Approve first; listen to citizen concerns later. That’s Athabasca County’s current approach to how it issues permits for temporary RV parks. But in response to criticism about how such parks are developed, Athabasca County council is continuing to review its temporary RV park policy.
Skeleton Lake resident Ken Lund addressed a letter to the county on April 16 explaining his concerns with a proposed RV park that was approved to go across the street from his home. Lund was concerned with the fact he received no formal notice of the development and only heard about it after a friend saw the appeal notice in the Athabasca Advocate.
“The issue was that they weren’t getting notification of proposed development prior to the approval,” explained Athabasca County interim chief administrative officer Brian Pysyk.
“They don’t have to inform anybody regardless of who it affects,” Lund said. “This directly affected our lifestyle. We live out here because it’s nice and peaceful and quiet. We didn’t just all of a sudden expect 200 neighbours.”
Currently, RV parks are listed as a discretionary use under the county’s Land Use Bylaw. This means that developers need to apply for a permit from the county, but the county does not need to advertise the proposal before issuing a permit. Once that application is accepted, the development is advertised for anyone to come forward to appeal the development.
“The bylaws have no teeth,” Lund said. “This really isn’t fair to the people of the county.”
The RV park set to go in across from Lund’s home was overturned in the appeal process.
Council has already been reviewing its RV policy. In a meeting on March 11, council passed the first reading of a bylaw to change the policy surrounding temporary work camps and RV parks.
The new bylaw would require a rezoning of the land and notifications to be sent to surrounding residents before the development is approved.
A public hearing was mentioned, to be held in one month’s time from the March 11 meeting. This has not taken place yet.
At last Tuesday’s meeting, where Lund’s letter was discussed, Reeve Doris Splane agreed that the policy should be revamped.
“Allowing 50 RVs next door to somebody without giving them a heads up is quite significant,” Splane said to council.
The RV topic is on the agenda for the Municipal Planning Commission meeting on May 27 for further discussion before heading to a public hearing.
