DocumentsOtherFeb 6, 2017Pages 2–8
Reconciliation Agreement
Agreement among Beecher Bay First Nation, District of Metchosin and City of Langford establishing terms for substitution of development lands and compensation in lieu of certain Treaty Parcels, including tax-sharing, conditions precedent, and dispute resolution.
Key facts
- Parties: Beecher Bay First Nation; District of Metchosin; City of Langford
- Agreement date referenced: February, 2017
- Development Lands include Lots 6, 7 and 8 Plan VIP54839 (portions shown on Schedule A)
- Treaty Parcels defined as Sections 25, 28 and 95 Metchosin Land District
- Conditions precedent: issuance of letters patent adjusting municipal boundaries; CRD regional growth strategy amendment; subdivision of Lots 6-8; Beecher Bay securing co-development/ownership interest
Reconciliation Agreement
This Agreement dated for reference the __ day of February, 2017 is among:
Beecher Bay First Nation
4901-B East Sooke Rd.
Sooke, B.C. V9Z 1B6
(“Beecher Bay”)
District of Metchosin
4550 Happy Valley Road
Victoria, B.C. V9C 3Z3
(“Metchosin”)
City of Langford
2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue
Victoria, B.C. V9B 2X8
(“Langford”)
WHEREAS:
A. Beecher Bay is involved in treaty negotiations with Canada and British Columbia to secure, inter alia, economic development opportunities for its members, which negotiations may result in a Final Agreement among the parties to the negotiations;
B. British Columbia has offered certain lands of the Province, defined in this Agreement as the Treaty Parcels, to Beecher Bay as treaty settlement lands;
C. Beecher Bay would have ownership of and jurisdiction over the Treaty Parcels if they become treaty settlement lands;
D. The Treaty Parcels have significant open space and environmental values with which economic development would be inconsistent;
E. Beecher Bay is willing to substitute for ownership of and jurisdiction over the Treaty Parcels, an ownership share in a portion of certain lands having potential for commercial or industrial development, defined in this Agreement as the Development Lands, plus compensation for foregone property tax revenue from the Treaty Parcels;
F. Beecher Bay intends to or has secured or made private arrangement to secure an ownership interest in a portion of the Development Lands;
G. Metchosin and Langford have agreed to boundary adjustments that would include the Development Lands and other lands in Langford’s boundaries, to achieve the purposes of this Agreement;
H. A municipal boundary adjustment requires, under the Local Government Act, the issuance by British Columbia of letters patent for Metchosin and Langford;
I. The parties have agreed that availability of economic opportunities to members of Beecher Bay and the conservation in perpetuity of undeveloped lands to which Beecher Bay has claims of aboriginal rights or title, would encourage reconciliation between the members of Beecher Bay and the citizens of Metchosin and Langford;
NOW THEREFORE IN CONSIDERATION OF Beecher Bay foregoing the ownership of and jurisdiction over the Treaty Parcels, Metchosin foregoing jurisdiction over the Development Lands and consenting to the extension of Langford’s boundaries to include the Development Lands, and the covenants among the parties set out in the Agreement, the parties agree as follows:
INTERPRETATION
- In this Agreement,
“Development Lands” means Lot 10 Block 3 Sections 89, 97, 98, 99, 100, 100A, 101 and 101A Metchosin District Plan 1817 and such portions of the following parcels as are shaded purple on Schedule A:
(a) Lot 6 Section 94 Metchosin District Plan VIP54839
(b) Lot 7 Section 93 Metchosin District Plan VIP54839
(c) Lot 8 Sections 86 and 97 Metchosin District Plan VIP54839
“Final Agreement” means a final agreement between Beecher Bay, Canada and British Columbia in the BC Treaty Process as described in the Te’mexw Treaty Association Agreement-in Principle dated April 9, 2015.
“Treaty Parcels” means Sections 25, 28 and 95 Metchosin Land District.
