BOYLE — The Village of Boyle’s brand new land use bylaw is already slated for amendments after village councillors received a request for property rezoning, only three weeks after it was signed into law.
During the Sept. 6 meeting, Boyle councillors unanimously voted to pass the first reading of the amended bylaw, and scheduled a public hearing for the Oct. 4 council meeting, to be followed by second and third readings.
Village of Boyle administration received the request to rezone lot 7 block 9 plan 290HW, located at 4911 3rd St. south from commercial district to low density residential district Aug. 31 after the first iteration of the bylaw passed third reading Aug. 16.
Coun. Shelby Kiteley said she supports the rezoning. “If they have an intended use for (the property) and it’s not going to sit empty, I would be in favour of making that amendment,” she said.
Griffin informed council the request was made by the property’s current title holder on behalf of a new buyer, as the sale of the property has not yet been finalized. The new owner is pursuing the rezoning in order to avoid paying the higher commercial property tax rates on land they intend to use for a single-family dwelling.
Mayor Colin Derko voiced concerns about the rezoning, noting the previous council toyed with the idea of zoning the properties along highways as commercial with the intent of allowing business owners to capitalize on the higher levels of traffic around 2017, but no actions were taken.
Despite having to revisit policy so recently passed, CAO Warren Griffin noted “I think it’s a good thing,” adding, “it leads to increased awareness and people can say ‘okay there’s a process, that’s good.’”
Kiteley, a business owner with a storefront along Taylor Road, also named road safety and parking concerns as factors to consider, and Coun. Mike Antal echoed Kiteley’s sentiment, citing a recent accident due to high numbers of vehicles parked along Taylor as a source of hesitation to hold the property in question for business development.
