What is a Private Unassumed Road (PUR)?
A private unassumed road is a road owned by the Township and maintained by a private individual, organization, or company rather than by the Township. Since the roads are owned by the Township, the general public is allowed to travel on them. However, because they have not been assumed by the Township for maintenance purposes the private individual or organization is responsible for maintenance. These are mostly found in subdivisions approved prior to 2002.
Zoning By-Law - Section 3.4 - Road Access Agreement Requirement |
Since amalgamation in 1998, Section 3.4 in the Township Zoning By-Law prohibited the issuance of a building permit for a lot that did not have frontage on an improved street. Improved street is defined in the By-Law as a street which has been assumed by the Township (or Province or County) and which is maintained on a regular, year-round basis. This included a private unassumed road, which in most instances is located in a subdivision registered prior to December 10, 2002. In 2009, the Township undertook an amendment to Section 3.4 of the Zoning By-Law to add an additional provision that would provide an exemption to the requirement to have frontage on an improved street in the case where an owner in a subdivision registered prior to December 10, 2002 has entered into a road access agreement (RAA) to the satisfaction of the Township. The Road Access Agreement was developed by the Township's legal counsel and is reviewed and updated as necessary by legal counsel every few years. In addition, the Township's insurer reviews and updates the insurance requirements contained in the agreement. The purpose of the Road Access Agreement was to transfer some of the risks associated with PURs from the municipality to property owners. |
Private Unassumed Roads Working Group (PURWG) |
In 2019, a private property owner who was developing their property on a PUR brought forward several questions and concerns regarding the development of properties on private unassumed roads and the requirement to enter into a road access agreement, specifically the insurance requirements, the costs of insurance and the indemnification clause. At that time the insurance industry had changed to a “hard market”, which it is still in. A hard insurance market is when there is a high demand for insurance coverage and low appetite to insure causing premiums to increase significantly. As a result, Council wanted to take action. The Private Unassumed Roads Working Group was established in October 2020 to provide advice and recommendations to Council regarding Private Unassumed Roads in order to best implement the direction contained within Council Resolution #C-2019-11-08: RESOLUTION #C-2019-11-08 “THAT, the Township eliminate the requirement for property owners to enter into a road access agreement on unassumed subdivision roads in the Township; AND THAT, section 3.4 of the Township zoning by-law be reviewed and appropriately be revised.” ADOPTED Although a resolution was passed to amend section 3.4 of the Zoning By-Law, until the zoning by-law was amended, that direction would not come into effect; as a result, any applications on unassumed subdivision roads still require a road access agreement. To fulfill its mandate it was anticipated the Working Group would, among other things:
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PURWG - First Meeting- Background Information and Presentations |
At the first meeting of the Working Group background information was provided on the matter along with presentations from various groups: Background Information
Presentations
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PURWG - Second Meeting - Options Assessment Report |
After the initial meeting it became evident that there would not be one option that would work for all the private unassumed road situations, and that there were pros and cons to each option. As a result, the Township’s planning consultants Jp2g put together an Options Assessment Report for the Working Group to consider. Three ownership/maintenance options were identified and assessed: Option #1: Taking the Road Out of Township Ownership (Private Road) Option #2: Road is Township Owned and Assumed (Public Road) Option #3: Road is Township Owned and Privately Maintained (Status Quo) The report then assessed the pros and cons for each option taking into consideration the following:
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PURWG - Third Meeting - Discussion of Options Assessment Report |
The Working Group met to discuss the Options Assessment Report and approved the following four (4) recommendations to be brought forward to Council for discussion and consideration: Recommendation #1 – Township Assume All PURs “THAT, Tay Valley Township bring all Private Unassumed Roads up to the minimum standards and assume all Private Unassumed Roads at no cost to the property owners; AND THAT, public consultation on this recommendation occur prior to Council making a final decision.” OR Recommendation #2 – Township Assume Most PURs with some Exceptions (Assume, Except Option 1) “THAT, Tay Valley Township bring all Private Unassumed Roads up to the minimum standard and assume all Private Unassumed Roads except, Old Mine Road, Killarney Lane, Homestead Lane and Sherbrooke Drive; THAT, Old Mine Road be stopped up, closed and provided as a lot addition to the adjacent property owner for use as a driveway at no cost to the property owners; THAT, Killarney Lane and Homestead Lane be transferred from the Township to private ownership at no cost to the property owners THAT, Sherbrook Drive, due to the complexity of its status, be dealt with separately from the rest of the Private Unassumed Roads; AND THAT, public consultation on this recommendation occur prior to Council making a final decision.” OR Recommendation #3 – Take Some Roads Out of Township Ownership and Leave others As PURs (Option 1 and 3 with Maberly Pines) “THAT, all Private Unassumed Roads remain as Private Unassumed Roads with the Township assisting the property owners on each road to set up a private road association, resulting in the road association providing the Township annually with the necessary insurance certificate instead of individual property owners, except Old Mine Road, Killarney Lane, Homestead Lane and Sherbrooke Drive; THAT, Old Mine Road be stopped up, closed and provided as a lot addition to the adjacent property owner for use as a driveway at no cost to the property owners; THAT, Killarney Lane and Homestead Lane be transferred from the Township to private ownership at no cost to the property owners; THAT, Sherbrook Drive, due to the complexity of its status, be dealt with separately from the rest of the Private Unassumed Roads; AND THAT, public consultation on this recommendation occur prior to Council making a final decision.” OR Recommendation #4 - All PURs remain PURs with some Exceptions and a Revised Road Access Agreement (Option 1 and 3 with Maberly Pines with Revised Road Access Agreement) “THAT, all Private Unassumed Roads remain as Private Unassumed Roads with the Township with the road access agreement remaining in place with revised liability and indemnity sections, except Old Mine Road, Killarney Lane, Homestead Lane and Sherbrooke Drive; THAT, Old Mine Road be stopped up, closed and provided as a lot addition to the adjacent property owner for use as a driveway at no cost to the property owners; THAT, Killarney Lane and Homestead Lane be transferred from the Township to private ownership at no cost to the property owners; THAT, Sherbrook Drive, due to the complexity of its status, be dealt with separately from the rest of the Private Unassumed Roads; AND THAT, public consultation on this recommendation occur prior to Council making a final decision.” |
Maberly Pines Subdivision - Proposed Area Rated Development Charge |
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Subdivision Agreements |
Note: Not all of the subdivisions have agreements, and for those subdivisions that have agreements, not all agreements were registered. Bennett Lake Estates - Subdivision Agreement Hamburg - Plan Lakeside Living - Plan 6 - Subdivision Agreement Lakeside Living - Plan 29 - Plan Maberly Pines - Plan |