Residents of Athabasca County lined the walls of council chambers to have their say on the proposed Land Use Bylaw (LUB), Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and temporary camping bylaw at a public hearing Oct. 27.
The public hearing was held at a regular council meeting, after council passed the first readings of each. The bylaws and plan must past two more readings – the last of which must be unanimous – before they can come into effect.
The public saw a second draft of the LUB and MDP. The first had been put together by a consulting firm called ParioPlan. The second draft included amendments based on suggestions made over the course of several public consultations and open house sessions, said county director of planning and development Jesse Ajayi.
“The Municipal Development Plan is a high-level policy document, which talks about the growth over the 15- to 20-year planning horizon of the county and sets priorities,” he explained at the outset of the meeting. “The Land Use Bylaw is a detailed regulation document which regulates how development proceeds and subdivision (occurs) on a more granular level than the MDP, although, it must implement policies and it must implement the philosophy of the MDP.”
Some members of the public voiced concerns regarding shifting land-use designations, while others said they felt they had not been consulted enough leading up to the public hearing, and that the media had not closely followed the development of the LUB or the MDP.
The county has held a total of eight public open houses as far back as April 21, 2015; five were held after the first drafts were completed. The county posted drafts online and made them available for pick up at the office. The county also conducted an online survey to gather feedback.
County resident John Both also expressed concerns that the two documents in conjunction may limit opportunities for future business growth.
“When we look at the Land Use Bylaw, what’s being changed is the rural use is becoming less,” Both said. “The rural industry no longer will exist if businesses that are starting up in the county do not have opportunity to grow within their existing areas to a maximum size. Therefore, they need opportunity to be able to grow within other regions. When we look at the greater Athabasca region, it’s not been identified – there’s no growth nodes.”
The proposed temporary camping bylaw drew the most comments from the crowd. The bylaw proposes to create two streams of recreational vehicle for camping on private property – temporary and permanent.
Essentially, the permanent campers would have to have a development permit for some sort of sewage holding tank on the property they are camping on. Those participating in temporary camping, defined as eight days or less, would be expected to register with the county and, as currently proposed, would be limited to eight sessions a season.
Both types of campers would be limited in their RV use capacity, depending on property type. Both would be subject to fines if found breaking the bylaws.
The point of the bylaw, Ajayi previously told the Advocate, is to stop the dumping of raw sewage, which he said the county had received complaints about during the open houses.
The largest concern expressed by the citizens was the lack of autonomy for property owners.
“I have never, ever been so upset with this county council,” said Dan Boyko, a county resident who said he had previously sent councillors an email about his concerns.
“You’re telling me that on our own lot, we can only have people for eight days?” Boyko said. “And if I want to put a permanent camper, I have to come to you and get a permit for a sewage system? Have you – any of you – ever gone through your own permitting system to get a sewage system installed? It’s ludicrous. You’ve got to be a scientist to figure that thing out.”
There were also concerns about giving the bylaw officer the power to cross onto private property if they suspected the bylaw was being violated.
“You’re giving your bylaw officer greater power than the RCMP have,” county resident James Anderson said. “If the RCMP want to enter onto my land, they have to have reasonable cause, and they also have to apply for a warrant to enter. If I say no, they have to process that warrant. So best have a real close look at what you’re attempting to do.”
The bylaws can be brought up for second reading as soon as the Nov. 8 county council meeting; however, the county has not yet released a meeting agenda for that date.
