Make Your List And Check It Twice: IRAC Sends A Holiday Reminder To Municipalities

The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (the "Commission") has issued a holiday reminder to municipalities in Prince Edward Island about the importance of preparation, accuracy, and transparency when making decisions related to land use and development. On December 18, 2015, the Commission released its judgment on an appeal from a decision by the City of Charlottetown (the "City") which refused to rezone a parcel of land.1 The appeal was allowed, and the City was ordered to rezone the property. The City has 20 days to appeal the decision to the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal.

The property at issue was located adjacent to the Belvedere Golf Course. Both the owner of the property and the proposed developer applied to the City for rezoning. The property was zoned as open space; however, the owner and the developer sought new zoning to allow for a medium density residential development. Notice was provided to the public and nearby residents. A public meeting was also held to solicit input on the proposed rezoning. Both the planning department and the planning board recommended approval of the application to rezone the property, but a majority of council ultimately rejected the application.2 In a subsequent letter, the City notified the developer of the decision made by council. The developer then appealed the decision to the Commission.

In allowing the appeal and reversing the decision made by the City, the Commission found that the City did not satisfy its duty of procedural fairness to the developer and failed to decide the application on its merits. The Commission had three main concerns about the decision-making process followed by the City:

1. Preparation

   The Commission found that the minutes from the meeting of council revealed that the councillors who spoke against rezoning had failed to properly inform themselves about the application before entering the chamber to vote on the project:

   It is clear from the minutes of Council that the councillors who chose to speak had not bothered to inform themselves on the matter of the application before them. Those councillors spoke of concerns for which there were answers in the record, expressed concerns about matters which could have been and should have been canvassed by them long before they entered the Council chamber for a vote on such an important matter.3

2. Accuracy

   The Commission found that the minutes from the meeting of council were inaccurate and did not properly reflect the...