AMENDMENTS TO COUNTY PLAN AND LAND USE BYLAW
Last September, Council directed Administration to prepare amendments to both the County Plan and the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) to remove the ability to redesignate to the Special, Future Urban Development (S-FUD) and Business Live-Work (B-LWK) districts and to eliminate the Special Function Business (SFB) discretionary land use. As well, Council asked Administration to explore the creation of a Home-Based Business Type 3 (HBB3) for use within residential and agricultural parcels.
On January 10th, Administration brought forward changes proposing to replace the B-LWK and S-FUD Districts, and the SFB use, with a new HBB3 use. The intent of HBB3 is to allow County residents to undertake limited-scale business uses on their property. A key requirement of the proposed amendments is that a HBB3 use must be secondary to the principal residential use on the site while remaining compatible with the residential and/or agricultural character of the surrounding area. Administration also recommended making amendments to the existing HBB Type 1 and 2 use regulations to improve interpretation, address previously identified issues and to better distinguish the three HBB types.
It quickly became apparent that the proposed changes were not supported by Council or by the many residents who spoke in opposition. As a result, Council referred the changes back to Administration with a provision that the matter would come to a Council workshop to gain a better understanding of Council’s vision and that modifications would take into consideration the concerns raised by residents. Those recommendations will then be presented to the Governance Committee no later than the end of June before proceeding to a new public hearing. In the meantime, Council directed Administration not to schedule any public hearings for redesignation of land to S-FUD or B-LWK until the issue has been resolved. Subdivision and development permit applications for properties that already hold the designations will be allowed to proceed.
ROAD LICENSING BYLAW APPROVED
The Road Licensing Bylaw clearly defines responsibility regarding licensing of undeveloped road allowances and provides for the issuance of Licenses of Occupation for the temporary occupation or use of undeveloped road allowances. At the September 13th Public Hearing,
Council received public feedback and directed Administration to prepare amendments to the Road Licensing Bylaw and return to Council no later than January 31st
.
On January 10th, Administration provided a number of proposed changes which Council
supported unanimously. Under the bylaw, licences of occupation may be issued for grazing or cultivation purposes or to provide access for existing driveways. As well, all licenses will be for non-exclusive use, meaning the licenced road allowance may be accessed by the public, however, that access is limited to human foot traffic and farm operation vehicles. Licensing will be referred to as “temporary” as opposed to “dedicated” and they are now terminable on 60 days vs 30 days notice. Additionally, if an applicant requires dedicated or exclusive access to a road allowance, the applicant will be required to apply for a road closure and consolidation.
CO-OPERATIVE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT APPROVED
Rocky View County has been an active member of the Cooperative Stormwater Management Initiative (CSMI) since 2012, working with our regional partners to address flooding, environmental, and economic concerns within the region through the construction of a shared stormwater conveyance system.
The Province’s Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP) provides funding for projects which enhance or enable the protection of infrastructure, and/or mitigate public safety hazards. In 2018, the County received $7.6 million in funding from the ACRP for CSMI and is now receiving an additional $4.1 million.
In addition to this grant funding, the County’s Regional Stormwater Off-site Levy Bylaw applies to new development in the areas of OMNI, Janet, Conrich, and Langdon and collects funds for the construction of CSMI infrastructure. As such, Administration requested that Stormwater Off-site Levy funds of $833,300 be utilized to cover Rocky View’s contribution of engineering and construction costs for 2023. Council supported the initiative unanimously.