PSLL Motion on Private Roads and Rights-of-Way

ASSOCIATION PSLL POLICY
ON PRIVATE ROADS AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD DOMAIN

The Situation:

Over the past year, the Association PSLL has received a number of requests for land transfers, cessation of rights-of-way, etc., on properties either that fall under its responsibility or that it owns. These requests are quite complex. To be resolved, they require a number of actions that are extremely time consuming and could incur costs beyond the Association's current financial capacity.

One of the major reasons for the complexity of these requests is that in 2000, the Province of Quebec undertook a "cadastral reform". Since this reform, quite a number of deeds/titles registrations for properties are erroneous and flawed, and the Association is caught in the midst of these registration problems; for example, the Association paying taxes on land it does not own, etc. Furthermore, some problems are not yet resolved with the original owner, Perkins-sur-le-lac Inc.

Because the requests with respect to land transfers, cessation of rights-of-way, etc., that are made to the Association require legal actions, the Board of Directors decided to hold a special meeting on November 23, 2003, to clarify property issues. With the most current maps in hand, the members of the Board of Directors discovered the following facts:

There are numerous deeds/titles that need clarification;
The time to invest and the complexity of this land search at the Provincial Land Registry Office is beyond the capacity of the Board of Directors;
The costs that this property clarification endeavour would incur are beyond the current financial capacity of the Association, i.e. notary costs to undertake land title research, potential surveying and legal fees.

The Recommendations:

As a result of the findings at its November 23 meeting, the Board of Directors recommends the following be presented to the General Assembly:

That Association PSLL will not make any decision concerning the transfer of property, the sale of land, nor abolish rights-of-way, including those of the Association and those affecting property owners or future property owners, for the next five years. However, in cases where the transaction does not affect the interests of existing or future property owners, and on the condition that the potential buyer defrays all the costs incurred, the Association may proceed with the transaction. Costs paid by the potential buyer shall include a complete search of the relevant property holding(s), implicated right(s)-of-way held by the Association, such as private roads, road access, beach access, etc., as well as costs relating to the surveying and severance of the property/properties in question.
That an amount of money be allocated in the annual budget over the next five years to clarify the Association PSLL's property holdings and rights-of-way at the Provincial Land Registry Office to specifically determine the Association's property holdings and rights. For example, private roads, road access, beach access, etc. This research should be completed by the end of the five year moratorium.

The first recommendation mentions that there is a need for a five year moratorium to clarify the propriety issues that the Association is faced with. Furthermore, the recommendation also allows the Association to move ahead with a transaction if the titles are clear, if it does not infringe upon current and future property owners' rights, and if all of the fees linked with this transaction are incurred by the potential buyer.

The second recommendation stipulates that an amount of money be budgeted annually over the next five years to clarify the property issues that face the Association PSLL.

Approved by the members on July 18, 2004
at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

A five-year extension was approved by the members on
July 19, 2009 at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.