It’s official. After more of a year of discussion and consultation Barrhead Town Council gave second and third reading to the town’s new Land Use Bylaw, officially titled as 04-2015, during their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 14.
A Land Use Bylaw is a tool municipal councils use to help control and promote building development.
However, it wasn’t a slam dunk.
Before the meeting started the public were given one final opportunity to voice their opinion on the by-law during a public hearing held immediately before the council meeting.
No members of the public came. The public hearing follows an open house held in mid March, when less than a handful of residents attended.
In case the public had any questions during the hearing Richard Neufeld, of North Star Planning, a private consultant who has been helping the Municipal Planning Commission rework the bylaw, was present.
Neufeld said he was disappointed in the low turnout for both events, adding that even though municipal politics is the level of government that has the most direct bearing on peoples lives, it is often the one people care the least about.
Because there were no members of the public Neufeld answered questions from councillors about changes the MPC had made to the bylaw since its first reading.
Coun. Ryan Warehime said he was disappointed the bylaw didn’t cover some of the concerns council has heard from residents in Beaver Brook Estates.
Neufeld responded that MPC met several times to discuss some of the concerns Beaver Brook Estates residents had brought forward.
“I believe the issue had to deal with not having to put in basements, the definition of modular homes, garages and hard surfacing of driveways,” he said.
Neufeld said the MPC deliberated a long time before coming up with their decision.
“The main reason why the commission decided against requiring that homes had to have basements was that it would affect the price point,” he said, adding that it would also eliminate potential lot buyers such as independent adults and the elderly who may not want basements.
Neufeld also said a number of homes in the neighbourhood don’t have basements.
“Rightly or wrongly that is why the commission decided against having mandatory basements in the bylaw,” he said, adding that the commission also decided against mandating garages for the same reason, price point.
As for the section about modular homes, Neufeld said the Alberta Building Code doesn’t distinguish between modular and conventional construction techniques.
“They are all built to the identical building code, the only difference is where they are built. For that reason the commission decided not to make a distinction between the two, ” he said, adding that the determining factor if a modular home would be allowed is if it met the architectural standards of the neighbourhood.
Coun. Ulmer said he opposes modular homes being built in Beaver Brook Estates III.
“It downgrades and lowers the price of other lots and who wants to build a $350,000 or $450,000 home beside it?” he asked. “I know I wouldn’t want to.”
Ulmer said that is the same reason he wanted the bylaw to include a mandatory basement provision. “For people such as seniors, who only want to build one level homes, I am sure they can find other places to build on.”
Warehime agreed with Ulmer, reminding the other councillors that the town owns the land in Beaver Brook Estates.
“It is in our best interest to sell those lots at the highest price possible as fast as possible and to the largest homes possible so we can collect the most tax,” he said, “Beaver Brook is unique to the area and it is the only place where larger homes can go.”
Coun. Shelley Oswald said she disagreed with Ulmer and Warehime.
“It’s not a gated community,” she said. “What we want to do is build a community and that is what we are doing here, by creating different price points and sizes of homes.”
Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre said while he understands both Ulmer and Warehime’s views, he believes it is important for every neighbourhood to have a good mix of people and homes.
“I also don’t want to be the one that has to tell an elderly person that has just sold his or her farm and wants to build a brand new home, without a basement, no you can’t build in Beaver Brook.”
Council passed both second and third readings of the bylaw with Ulmer and Warehime voting against.
