ST. PAUL - Thursday night's Town of St. Paul Committee of the Whole meeting was focused on taking a first look at the municipality's draft of a revamped Land Use Bylaw.
While work has been taking place for a while on the bylaw, Thursday was council's first time seeing the complete document.
"The final bylaw intention is to simplify the process for the public to navigate, and reduce red tape in planning and development," said Mayor Maureen Miller, after the meeting.
David Schoor, Senior Planner with ISL Engineering & Land Services, was in attendance during the online meeting, to present the draft bylaw and answer questions.
"Our main purpose of the review has expanded over time," said Schoor. He added that feedback was sought in early 2019, and a survey with just a few responses was also done. The aim of the new bylaw is to provide clarity to existing regulations.
The existing bylaw wasn't "bad," said Schoor, but it was in need of review.
Thursday offered council an opportunity to review the draft bylaw before it goes to the public. While a specific date has yet to be set for an open house, it is expected to occur in September.
One of the main concerns that came up during the discussion on Thursday was around variances allowed in the bylaw, and clarification around permitted and discretionary uses in specific districts.
Coun. Gary Ward asked why variances are allowed within the bylaw, and why the new bylaw would give specific powers to the development officer.
"We really just want to help streamline applications," said Aline Brousseau, Director of Planning & Legislative Services with the Town of St. Paul.
Speaking to why variances are allowed, Brousseau noted that there could be unique sites in town with unique issues. She explained that people still need to give reasons as to why they would need a variance for a development.
"Every lot is unique," said Brousseau.
Schoor noted that a Land Use Bylaw is intended to set the rules, but it simply can't anticipate every situation.
"You're only granting a variance when there's a hardship," he explained.
The Land Use Bylaw document itself is a large document, and is over 300 pages in length. Schoor said they allowed for a lot of white space and hyperlinks in designing the document to make it easier for people to read and navigate.
Council sent the document back to administration for some clarification on discretionary and permitted uses in specific districts. Council is also looking for direction on details around variances within the bylaw.
