Guidelines

Renovation Guidelines

Guidelines on Communications at Park Square

The Communications Committee has developed the following guidelines in order to promote effective and efficient communication within the community.

The main objectives are:

1. To ensure that unit owners and unit residents are kept informed of all communication coming from the Board and the Property Manager.
2. To inform unit owners and unit residents as to what/who/ where/when to address their questions, issues and concerns.
3. to make unit owners and residents aware when and when not to call the 24 Emergency Line

 

Limitations: Not all owners and residents have signed up for email notifications. In principle, these owners are then given a paper copy of the Minutes, Notices and other materials circulated by e-mail. In practice, this does not always happen. Not all notices are circulated by e-mail and only posted on the Bulletin Board and elevator boards. Not all owners pass on information to their tenants either regularly or in a timely fashion.

 

Methods of Communication

1. Email – all unit owners as well as residents are encouraged to register for email distribution and receive official communication by email.
2. Notices posted on bulletin.
3. Notices posted on elevator board- generally those related to building maintenance and other time- sensitive notices
4. Information updates on the Park Square website
5. Hand-delivered notices to units -specifically issued by Andy for in-unit access and other information related to unit repair/inspection.
6. Quarterly newsletter

 

Communications from The Board and the Property Manager

The Board/Property Manager issues the following on a regular basis to all unit owners:

 

1. The annual budget
2. Periodic Information Certificates (twice a year)
3. Certificate of Insurance
4. Reserve Fund Studies and Funding (once every three years)
5. Minutes of Board Meetings
6. Status Certificates (as requested)
7. Documents for the Annual General meeting, including the Auditor’s Report
8. Notices relating to the management of the condominium
9. Notices submitted by Committees

 

Communication from Unit Owners that should be addressed to the Board:

1. To request information or clarification of Condo Rules and Board policies;
2. To suggest changes to rules and policy directives;
3. To request information on Budgets, Finances, Reserve Fund Studies and other financial matters;
4. To seek a Board decision on a matter affecting an individual unit;
5. To comment on Board decisions as stated in the Minutes of Board meetings issued by the Board. Submissions will then be included in the agenda of a Board meeting for consideration by the whole Board.

 

Unit Owners should write the Property Manger on the following issue, questions and concerns:

1. Monthly fees, special assessments and other condo fees;
2. Reports, corporate records, including request for Status Certificates;
3. The condominium’s insurance policy
4. Information, clarification and implementation of by-laws, rules policies and guidelines.
5. In-unit damage and request for service and/or repairs
6. Problems related to the use of common elements (e.g. swimming pool, workshop, bicycle room and hallways)

Unit Owners should write/contact/report to the Building Manager on the following issues, questions and concerns:

1. Request for routine repairs (e.g. clogged sinks, battery (supplied by owner or resident) replacement for smoke or water alarm). A service request form is available in the mail room.
2. Loss or theft of fobs/garage remote control; 3.Incidents of thefts/break-in;
3. Accidents or injury on common elements; including vehicle accidents;
4. Problems relating to common elements; e.g. elevators, doors, garbage chutes, parking garage);
5. Beeping smoke or water alarms: residents inspect HVAC water alarm and/or replace a weak battery if they could;
6. Making a reservation for the use of a service elevator during a household move or to receive deliveries of large household appliances or furniture
7. Suspicious activity or unusual circumstances (doors propped open, car doors left open, unidentified persons loitering in the premises;
8. Report illegal parking in the courtyard;
9. Lost articles, articles accidentally thrown down the garbage chute or the elevator shaft;
10. Notice of absence from your unit for more than three days. An Absentee Information Sheet should be submitted;
11. Advance notice if you are planning to deposit large items at the curb on Queen Street on scheduled days; and,
12. Persons delivering commercial flyers to unit doors;

When to call the 24 – hour Emergency Telephone Line

1. Flooding in your unit or on common elements;
2. Water infiltrating into your unit or hearing noise of water dripping between walls;
3. No electricity in your entire unit only; no heat in your unit;
4. You suspect that pipes are frozen in your unit;
5. Vandalism, theft or assault in progress. Call 911 and then the Emergency Line.

Any other situation which, in your opinion, might put the Corporation and/or its assets at risk or potentially result in bodily injury or any other type of damages for which the Corporation might be held responsible or liable.

Please do not call the emergency line for non-corporation-related emergencies such as:

1. Medical or personal emergencies in your unit; 2.Concerned about the welfare of a neighbour, call 911;Toilet or sink plugged, or other in-unit plumbing problems;
2. In-unit electrical problems (other than a full black-out in unit);
3. A vehicle parked in your parking space;
4. Difficulty with unit or locker access; call a locksmith.

Please do not call the emergency line for information updates when you hear the fire or elevator alarm sounding or the electricity is out in the entire building. This only hinders the staff members who are doing their best to resolve the situation.

