StettlerLocal.com May 13, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
County Of Stettler Councillors met on camera on Wednesday, May 12th to discuss various bylaws.
Bylaw 1656-21 concerns the recent dissolution of the village of Gadsby to a hamlet. The former hamlet’s bylaws were mostly in sync with the county of Stettler’s, however one outstanding Gadsby bylaw on land use needed to be resolved. The proposed county bylaw would allow rezoning of the former village’s residential, commercial, and industrial areas as Hamlet Residential, Hamlet Commercial, Hamlet Industrial and Public Service. There were no written or verbal submissions to the council for, or against, and the council unanimously passed the bylaw through second and third readings.
Bylaw 1657-21 will modify the current land use bylaw regarding hotels, motels, hostels, and special dwellings as discretionary uses inside the Recreational Facility Land Use Area. This bylaw would add the above designations to the already existing list of allowable developments in the area such as duplexes, food services buildings, and communications towers.
Bylaw 1658-21 is to amend the current land use bylaw regarding the amount of time an RV can be kept on a property. The bylaw received 3 written submissions in support and 27 written submissions in opposition. One of the opposition letters expressed a concern that people who were camping in the area, including Ol’ MacDonald’s Resort, would have to acquire permits in addition to their camping fees. County Administration stated the bylaw would not affect areas already designated as camping areas and it was to curb the undeveloped lots in dense residential areas where recreational vehicles have been kept on a lot for extended periods, and were often the cause of complaints filed with the county. The new bylaw will not change existing restrictions for RV storage but would make enforcement easier. After several vocal oppositions, the bylaw passed second and third readings with Councilor Neitz suggesting a delay of the bylaw due to people already moving RVs into the area. The delay would allow county personnel the current season to communicate the importance of following existing bylaws. Councilor Nixon expressed concern the permit system would increase the workload (for county staff) regarding enforcement and complaints. Councilor Nibourg expressed his wish for the bylaw to be approved and implemented, as there has already been extensive effort in addressing the issue, through bylaw enforcement, often resulting in several visits to sites with multiple complaints. The motion was carried through the second reading and third reading with Councilor Neitz and Nixon in opposition.
Bylaw 1659-21 is in regards to rezoning 9-39-19-W4 from Agriculture to Industrial. There were no written letters in support and one written submission in opposition. BioBoard CEO George Clarke spoke on the advantages of rezoning the property which sits within the Town and County Development Agreement area. Clarke stated that the three phases would be spread out over time to allow the town and county to adapt and prepare their infrastructure for the increase in residential and related businesses. Clarke commented that his company plans to pave the road to the property, as well as the bulk of the property making dust pollution non-existent and that his company would be working to reduce excess lighting issues and pollution as much as possible. Two local business owners made verbal submissions in support of the bylaw stating the economic potential of the proposed development was beneficial in many ways to the local community and district. The bylaw was carried through both second and third readings.