Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Town of Peace River is hosting an open house for its Land-Use Bylaw (LUB) Refresh on Feb. 19 at council chambers in the town office.
Council is inviting residents and ratepayers to attend the open house from 4-6 p.m. to give their thoughts on the upcoming changes.
“As part of the process of updating the Land-Use Bylaw Refresh, there are several substantial changes being brought forth,” explains Mayor Elaine Manzer.
“Whenever a LUB is changed or amended there is a public hearing as part of the process so those interested have the opportunity to let council know their views,” she adds.
The open house will include an overview of the new document and highlighting some of the major changes to the LUB.
“Not all council is able to attend this open house but administration including the Town’s manager of planning and development will be at the open house,” says Manzer, noting that people can voice their concerns and ask questions.
“They can send feedback to the manager of planning and development or the CAO by email prior to the open house, too.”
Interested residents can read the draft bylaw on the Town’s website peaceriver.ca in preparation for the open house. There is also space to share thoughts on the amendments in order to help ensure the document is one that will appease the majority of the community.
“There are several major changes including reducing the number of types of residential districts, changes with respect to accessory buildings and types of residential buildings, changes in parking minimums for many districts, and many more,” says Manzer.
“The present LUB was last updated in a major way more than 12 years ago.”
Municipal Government Act requires municipalities to all have an active Land-Use Bylaw and a number of local municipalities are currently refreshing theirs to ensure they are up to date and include new types of infrastructure and developments.
“The draft LUB has several formatting changes to make it more user friendly and the goals of the actual changes are to modernize it as the Town’s planning document and also to help those developing and building in Peace River by simplifying some of the clauses,” she concludes.
Manzer urges interested Peace River residents to go on the Town website and read the draft bylaw to ensure they are aware of the proposed changes.