Permanent Road & Lane Closures

The City owns roadways and laneways that are at times deemed to be surplus to the City’s requirements. Generally, these redundant roads and lanes can be closed for disposition and consolidation with adjacent private lands. Often, the closure and sale of the redundant roads are in conjunction with planning applications for the development of the adjacent lands.

The City undertakes closure and sale of redundant roads and lanes pursuant to sections 26, 40 and 94 of the Community Charter SBC 2003, Chap. 26.

Procedure for Permanent Road Closures

Upon confirmation that the road proposed for closure is redundant and can be closed subject to the conditions imposed by internal and external stakeholders (i.e. TELUS, FortisBC, Shaw, Hydro, MoTI, etc.), an appraisal for the value of the road closure area is prepared.

Once the appraisal is complete the applicant is contacted and if the value is accepted a letter of terms and conditions is forwarded to the applicant. A copy of the appraisal may be sent to the applicant upon their request.  The terms and conditions letter identifies, among other items, the amount of compensation required based on the appraisal.

Upon receipt of the signed Terms and Conditions letter, Realty Services staff forward a corporate report to City Council seeking authorization to introduce a bylaw for the removal of highway dedication over the proposed road closure area.  If approval is received, a letter is sent to the applicant advising that Council has approved the agreement and the steps required to complete the process, which includes the applicant’s appointment of a land surveyor to prepare a bylaw plan.

Upon receipt of the bylaw plan, written legal description and application fee from the applicant, a highway removal bylaw is introduced. Following the required two week public notification period the bylaw can then be adopted by City Council pursuant to Section 40 of the Community Charter.

If the bylaw is adopted by City Council, the City will raise title to the newly created parcel of land. This simply means the owner of the land parcel is now listed as the City. Once the City is officially listed as the owner of the property, they are able to sell the land to the applicant.

Pursuant to Section 26 of the Community Charter, a second advertisement is then placed in a local paper for two consecutive weeks, advertising the disposal of the newly created parcel of land. A final report is forwarded to City Council to advise that all statutory requirements have been satisfied and request approval for the disposition of the newly created parcel of land to the applicant.