St. John's (City) v. Sharpe, (2004) 235 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 122 (NFPC)

• Judge: Orr, P.C.J.
• Court: Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court (Canada)
• Case Date: March 05, 2004
• Jurisdiction: Newfoundland and Labrador
• Citations: (2004), 235 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 122 (NFPC)

St. John's v. Sharpe (2004), 235 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 122 (NFPC);

    699 A.P.R. 122

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2004] Nfld. & P.E.I.R. TBEd. MR.017

The City of St. John's v. Scott Sharpe

Indexed As: St. John's (City) v. Sharpe

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court

Orr, P.C.J.

March 5, 2004.

Summary:

Sharpe was charged with a breach of s. 104 of the City of St. John's Act after he constructed a garage in the Old Broad Cove River watershed area without having received a building permit.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Provin­cial Court found that Sharpe breached s. 104 of the Act. In addition to any fine that was to be imposed, the court ordered that the building be removed by Sharpe within a time to be fixed.

Land Regulation - Topic 3948

Land use control - Remedies - Demolition or removal - Sharpe was charged with a breach of s. 104 of the City of St. John's Act after he constructed a garage in the Old Broad Cove River watershed area without having received a building permit - The Newfoundland and Labrador Provin­cial Court held that Sharpe breached s. 104 and that the wording of the general penalty section in s. 403 of the Act permitted the court to make an order for removal of the building - In addition to any fine that was to be imposed, the court ordered that the building be removed by Sharpe within a time to be fixed - See paragraphs 25 to 29.

Municipal Law - Topic 1491

Powers of municipalities - Particular powers - Public nuisance - Sharpe was charged with a breach of s. 104 of the City of St. John's Act after he constructed a garage in the Old Broad Cove River water­shed area without having received a build­ing permit - The City of St. John's argued that Sharpe's building, having been con­structed in contravention of s. 104, consti­tuted a public nuisance and the court should therefore make an order for its abatement pursuant to s. 316 of the Act - The Newfoundland and Labrador Provin­cial Court rejected the argument - Since there was no reference in the information to s. 316 or the term public nuisance, the court could not find that the accused was summoned for the purpose of abatement of a public nuisance and s. 316 therefore did not apply - See paragraphs 22 to 24.

Statutes - Topic 6257

Operation and effect - Effect on earlier statutes - Contrariety or conflict between statutes - Conflict between a statute and a regulation or rule made under another statute - Sharpe owned property in the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Phillips, which was also located in the Old Broad Cove River watershed area - There was shared jurisdiction with the City of St. John's over the area - Sharpe applied to the Town for a permit to construct a storage building - The application was forwarded to the City for approval - Sharpe constructed the building without waiting for a permit - The City did not approve the building - The Town refused Sharpe's application for a building permit - Sharpe was charged with a breach of s. 104 of the City of St. John's Act as a result of constructing the building - Sharpe argued that as the building was not conflicting with any of the Town's development regulations it should be allowed to remain - The Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court rejected the argument - Regulations could not take precedence over the City of St. John's Act - See paragraphs 15 to 18.

Cases Noticed:

St. John's (City) v. Butler et al. (2000), 194 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 61; 584 A.P.R. 61 (Nfld. C.A.), consd. [para. 2].

Gerry's Food Mart Ltd. v. St. John's (City) and Newfoundland (1992), 104 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 294; 329 A.P.R. 294 (Nfld. C.A.), refd to. [para. 13].

Parsons v. Paradise (Town), [2000] N.J. 194 (Nfld. T.D.), refd to. [para. 16].

Shawinigan Hydro Electric Co. (1912), 45 S.C.R. 585, refd to. [para. 20].

Statutes Noticed:

City of St. John's Act, R.S.N.L. 1990, c. C-17, sect. 104 [para. 10]; sect. 316 [para. 22]; sect. 403 [para. 25].

Counsel:

Robert Bursey, for the City of St. John's;

John Barrett, for the accused.

This matter was heard at St. John's, New­foundland and Labrador, before Orr, P.C.J., of the Newfoundland and Labrador Provin­cial Court, who delivered the following decision on March 5, 2004.