Mapleton to close thousands of inactive building permits

MAPLETON – All building permits in Mapleton that have been inactive for 15 or more years are set to be closed.

Chief building official Mike Walsh said the decision stems from a Supreme Court ruling “every building department in Ontario has been monitoring for the last two years” that finally settled in November.

A northern municipality has been in the midst of a legal dispute in court over a deficient building permit that was more than 15 years old.

The township argued it wasn’t liable because the permit had been inactive for so long, but a judge ruled that townships are “liable to monitor every building permit indefinitely,” Walsh said.

The ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but it declined to hear the case.

“So the building department is suggesting that every permit that has been inactive in that time be considered closed now,” Walsh said.

Council voted unanimously in favour of closing all building permits that have been inactive for more than 15 years.

Township staff are uncertain how many permits will be closed, but Walsh estimated the number ranges between 2,100 and 2,600.

“Most of them are at the final stage – missing engineer reports – so basically closed but not officially.”