending approval of the 2006 Budget by Council. City policies will be made consistent through collaboration with relevant departments. Legal Services advises that HSR and municipal vehicles by exempted entirely from the by-law; Planning and Economic Development staff is proposing that the City should not be exempted except for specific circumstances outlined in the by- law. BACKGROUND: On April 19, 2005 staff from the Long Range Planning Division provided an update to the Planning and Economic Development Committee on the status of vehicle idling control in Hamilton (PD05092). Staff was directed to: y review the City of Burlington Anti-idling By-law and report back to the Committee outlining the implications of implementing a similar By-law; y prepare the appropriate By-law, in consultation with appropriate Departments for consideration by the Committee; and, y develop and implement an Anti-idling Awareness Campaign for the community in collaboration with Clean Air Hamilton and Green Venture Inc. that is targeted toward elementary and secondary schools. Long Range Planning staff has collaborated with City Departments and conducted research with other municipalities, senior governments and non-governmental organizations. A draft by-law is attached as Appendix A to Report PD05092(a). There are three (3) issues for the Committee to consider with respect to enacting the by-law: (1) A By-law and an Awareness Campaign are Both Needed— Legislation and regulation address issues directly by prohibiting behaviour and indirectly by demonstrating government commitment to the issue. This demonstration of commitment strongly influences the effectiveness of education and awareness campaigns. SUBJECT: Hamilton Idling Control By-law (PD05092(a)) (City Wide) - Page 3 of 13 (2) Enforcement is Mandatory—The courts have held that with the decision to impose standards comes the duty to ensure compliance, that is, to inspect and enforce. Potentially, the City could be found to have acted negligently if it fails to enforce its by- laws. (3) Resources for Enforcement are Stretched Beyond Their Capacity—Buildings and Licensing need additional resources to perform the by-law enforcement function at the City. A budget enhancement in the range of $130,000 ($72,000 in one-time costs and approximately $55,000 in annual operating costs) to hire, equip and train one (1) new full-time employee (FTE) will assist in alleviating current problems with existing by-laws and allow the Idling Control By-law to be absorbed. The need for the Budget enhancement should be considered in light of other by-laws being anticipated in the future. Training and changing job descriptions for Parking Services personnel is cost-prohibitive ($350,000). Public Health and Community Services advise that by-law enforcement for idling control is not within their Public Health mandate, which is legislated and funded 65% by the Province of Ontario. ANALYSIS/RATIONALE: A By-law and Awareness Campaign Are Both Needed Legislation and regulation have an important role in tackling environmental and health issues. Enacting legislation sends a clear message that government is committed to addressing an issue. This draws media attention that helps reinforce the educational piece in the community. A combination of voluntary and regulatory tools is a consistently proven approach for achieving desired results. It provides the greatest benefit for the least cost. Hamilton has had great success using this approach to move toward the 65% reduction in waste going to the landfill. Enforcement is Mandatory Regulation without the provision for enforcement increases the City’s risk exposure, therefore no by-law should be undertaken without providing the means to enforce. The courts have held that there is a duty to enforce if standards are imposed. In some cases Ontario municipalities have been found legally negligent for failure to enforce a by-law. Risk Management staff note that “A claim could arise if a third party were to file a claim against the City for health problems arising from exposure to vehicle emissions arising from an idling vehicle.” SUBJECT: Hamilton Idling Control By-law (PD05092(a)) (City Wide) - Page 4 of 13 In addition, enacting legislation that does not have a credible enforcement strategy and resources can frustrate the public by creating a false expectation, and staff, who are not given the resources necessary to carry out their responsibilities. Laws that are not seen to be enforced also lose the power to affect changes in behaviour and damage the credibility of the government that has passed them. Resources for Enforcement are Stretched To Their Limit Enforcing the Idling Control By-law will be a challenge for the City due to the larger issue of having an under-resourced by-law enforcement function. Since amalgamation, the by-law enforcement function in the City of Hamilton has been increasingly centralized to the Building and Licensing Division of the Planning and Economic Development Department. Since the structure of this Division was not designed or resourced to accommodate an ever-increasing variety and volume of enforcement activities, service-level expectations have now outpaced the ability to deliver. There is concern over the continuing addition of responsibilities to this Division and the impact this is having on staff and supervisors. There has been little time or consideration given to the impact of these changes or the ability of staff to absorb the added responsibilities. Although this may be a side issue with respect to this by-law, it is a very real concern on the part of staff and supervisors. It is noted that enforcement of the Idling Control By-law does not logically or strategically fall within their area of operations. They do not patrol the streets with inspectors and enforcement of this by-law will further diffuse their business focus. Building and Licensing Division staff are trained under Parts I and III of the Provincial Offences Act, which are the appropriate sections to enforce idling control, however, as noted above, there is no ability for this Division to take on additional responsibilities. Parking Enforcement staff are authorized, trained, and paid to enforce Part II of the Provincial Offences Act1 which does not enable them to issue tickets for contravening an Idling Control By-law. Having Parking staff enforce the by-law would mean establishing an entirely new program and conducting a job evaluation process to increase training and remuneration, at an estimated cost of approximately $350,000. (This training issue is not unique to Hamilton. The City of Burlington identified the need to retrain their Parking Enforcement Officers as part of their implementation plan, but this is now being reconsidered from a cost-benefit point of view.) A further consideration is the fact that the Hamilton Municipal Parking System is self- sustaining and operates on a business plan model.