Arrondissement du Plateau-Mont-Royal
Citizens wish to carry out a cadastral project for one of the two buildings that constitute divided co-ownership. For this project, the Borough claims park fees of approximately $36,000. Despite the fact that only one of the buildings is targeted as part of the cadastral operation, the Borough had based its calculation on the real estate value of the two buildings.
Upon examination of applicable legal rules, our office concludes that the Borough’s valuation is problematic. The Borough disputes our rationale and informs us that it is awaiting a Court decision in a similar case. It therefore rejects our findings. We temporarily suspend our intervention pending this decision.
The Appeal Court subsequently confirms that, in divided co-ownership cases, park fees must be valuated based on the targeted part, and not on the overall co-ownership value.
The Borough agrees to apply these findings to this file: park fees are therefore reduced by half (approximately $18,000 less).
Concurrently, Ville de Montréal decides to standardize the regulation applicable to park fees: these rules would previously vary from one Borough to another.
The new By-law provides for the upcoming abolition of park fees (June 2018) in situations such as our complainants’ case. In light of this information, they decide to defer their project until this new rule is enforced: they will then no longer have to pay any park fees.
