Legal Update – Recent Court Decisions

Pitt Polder Preservation Society v. District of Pitt Meadows
B.C. Court of Appeal (2000)

• public hearings for zoning bylaws must be conducted in such a way to ensure procedural fairness for participants
• right to be heard before a municipal council makes decisions on proposed land use or zoning bylaws must encompass more than opportunity to express approval or disapproval of proposed bylaw
• failure to disclose relevant reports and documents to the public prior to the public hearing will amount to a breach of a duty of procedural fairness

“The right to be heard before Council makes a decision on proposed land use or zoning bylaws must encompass more than an opportunity to express approval or disapproval of the proposed bylaws. If the participatory process that is mandated by the statute is intended to provide Council with a meaningful examination and discussion of the issues material to Council’s decision, it appears to me to have been essential for members of the public to have been given access to impact reports and other relevant documents in sufficient time to prepare reasoned presentations.”