The MD of Bonnyville has proposed to amend a bylaw following a provincial court decision last year, which was upheld in the court of appeals this spring, stating a development permit is required prior to installing waste collection facilities in the MD.
The MD hopes a public hearing, scheduled at the MD office on Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. to discuss the proposed amendment to Land Use Bylaw No. #525, will “clarify” which public utilities will not require development permits.
A similar amendment to eliminate the MD's need for development permits to carry out certain services and utilities was proposed last fall, following the provincial court's decision, however, that amendment was voted down.
MD CAO Ryan Poole says the most recent proposed amendment to the bylaw will allow the municipality to make necessary infrastructure upgrades quicker than before.
“Without the amendment to the present Land Use Bylaw, the MD could possibly have to wait for two weeks to a month in order to do necessary infrastructure repairs,” said Poole. “A permit would be required to stockpile gravel for road repair, or to create a borrow pit to repair a water utility. The provincial court said that the way the present bylaw is worded the MD essentially has to get a permit for everything Public Works does, and that is not economically feasible.”
Section 14.1 of the bylaw will be amended to say: “A development permit is not required for the following developments,” which include construction, installation, maintenance and restoration of many utilities and services in the MD
MD resident Mike Wasylyk, who initially took the MD to court over waste collection facilities built adjacent to his property without development permits and won, is concerned about the new proposed amendments, saying the MD is using “smoke and mirrors” to fool the public and take away their right to an appeal.
The MD will also add section 14.2, which deals with work around bins, dumpsters and garbage containers. The revised bylaw would allow Public Works to do “anything directly or indirectly related to the services, operations and /or works and/or the portable bins, dumpsters or other containers.”
Poole explained, “The amendments clarify the wording of the present Land Use Bylaw. This same wording can be found in most municipal Land Use Bylaws across the province,” said Poole. “Any major infrastructure change in the MD, such as a landfill site or a building, would have to go through the public hearing process for input from residents.”
Wasylyk says if these amendments are passed they will eliminate the opportunity for the public to have any input on decisions made by the MD.
He said, “If they don't need a development permit, they don't have to have a first reading or a second reading. They don't even need that. It is absolutely incorrect.”
Wasylyk also feels that the MD isn't clarifying the bylaw with these amendments, but rather changing it completely, which he feels defies the Municipal Government Act.
In section 63.2, subsection i), of the Municipal Government Act for the Revision and Consolidation of Bylaws states that: “A council may by law authorize the revision of all or any of the bylaws of the municipality…making changes, without changing the substance of the bylaw to bring out more clearly what is considered to be the meaning of a bylaw or to improve the expression of the law.”
Wasylyk thinks the amendments are “crazy” and feels the MD is “stripping the rights to appeal.”
“It is up to the citizens to stand up to them and say this is not right,” said Wasylyk. “If somebody comes and puts a development beside my place I want to have a say in it.
“I am going to be extremely interested to see (which councillors) vote for and against (the amendment).”
Complete copies of the proposed bylaw amendments can be reviewed at the MD Office in Bonnyville during regular business hours or on page 14-15 in the Aug. 6 issue of the Bonnyville Nouvelle.
Any written submissions must be provided to council two days in advance of the hearing.
The MD will also discuss two other proposed amendments at the public hearing Aug. 28 that deal with the rezoning of land, while the fourth proposed amendment will see them close and lease off a section of road in the municipality.
Bylaw No. #1207 would see the MD amend a lot off of range road 455 from Agricultural “A” to Rural Industrial District.
Amending bylaw's No. #526 and #527 would allow the MD to rezone a designated Lakeshore Residential Area within the Muriel Lake Area Structure Plan from Agricultural “A” to County Residential 2 “CR”.