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The obligations of the parties under this Agreement will not arise until all of the following have occurred:
(a) British Columbia has issued letters patent extending the boundaries of Langford and reducing the boundaries of Metchosin as illustrated in Schedule A to this Agreement;
(b) the Capital Regional District has amended or replaced its regional growth strategy such that the Development Lands are within the boundary of the Regional Urban Containment and Servicing Policy Area;
(c) lots 6, 7 and 8 Plan VIP54839 described in the definition of “Development Lands” are subdivided so as to create as a separate parcel or separate parcels the portions of the parcels that are shown on Schedule A as comprising portions of the Development Lands; and
(d) Beecher Bay has provided confirmation to British Columbia and the other parties to this Agreement that it has executed a co-development or similar agreement to secure an ownership interest in the Development Lands.If any of the conditions mentioned in the preceding section has not been fulfilled by December 31, 2018, this Agreement shall terminate and none of the parties shall have any obligations to any other party despite any of the conditions having been fulfilled prior to that date.
TREATY PARCELS
Beecher Bay will support the transfer of the Treaty Parcels to Metchosin and, if British Columbia agrees, will consent to the Treaty Parcels being transferred to Metchosin, subject to the Treaty Parcels being charged by a covenant in favour of British Columbia or an entity described in s. 219(3)(c) of the Land Title Act, substantially in the form of Schedule B.
Beecher Bay will seek in any Final Agreement the registration of a covenant substantially in the form of Schedule B or having the same effect as Schedule B, as an interest in the Treaty Parcels that continues to charge the Treaty Parcels after the effective date of the Final Agreement.
If the Treaty Parcels or any of them are transferred to Beecher Bay whether pursuant to a Final Agreement or otherwise, Beecher Bay will transfer the Treaty Parcel to Metchosin for nominal consideration, unencumbered by any charges other than the charge described in the preceding paragraphs, within 4 weeks of taking any transfer of that Treaty Parcel from British Columbia. The cost of preparing and registering the transfer documents shall be for Metchosin’s account.
Metchosin will cause its municipal council to consider, in respect of each of the Treaty Parcels following their transfer to Metchosin, the enactment of a bylaw under s. 30 of the Community Charter, reserving or dedicating that Treaty Parcel for park purposes, whether or not the Treaty Parcel is the subject of a covenant as contemplated by Schedule B.
Metchosin agrees to the designation of the lands shaded yellow on Schedule C as treaty settlement lands in a Final Agreement, and to the acquisition of those lands by Beecher Bay as treaty settlement lands, subject to:
(a) Canada and British Columbia offering those lands to Beecher Bay as treaty settlement lands in treaty negotiations;
(b) any of those lands that are owned in fee simple by other parties being acquired by Canada, British Columbia or Beecher Bay on a willing seller – willing buyer basis, for the purpose of designation as treaty settlement lands; and
(c) Beecher Bay and Metchosin having engaged in good faith discussions to determine if any part of those lands that is held by Canada can be acquired by Metchosin, with the agreement of Beecher Bay, for the purpose of being dedicated as park land.
PAYMENTS TO METCHOSIN AND BEECHER BAY
Langford will, beginning in the first full calendar year in which the Development Lands are within its property tax jurisdiction, make payments to each of Metchosin and Beecher Bay in accordance with this Agreement (the “Payments”).
The Payments to Beecher Bay required by the foregoing section shall be the amount that is 33 1/3 percent of property taxes for general municipal purposes in respect of the Development Lands, and the Payments to Metchosin shall be the amount that is 7 percent of property taxes for general municipal purposes in respect of the Development Lands. In this section, “general municipal purposes” includes recreation, library and police services.
For certainty, the amount on which the Payments are based shall not include any school taxes, taxes imposed by other taxing authorities including the Capital Regional District, the Municipal Finance Authority and the B.C. Assessment Authority; local service taxes; or municipal fees and charges included in a property tax notice.
The amount on which the Payments are based shall not include any interest and penalties on unpaid taxes.
Langford shall be under no duty to seek to recover taxes on the Development Lands as a debt, by distress, or by any other means other than by tax sale.
In the event that Langford is obliged to make any refund of property taxes in respect of the Development Lands, Beecher Bay shall be liable for 33 1/3 percent of the amount of the refund and Metchosin shall be liable for 7 percent of the amount, which amounts Langford may deduct from one or more Payments under this Agreement.
Payments are due under this Agreement on July 2 of each year.
Each Payment shall be accompanied by copies of the property tax notices in respect of each parcel comprising the Development Lands.
Langford may, upon being requested in writing to do so by an authorized representative of Beecher Bay, make any payment due to Beecher Bay under this Agreement to Beecher Bay’s nominee.
In the event that any parcel comprising the Development Lands is sold at tax sale, Langford is the tax sale purchaser, and the owner does not redeem the parcel during the redemption period, the Payments in respect of that parcel shall be made within 10 business days of the expiry of the redemption period.
