Township of Wellesley – Building Department Notice #4 COVID-19 Effects on Operations

January 14, 2021

Township of Wellesley – Building Department Notice #4

COVID-19 Effects on Operations

On January 13, 2021 the Province again amended Ontario Regulation 82/20 Rules for Areas in Stage 1 under Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.

This Order has again significantly impacted what construction can and can not continue. Below is the list of construction that has been deemed essential by the Province and allowed to continue after 11:59pm on January 12, 2021.

Construction:

43. Construction activities or projects and related services, including land surveying and demolition services, that,
(a) are associated with the health care sector or long-term care, including new facilities, expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space;

(b) ensure safe and reliable operations of, or provide new capacity in, provincial infrastructure, including the transit, transportation, resource, energy and justice sectors beyond day-to-day maintenance;

(c) support the operations of, or provide new capacity in, electricity generation, transmission, distribution and storage, natural gas distribution, transmission and storage or in the supply of resources;

(d) support the operations of, or provide new capacity in, schools, colleges, universities, municipal infrastructure or child care centres within the meaning of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014;

(e) are required for,
(i) the maintenance and operations of petrochemical plants and refineries,
(ii) significant industrial petrochemical projects where preliminary work commenced before January 12, 2021, or
(iii) industrial construction and modifications to existing industrial structures limited solely to work necessary for the production, maintenance or enhancement of personal protective equipment, medical devices such as ventilators and other identified products directly related to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic;

(f) would provide additional capacity in the production, processing, manufacturing or distribution of food, beverages or agricultural products;

(g) were commenced before January 12, 2021 and that would,
(i) provide additional capacity for businesses that provide logistical support, distribution services, warehousing, storage or shipping and delivery services, or
(ii) provide additional capacity in the operation and delivery of Information Technology (IT) services or telecommunications services;

(h) support the operations of broadband internet and cellular technologies and services;

(i) are related to residential construction projects where,
(i) a building permit has been granted for a single family, semi-detached and townhomes,
(ii) the project is a condominium, mixed-use or other residential building, or
(iii) the project involves renovations to residential properties and construction work that was started before January 12, 2021;

(j) prepare a site for an institutional, commercial, industrial or residential development, including any necessary excavation, grading, roads or utilities infrastructure;

(k) are necessary to temporarily close construction sites that have paused, or that are not active, to ensure ongoing public safety;

(l) are funded in whole or in part by the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program;

(m) are,
(a) intended to provide shelter or supports for vulnerable persons or affordable housing; and
(b) being funded in whole or in part by, or are being undertaken by,
(A) the Crown in right of Canada or in right of Ontario,
(B) an agency of the Crown in right of Canada or in right of Ontario,
(C) a municipality,
(D) a service manager as defined the Housing Services Act, 2011, or
(E) a registered charity within the meanig of the Income Tax Act (Canada), or
(F) a not-for-profit corporation.

Inspections:

Our Building Department will be performing building inspections for all buildings but we will require a mandatory 2m clearance from all site personal. There may also be mandatory screening questions for sites that are occupied or where a site supervisor or contractor(s) remain on site. Interior inspections on occupied buildings will further require occupants of the building to either vacate the premise / area of inspection or wear masks for the duration of the inspection. Mandatory screening questions will be asked and verified at the time of inspection. Failure to meet these conditions for inspections will result in a departure of our inspector(s) and a failed inspection requiring re-inspection at a later date.

Also, inspections during this time period will again be conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of each week until further notice. Inspections must be called in 24hr prior to the inspection request to 519-699-3947 or by e-mail to building@wellesley.ca

Contact myself for additional information on inspections or site specific inspection scenarios which are outside of the protocol arrangements listed above.

Will building permits continue to be issued?

Yes. You can continue to apply for building permits, and they will be reviewed and issued if they comply with the Building Code and zoning requirements. This does not mean that you can begin construction. Under the emergency Order filed by the Province, notwithstanding the issuance of the building permit, the emergency Order does not permit construction to commence until the order is lifted.

The issuance of a building permit after January 12th, is subject to all restrictions and prohibitions under the law. More specifically, this permit does not mean that construction can be carried out in contravention of any Act, Regulation and/or provincial order prohibiting construction deemed non-essential. Please note that you must review the list of construction projects deemed essential and it is recommended that you seek legal opinion to determine whether the project is deemed essential under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and its Regulations, as amended, before proceeding with construction in order to avoid contravention of the law. Construction projects deemed non-essential are prohibited.

