APPLICATION - FORM MPOP1

Application for a Municipal Property Occupancy Permit

Information on this form is collected pursuant to the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 and will be used for the purpose of administering Town of Fort Erie By-Law No. 136-2024, as amended.

The Town works hard to keep its Municipal Properties, like roads, parks, and public spaces, safe and in a good state of repair. This policy regulates, through a permitting process, the use, alteration, and occupancy of all Municipal Property in connection with Construction or Overweight Commercial Vehicles.

What is Municipal Property?

• Highways: Roads, shoulders, ditches, sidewalks, boulevards, landscaped spaces, and public fixtures like Street Furniture.
• Beaches, Parks, and Town facilities (for example Arenas).
• Parking Lots and/or any other Public Land with or without buildings.

 Important Information for Applicants:

• Read the instructions carefully. Mistakes or missing details can delay your application.
• Send in your application, along with proof of insurance and any other required documents, at least five (5) business days before your planned start date. If your works are urgent, the Director may - at their discretion - approve a permit in less time.
• You cannot cut roads, remove sidewalks, or move public fixtures unless you have written approval.
• You may need to pay a Damage Deposit before your permit can be issued. 
• Pay the Permit Fee and collect your approved permit before starting any work on Municipal Property. 
• When you’re done, the Municipal Property must be restored to its original condition.

If you have any questions, please contact Infrastructure Services. 

1. General Information

Property or Street Address

What is Property?

Property means any piece of land or building, whether it’s in the Town of Fort Erie or in a neighbouring municipality, as long as the work involves using Town-owned land or Highways to access it. This includes things like private roads, yards, empty lots, and any buildings or structures on that land.

When filling out your application, the address you provide should be the main location where the work is happening. For example, if you’re doing Construction, use the address of the construction site.

What are your intended Start/End dates?

2. What type of Pemit do you require?

Highways, Parking Lots and Public Land

Highway means the same thing as it is defined in the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8. It includes shoulders, ditches, boulevards, landscaped and grassed areas, sidewalks, and street furniture.

Beaches, Parks, and Town Facilities (e.g. Arenas)

3. Please provide a summary of your proposed work(s)

4. Applicant Information

5. Property Owner(s) if different from above

Where there are multiple owners, please attach a list with the names and details of each owner.

6. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (W.S.I.B.)

DECLARATION

Under the definitions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, I/we confirm that I/we are the ‘Constructor(s)’ for the purpose of this project. I/we agree to assume all responsibility, and liability, for ensuring that all persons, employees, employers, skilled-tradespersons, contractors, sub-contractors, workers and/or any other type of legal entity on the project, whether paid or unpaid, and to fully comply with the Act and its regulations.

7. How will your Permit affect the use of the Highway at night?

8. Application Fee & Damage Deposit

Fees and Charges are subject to change. A copy of the most current Consolidated Schedule of Fees and Charges can be found by visiting Fees and Charges Page

General Requirements and Specifications

The notes below are not an exhaustive list of all conditions attached to the issuance of a Municipal Property Occupancy Permit. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to review the relevant legislation and satisfy themselves before proceeding. In case of a discrepancy between the language in this document and the relevant legislation or regulations, the legal text in the legislation and regulations prevails. For legal information, see By-law 136-2024.

1. Definitions and Applicability

A Municipal Property Occupancy Permit is required for Occupancy of any Municipal Property that is related to Construction. For clarity, "Municipal Property" includes, but is not limited to:

• Highways (including shoulders, ditches, and sidewalks);
• Beaches;
• Parks;
• Town facilities (e.g., Arenas);
• Parking Lots; and
• Any other public land, whether or not it includes buildings or structures.

2. Overweight Vehicles

• Commercial vehicles with a weight exceeding five (5) tonnes per axle are required to obtain a permit if traveling on roads marked with signs prohibiting such weight.
• The Applicant shall specify an estimate of how many trips (Journies) are expected by Overweight Vehicles between the Start and End dates of Section 1.
• The operator shall follow a designated Route, as approved by the Director of Infrastructure Services.
• The Applicant must ensure compliance with weight limits and adhere to the terms of the issued permit. Unauthorized overweight vehicle operation may result in administrative penalties as per By-law 136-2024.
• For applications exclusively related to Overweight Vehicles, sections 4, 7, 9, 10, and 11 of this guidance may not be applicable.

3. Municipal Property Occupancy Diagram

The Applicant shall prepare and submit a Sketch, Map, and/or Diagram of the affected Municipal Property. This must be marked with the location and approximate dimension(s) of any proposed obstruction(s), and/or the details of any Routes for Overweight Vehicles planned as part of the Occupancy. The plan must be legible and field-verified but does not need to be scaled.

4. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (W.S.I.B.)

• If it is only the Owner(s) of the Property named in Section 1, the Applicant shall declare that they will NOT employ any person(s), contractor(s), or sub-contractor(s) to perform any work(s) requiring occupancy of the municipal property; or
• If you are a construction company and the ONLY employee of your business, you may also be exempt from supplying a WSIB Certificate of Clearance. In such cases, you must provide self-certification confirming that you are the Sole Employee of the construction company; or, in any other case:
  • The Applicant shall supply a valid Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (W.S.I.B.) Certificate of Clearance certifying they are in good standing with the Board. Such a Certificate shall be endorsed to cover all activities being undertaken in relation to the proposed work(s);
  • If the Certificate of Clearance does not indicate coverage for construction work (“Class G”), the Applicant shall supply a letter from W.S.I.B. stating they are already covered for “Class G” activities and/or that W.S.I.B. is aware of the Applicants’ intended “Class G” activities; and
  • The Applicant shall supply a list of activities being undertaken in relation to the proposed work(s), along with the type of sub-trade, name(s) and address(es) of sub-contractor(s), and date(s) for each activity.