In the event that Langford exempts the Development Lands or any portion of them from taxation under Division 7 of Part 7 of the Community Charter, it shall be liable for Payments to Beecher Bay and Metchosin under this Agreement despite the exemption. The amount of the Payments shall be based on the relevant amounts set out in Langford’s annual report pursuant to s. 98(2)(b) of the Community Charter.
In the event that the Development Lands or any portion of them become exempt from property taxation by virtue of ownership by Langford, or by virtue of tax-exempt status under the Community Charter that the lands would not have had but for a zoning change approved by Langford’s Council, Langford shall be liable for Payments to Beecher Bay and Metchosin under this Agreement despite the exemption. The amount of the Payments shall be based on the assessed value of the Development Lands from time to time as if they were zoned for light industrial uses and not exempt, and determined in accordance with the method of valuation set out in the Assessment Act R.S.B.C. 1996 c. 20, by a qualified person instructed by the parties and at Langford’s cost.
In the event that the Development Lands or any portion of them become exempt from taxation for any reason not mentioned in section 19 or section 20, Langford shall not be liable for Payments to Beecher Bay or Metchosin under this Agreement in respect of any period during which the lands are exempt.
ASSESSMENT APPEALS
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit Langford’s jurisdiction to appeal the assessment of the Development Lands to the Property Assessment Appeal Board, or to seek judicial review of a decision of the Board in respect of the Development Lands.
Metchosin or Beecher Bay may request Langford to consider an appeal or judicial review described in the preceding paragraph, and in doing so may propose the sharing of the cost of such appeal or review, but nothing in this Agreement obliges Langford to accede to any such request.
ZONING AND SERVICING OF DEVELOPMENT LANDS
Langford will cause its council to consider amendment of the zoning of the Development Lands to allow business park uses of the Development Lands and to initiate or continue such consultation and negotiation with the board of the Capital Regional District as may be required to accommodate such zoning within Langford’s official community plan and regional context statement and the Capital Regional District’s regional growth strategy.
Langford will deal with the provision of services to the Development Lands on the same basis as the provision of services to other development lands within the City, including without limitation liaising with the Capital Regional District in respect of water supply and West Shore Environmental Services Ltd. in respect of sewage collection and disposal.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
No provisions of this Agreement will abrogate or derogate in any way from Beecher Bay’s rights under Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 or from any rights under a Final Agreement, except that, subject to the conditions set out in section 2 of this Agreement being fulfilled, the parties acknowledge that this Agreement is a recognition of Section 35(1) rights of Beecher Bay, and part of the reconciliation between the parties to this Agreement, and Beecher Bay will not challenge or act to reverse, overturn or invalidate the transfer of the Treaty Parcels, any park use covenant relating thereto or the dedication or reservation of the Treaty Parcels for park purposes more generally.
Nothing in this Agreement fetters the legislative discretion of the municipal council of Langford or the municipal council of Metchosin.
Notices with respect to the performance of this Agreement may be delivered by any party to the corporate officers of Langford and Metchosin at the appropriate municipal hall, and to the senior administrative officer of Beecher Bay at its administrative offices.
This Agreement is the entire agreement among the parties with respect to its subject.
Each of the parties warrants to the others that it has the authority to enter into this Agreement.
In the event of a dispute between any two or more of the parties with respect to the interpretation or performance of this Agreement, the parties agree that the dispute shall be resolved as follows:
(a) by the senior administrative officers of the disputing parties;
(b) failing resolution under subsection (a) within a reasonable time, by the Mayors of the municipal parties and the Chief Councillor of Beecher Bay, or the Chief Councillor’s successor in function under any Final Agreement;
(c) failing resolution under subsection (b) within a reasonable time, by a mediator appointed jointly by the disputing parties; and
(d) failing resolution under subsection (c) within a reasonable time, by arbitration under the Arbitration Act, by an arbitrator resident in the Capital Regional District.
- This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and will take effect when each of the parties has executed and delivered at least one counterpart. This Agreement may be delivered by email transmission of an executed counterpart.
In witness whereof this Agreement has been executed by the parties as of the date first above written.
BEECHER BAY FIRST NATION
by its authorized signatory:
DISTRICT OF METCHOSIN
by its authorized signatory:
CITY OF LANGFORD
by its authorized signatory: