The District of 100 Mile House council approved a bylaw change at its Nov. 12 regular meeting that will add new fees applied to developers purchasing and closing its roads.
District planner Joanne Doddridge made a presentation to council that led to three readings and adoption of her proposal.
"Occasionally, property owners approach the District to acquire surplus roads that may no longer be required for public purposes."
Previously, no fees or defined procedures existed in the District bylaws, so there was no way to recover costs for the significant time involved for staff to process these applications, she noted.
Guided by the Community Charter, there is a complex and multi-stage series of steps involved in the road closure and sale process, Doddridge explained.
She said these may include bylaw amendments, surveys, legal filings, land title registrations, referrals covenants, plan preparations, utility relocations and several other processes.
The new bylaw as adopted by the mayor and councillors will see a $100 application fee, a $500 processing fee to cover extra staff time, and clarified wording regarding various other applicable fees relating to these processes.
A Guide to the Closure and Sale of Roads has been developed and received by council, and if and when it is adopted, it will be available at the District office and posted online as a summary of the process for developers' reference.