 

RENTAL OF PARKING SPACES AT THE PARK SQUARE PRIVATE GARAGE

CCC 145 Rules clearly states that parking spaces maybe rented, but only to residents of Park Square.

According to Part 4, Section 100(1)(a) of the Ottawa Zoning By-law, renting out of a residential parking space to persons not living at the same address is illegal under the current zoning. https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/documents/files/documents/zoning_bylaw_part4_en.pdf>

A clarification received from the office of Councillor Catherine McKenney stated that:

“Zoning requires that parking spaces be accessory to, and exclusively for, the land use with which they are associated. Unit occupants can park their own car there but cannot rent that space out to commuters. Provided parking is accessory to the residential use, and is not to be available for commercial or off-site users, unless lands are specifically zoned to permit a “parking lot” as a principal use.”

Unfortunately, it has been observed that there are owners who have rented their parking spaces to individuals who do not reside at Park Square. We are also aware of owners who rented out their parking spot to another resident, who in turn rented it out to a non-resident.

Is this a good time to discuss this? There has always been a security concern that individuals who do not reside at Park Square are regularly observed to have access to the building, entering and exiting the garage elevator morning and afternoon. By virtue of possessing a fob, they also have access to the swimming pool and all the lobby areas of all 13 floors, not to mention all the parcels and packages left in the mail room Recently, certain sensitivities related to COVID-19 have given rise to vocal concerns that these individuals do not observe mask wearing and self-screening requirements .

Is this a good time to strictly implement this rule? With the anticipated scarcity of parking spaces in the neighbourhood due to the elimination of many parking spaces in the street and the limited number of parking spaces in the high-rises being built, parking spaces will soon be at a premium.

In the current Official Plan that will soon be adopted by the City, there are specific plans to significantly limit the number of commuters who park downtown by encouraging the use of public transport, discourage commuters from parking in private laneways and garages, and promote the concept of the “15-minute

neighbourhood”. The policy of intensification in the downtown core has resulted in changes to building heights and significant reductions in the number of of parking spaces allowed in these buildings.

This is therefore a good time to make our owners and residents to be very aware that (a) the CCC145 parking rule will be strictly implemented and (b) the City of Ottawa will be increasingly enforcing the above-mentioned by-law.

How can we determine if the car parked in the private garage is an owner or resident in the building?

1. Every owner or resident has a permanently assigned parking space. The owner should be registered with the Property Manager identifying his/her/their unit number, parking lot number, their car make/model and the car’s license plate. Thus, the Board will initiate in the new year, an updating of the Owner’s Contact Information and Parking Registry. The deadline for registration will be on January 31, 2022
2. For owners who do not reside in the building, it is the owner’s responsibility to register the unit number and renter’s name , the car make/model and the car’s license plate
3. For owners/residents who decide to rent their parking space to another resident of the building, the owner or resident should register this with the Property Manager by completing the prescribed form identifying the parking lot number, the car make/model and the car’s license plate.

 

How can we determine if the car parked at the garage is not owned by an owner or resident of Park Square?

 

1. It has been accepted practice that owners and residents who do not own a car themselves permit others to use their parking space from time to time. These includes:
2. Other owners/renters in the building who need an extra parking space;
3. Visiting families and friends of the owners or of other owners and residents in the building;
4. Contractors, personal support workers, cleaning personnel and others temporarily working in the building; and
5. Owners who decides to rent a car rental for their use.

 

The permission to park maybe for a short stay (of several hours): medium term duration (several days or weeks); or longer periods (for up to six months when owners go away during the winter months.

However short or long the duration is, the understanding is that these is not a commercial transaction and no rental money is exchanged between the parties when/if one of them is not a resident of Park Square.

In order to identify the above, the owner/resident entitled to that parking space must always indicate in writing that he/she/they have given express permission for the named person, car description and license plate to park in their space for the indicated date and time. A Permit Form will be formulated to this effect and made available for filling up at the mail room.

This written permit must be left on the car’s dashboard visible to everyone at all times that the car is parked at the private garage.

What to do if a car is parked in your parking space without your knowledge or permission.

If you find another vehicle in your parking space and do not recognize the vehicle, you can call the City of Ottawa Parking Control to have it ticketed or towed. For this purpose though, the owner and/or resident must have in his/her/their possession proof that he/she/they is the rightful owner of that parking space. This certification may be requested from the Property Manager at any time. It is advisable to obtain this ahead of time, and not on the day that it is needed.

It is important to remember that only the owner of the parking space who possesses the above-mentioned proof has the sole right to call by-law for a parking infraction.

Who will call By-law if a parking violation is observed in the courtyard and other common elements?

Andy, as the Resident Building Manager, has the authority to have a car that has been parked for longer than the limited allowed parking time towed away from our courtyard.

For all other cases, owners and residents are encouraged to alert the Property Manager and/or the Board if rules infractions are observed.

 

Issued by the Board November 2021