Clarity is always important, especially when it comes to matters like land-use bylaws.
That was the goal for Foothills County council during the Jan. 12 meeting, when a public hearing was held to consider various amendments to different sections of the bylaw, most aiming for increased specificity.
Senior planner Coreena Carr explained that meetings of this nature typically take place twice a year, as a way to keep the bylaw current and address any concerns from landowners. Although, she added the county is working to move away from this model, and instead do large overhauls when necessary – similar to most other municipalities – rather than scheduled, twice-annual reviews.
"It allowed us to keep [the bylaw] up-to-date and if we found areas where the landowners were struggling where clarification might help out, then we amended it," Carr said of the regular meetings.
On the docket for this iteration of the public amendment hearing was updating the name of the Hamlet Residential District along with purpose and intent for those parcels, amendments to manufactured homes and mobile dwellings; an update to the definition of a bed and breakfast as well as boarding services and clarification of the use of commercial vehicles for home-based businesses.
Also discussed were changes to campground setbacks, yard setbacks for existing parcels in Mazeppa, setbacks and parcel sizing for existing development in the Hamlet Residential District.
All changes were accepted by council following the presentation by Carr and were given first reading.
There were no comments from the public during the hearing.
Given the small size of the changes, Carr said there will be little impact to landowners.
"There should be [minimal] impact because a lot of them are just clarification," she said.
Some of the most significant changes will be the changes to local bed and breakfast businesses.
Carr said Alberta Food Regulations have changed — bed and breakfast establishments are now permitted to serve additional meals, not just breakfast.
Also worth noting is the change in allowed variance on Hamlet Residential parcels, which is moving from 2.5 per cent to five per cent.
"It will make a difference between someone being able to get a compliance certificate on those parcels," said Carr, noting the distance itself is rather minuscule.