5. Roadways Operated by Other Bodies

• Parts of Bowen Road, Central Avenue, Dominion Road, Garrison Road, Gilmore Road, Gorham Road, Helena Street, Montrose Road, Netherby Road, Phipps Street, Sodom Road, Stevensville Road, and Thompson Road are road allowances administered by the Niagara Region. Further information can be found by contacting (905) 980-6000 or at Niagara Region Permits.

• Cairns Crescent, Frenchman’s Lane, parts of Lakeshore Road, Niagara Boulevard, Niagara Parkway Boulevard, Niagara River Parkway, or any Service Roads attached to these streets are road allowances administered by the Niagara Parks Commission. Further information can be found by contacting (905) 356-2241 or at Niagara Parks Permits.

6. Insurance Requirements

During the period of any authorized work(s), the contractor shall keep and maintain insurance coverage as outlined below, provided by (an) insurance company(ies) licensed to transact business in the Province of Ontario, and of satisfactory financial standing to The Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie:

• Commercial general liability insurance in the minimum amount of five million dollars ($5,000,000) inclusive per occurrence. Coverage shall include but not be limited to bodily injury including death, damage to property including loss of use thereof, personal injury, premises and operations liability, and tenant legal liability. It shall contain a cross-liability and severability of insured clauses.
• The policy shall be endorsed to:
  • Protect The Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie as an Additional Insured as the owner of the municipal property against all liability but only concerning the construction of the Applicant;
  • Be primary and not call into contribution any other insurance available to the Town;
  • Provide not less than thirty (30) days’ written notice of cancellation.
• The Applicant shall provide an insurance certificate to the satisfaction of the Town that confirms these requirements. If requested by the Town, the Applicant must provide a certified true copy of the policy certified by an authorized representative of the insurer.
• If the insurance policy is canceled or if coverage lapses, the permit holder must immediately cease all Occupancy and remove their operations from the Town’s premises.

7. Traffic Control Plan and Detours

The Applicant shall submit a Traffic Control Plan conforming to the Ministry of Transportation’s most recent Ontario Traffic Manual, Book 7, Temporary Conditions. The plan must include:

• Relevant section(s) of the manual applicable to their proposed work(s);
• A diagram of the affected roadway(s);
• Signing requirements that will be used.

Plans involving detours on roadways owned or operated by either the Niagara Region or the Niagara Parks Commission must provide proof of permission or a letter of non-objection from the relevant authority, as applicable.

8. Vehicle Parking

• Vehicles shall not be parked closer than three (3) metres to a fire hydrant or six (6) metres from a crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked, unless expressly authorized by the Permit.
• All “No Stopping” zones, whether full-time, part-time, or during rush hours, must be adhered to.

9. Sidewalks

• Any hoses, cords, pipes, or other apparatus crossing a sidewalk must be securely ramped to prevent tripping or accessibility hazards for pedestrian traffic.

10. Notification to Emergency Services & Public Transit

The Applicant shall notify the following service providers with a copy of the approved Municipal Property Occupancy Permit before construction and on each day any right-of-way is impeded:

• Fort Erie Fire Department: (905) 871-1600 Ext. 5600
• Niagara Regional Police Service: (905) 871-2300
• Emergency Medical Services: (905) 984-5050
• Niagara Student Transportation Services: (905) 346-0290
• Fort Erie Transit: 1-833-287-5463
• Fort Erie Accessible Specialized Transit: 1-833-933-3278
• Town of Fort Erie Road Operations: (905) 871-1600 Ext. 2466
• Niagara Regional Waste Management: (905) 356-4141

11. Utility Locates

• The Applicant shall obtain utility locates before commencing Construction and shall not interfere with any public or municipal utility.

12. Pre-construction Condition of Municipal Property

The Applicant shall:

• Take new photographs of the part(s) of the municipal property where Occupancy is intended to occur;
• Provide the photographs and a written list of any deficiencies;
• Submit these documents with the application.

13. Notice of Service Disruption

Construction must not commence until the Town has given notice of service disruption in accordance with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and its regulations.

9. Supporting documents / checklist

10. Declaration by Applicant

Permits are issued based on the information supplied by the Applicant. This application form, as well as any supporting documents, will form part of your permit. Knowingly providing false or misleading information may render any permit issued as invalid. You are required to have a copy of this permit on site at all times during the time frame stated in your approval.

I/We hereby apply for prior approval as described in the pages of this application. I/We have been provided, have read and agree to adhere to the General Requirements and Specifications document contained in this package and acknowledge I/we have been provided and/or have obtained a copy of By-Law 136-2024 prior to submission. I/we will undertake to ensure all sub-contractors hired by us in completion of our work will also comply with the above standards, I/we agree to follow all directives noted on the Permit and/or those subsequently issued on authority of the Town.

I/We, our heirs, executors, administrators and assignees will indemnify and save harmless the Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie, the “Town”, and any Public Utility / Telecommunication Company, agency, board or commission having utilities within the Right of Way, which may in any manner be affected through the right of occupation hereby granted, from any and all claims, demands, suits, actions and judgements made, brought or recovered against the Town and from all loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses that may be incurred, sustained by reason of the granting of this Municipal Property Occupancy Permit, including any loss resulting from any violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, together with defence costs, fines and penalties. The Applicant shall be considered the “constructor” for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The indemnity provisions of this Agreement shall survive the termination of the Agreement.

I/We agree to pay all fees in advance and, where the Town costs exceed any deposits, I/we hereby agree to pay the balance within 10 calendar days from the date of invoice.

Where applicable: I/We have the authority to bind the company/corporation.

Applicant’s signature:

Property Owner’s authorization: