Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County is proposing to amend a land-use bylaw that regulates relocating existing buildings.
At its regular meeting Nov. 23, council gave first reading to Bylaw 26-2022 that proposes to delete Section 6.31.1 that states relocation of existing buildings is discretionary in all land-use districts.
The current regulation causes delays in development applications, said Pat Olansky, director of planning and development.
“This has been found to be unnecessarily onerous as the applications must be taken forward to the (Municipal Planning Commission) for approval and notification for such applications must be given no less than 14 days prior to the date of the consideration of the applications,” Olansky said.
“This means the decision for some applications could be pending for more than five weeks, depending on when they are submitted in relation to the date of the next MPC meeting.”
It also often results in a heavy agenda for an MPC meeting, she added.
A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. to further debate the matter.
If the section is removed, 6.31.1 will maintain that a development permit is required for relocated buildings and recent photographs of the building must also be submitted to the County.
The proposed land-use bylaw amendment was passed in a motion by the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) at its regular meeting Oct. 26.