Complete applications can be submitted electronically to building@wellesley.ca or dropped off in the drop box at the Township Municipal Office.

Payment of Building Permits

Building permits will only be issued once payment is received and verified.

Once an applicant receives our invoice and notice that the building permit is ready for issuance payment for that permit can occur in the following ways:

1) Mailed in or dropped off in the outside mailbox at the Township Municipal Office. – This process may take 1-3 business days to verify the payment has been received.

2) The Township of Wellesley is set up as a vendor on most banks as follows:
Bank             Vendor Name
BMO        Township of Wellesley
CCU          Wellesley, Township
MCU          Township Wellesley
Tangerine  Township of Wellesley
Manulife     Township of Wellesley
TD          Wellesley (Township of) Tax
RBC           Wellesley (TWP) Taxes
CIBC         Wellesley Township Tax
Scotia             Wellesley Taxes

- First set the Township up as a vendor with your on-line banking details
- For your Account Number: Zeros followed by permit number
Some banks require 11, 15 or 19 digits, eg.00002020XXX, 000000002020XXX, 0000000000002020XXX. If you continue to use the system for multiple on-line payments you can continue to use the initial account number.
- Pay Bill: Proceed as normal with bill payments
- Notification: E-mail fgilbert@wellesley.ca with payment confirmation. Once the online payment has been verified, we will follow up with an email copy of the approved drawings and building permit documents.
- This process should take 0-1 days to verify that the payment has been received.

3) E-Transfers can now be used as a payment option. These payments can be sent to ar@wellesley.ca This process should take 0-1 business day to verify the payment has been received. Where desired, we request that the password for the transactions be the Building permit Number provided by the Building Department after issuance. This method is the preferred method over method #2 above.

What does this emergency order mean for single family, semi-detached and townhomes construction projects?

Where a full building permit was issued on or before January 12th, we will continue to inspect the entire unoccupied project. If no building permit was issued on or before January 12th, we will NOT inspect, even where building permits are issued after January 12th. Construction for these projects cannot start. The Province has stated that the intention of the emergency order is that there are no new starts to residential projects, while residential construction that is near completion will continue.

What does this emergency order mean for condominiums and mixed use building projects?

Building permits will continue to be issued for these projects and may start construction. We will inspect the entire project.

What does this emergency order mean for construction work that was started before January 12th on projects involving renovations to residential properties?

Where a full Permit was issued on or before January 12th, and work has commenced, we will continue to inspect these projects following the mandatory safety protocols previously mentioned.

Swimming pool installations are not to start after January 12th, as they are not deemed essential.

What does this emergency order mean for Agricultural building projects?

Agricultural projects fall under 43.(f) within the order which states that they have been deemed essential and a permitted construction service where they would provide additional capacity in the production, processing, manufacturing or distribution of food, beverages or agricultural products.

New and ongoing agricultural projects including livestock facilities, manure and feed storage and other agricultural construction associated with these types of projects have been deemed permitted. If you require additional clarification on an agricultural project that is outside of these parameters please contact our building team for additional clarification at any time.

What does this emergency Order mean for Industrial, Commercial and Institutional projects?

All non-essential, non-residential construction must stop. Inspections will no longer be carried out on these projects. This includes all Industrial, Commercial and Institutional construction, unless it is identified as essential construction in article 43 of Ontario Regulation 82/20, as amended.
Please ensure all non-essential construction sites are shut down safely in accordance with article 43 (k) of Ontario Regulation 82/20, as amended.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour, as well as local By-Law and Police services are stepping enforcement measures to help limit the spread of COVID-19 across the province. Please ensure that you are doing your part to limit the spread of COVID-19. https://news.ontario.ca/mol/en/2020/03/ontario-stepping-up-measures-to-limit-the-spread-of-covid-19-on-construction-sites.html.

Thank you again for your patience throughout these unprecedented times. We appreciate you working with us to keep everyone safe. Our priority remains keeping you safe as well as our staff by following all of the requirements laid out by the Provincial government as well as the local health boards.

If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this correspondence or anything else, please contact us.

Regards,

Darryl Denny
Chief Building Official
Township of Wellesley
ddenny@wellesley.ca
Ph: 519-699-3951