City shouldn’t deal with rainwater complaints: Report

Where does your rainwater go? It should drain onto your own property, but that isn’t always the case – especially in denser neighbourhoods, where rooftops almost touch or, in some cases, overlap.

That’s the point being made in a city staff report going to city council Monday night. Along with photographs of city homes packed sideby-side, the report, from planning director Jeffrey Humble, seeks to address concerns raised when one person’s rainwater flows onto a neighbour’s property.

The report was made after a request from council April 3.

This happens in older properties and new neighbourhoods, where the construction of a new home can change drainage patterns.

Homeowners in the city are required to have eavestrough and drainage systems so that buildings within two feet of a property line don’t drain water onto neighbouring properties.

Peterborough is the only one of 10 Ontario communities surveyed by city staff that had such a regulation in place, the report states.

However, that’s as far as the city should go, Humble states in the report. Drainage issues are a private matter between property owners. He compares it to having a bright light shining onto a neighbouring property, and wrote that its’s a problem for the civil courts,

“Considering the health and life safety requirements that are already in place and enforced under the property standards bylaw, city staff does not currently possess the resources or expertise to police physical changes to a property. It would be most efficient, reasonable and practical to maintain the existing standards and practices, particularly since this situation has not presented itself as an issue in any volume that would have the division propose a change in approach,” the report states.

In addition, the report points out, the local John Howard Society offer free mediation for neighbours in this sort of situation.

In other council business Monday:

Council will consider a report on its new operations centre, to be built at the old Coach Canada site on Webber Ave. at a cost of $22,069,000. The original budget forecast was $17,166,600, but that was early in the process, a staff reports states, noting that five bids came in, all over budget. Staff recommends awarding the contract to JR Certus Construction Co. of Vaughan. If approved, the project would begin in August and be complete by late fall 2018.

A recommendation to create an age-friendly Peterborough committee, which will report to the city-county joint services steering committee.

An update on the city’s online welcome portal for immigrants.

A report card from Sustainable Peterborough.

Requests for proposal on an environmental assessment for the transit garade, debris removal from storm and sanitary sewers, equipment and labour rates at waste management facilities and an electronic agenda management solution.

An update on the city rebranding process from Brand Health.

City council meets as committee of the whole Monday at 6:30 at City Hall. Visit The Examiner’s website on Monday for livestreaming, blogging and tweets from the meeting.