Item - 2017.BU32.6

The Budget Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council approve the application of the following user fees contained in City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, to all "short stream" utility cut permit applications, subject to the annual inflation rate:

a.  Construction Permits – Administration, Survey and Inspection Fee in the amount of $83.07 plus HST for a total of $93.87.

b.  Construction Permits – Permit fee to excavate/dig up/tear up or remove soil of any street/sidewalk/curbing, pavement, etc. in the amount of $149.45.

City Council, at its special meeting on February 15, 2017, adopted as amended the Transportation Services 2017 Operating Budget.  In so doing, City Council directed the General Manager, Transportation Services, to report back to the Budget Committee on the details of the proposed application fee for the Utility Cut Repair Program that was included in the approved budget, following further consultation with the affected utility companies.

Cuts into the City of Toronto's estimated 5,600 kilometres of roads by utility companies has long been a concern.  When a utility approaches the City for a permit to undertake a utility cut, there are two paths that its application can take:

- "Short stream" applications - where limited or no conflicts with other planned capital works are identified.
- "Full stream" applications - where detailed engineering review and coordination must take place.
 

The City issues an average of approximately 50,000 "short stream" permits annually to utility companies. 

Inspection and permit fees have never been collected for "short stream" permit applications, despite a fee being charged for the review of "full stream" applications. Staff therefore included in the approved 2017 Operating Budget the introduction of an application fee, in accordance with the City's User Fee Policy, to recover the cost of reviewing and processing these permit applications. 

Although the utility companies were advised in 2016 of this possible fee, there was no opportunity to undertake a detailed analysis of the proposed fee and to conduct extensive consultation with the affected utility companies prior to the submission of the 2017 Operating Budget.

In the near future, a companion report will be complted that will outline new methods of permanent restoration that will have lesser impact on residential communities and minimize the need for temporary repairs.