BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead administration and council hope to quell concerns about the proposed Land Use Bylaw (LUB) changes by creating an additional three-page Get the Facts information brochure about the most commonly believed misconceptions.
On March 5, councillors approved a draft version of the document that was posted later in the afternoon. Council also instructed administration investigate hosting another public engagement session, this time in the evening.
The administration decided to create the document, which they released via the municipal website and Facebook page. Hard copies are also available at the county municipal office.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said the municipality has been receiving calls from excited people concerned about how the changes in the bylaw could impact them.
She said that the residents often acted on snippets of information, mostly from social media sites, which were usually taken out of context.
"We just really encourage people with any concerns to talk to us, first and foremost, because [the land-use bylaw] is very specific, and they don't know how it may or may not pertain to them," Oyarzun said.
Development officer Jenny Bruns said much of the confusion and concern stems from what is and isn't agriculture.
"Non-ag is any land use that is not agriculture; this includes country residential, country residential restricted, residential recreation, urban residential, industrial, commercial districts, and those types of things," she said.
Bruns said there seems to be confusion about residential acreages off the farm in an agricultural district.
"It is still ag. Our primary focus is to allow ag producers in that district to do their business, so we will not change the zoning," she said.
The Get the Facts brochure notes that residential acreages in an Agricultural District, which the vast majority of the county is zoned as, are not subject to the same type of restrictions as smaller mult-lot residential subdivisions such as in the Hamets of Manola and Neerlandia, along with Thunder Lake and Lac La Nonne.
Confusions about farm animal restrictions
Bruns said another concern she has heard from many residents living on farms or in an Agricultural District is that the municipality plans to limit the number of farm animals.
This, again, is not true, she said.
"There are no restrictions on livestock in an Agricultural District," Bruns said. "That is across the board. If you have one acre in the ag district, I don't care how many animals you have. If you can feed them, you can have them."
Bruns said there are restrictions on the number of livestock in residential-zoned areas, and adding a lot size of two acres or larger is needed.
She added that the municipality is also considering allowing people who live in non-agricultural districts to have chickens.
The proposed limit in a non-agricultural district has been set at 10 laying hens.
Again, Bruns reiterated that no restrictions are proposed on the number of chickens in an Agricultural District.
Pet restrictions
Bruns said she has heard concerns about the county's proposed change to the number of pets residents can have.
Under the proposed change, the limit is four, up from the previous three in an agricultural district, and in a non-ag district, the restriction will be two.
"The pet restrictions apply only to adult dogs. They do not apply to cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, or anything else," she said, adding this restriction will not be in the land-use bylaw but in the county's Animal Control Bylaw.
Bruns said that there are options for people who want more than that, such as applying for a small animal breeding and boarding facility permit.
Guest restriction limits
This is a new category that was included in the LUB because of the influx of potential tourist accommodations, namely Airbnb and VRBOS, where people repeatedly rent out their homes for short-term accommodations.
Council opted to add the restriction due to the number of complaints the municipality was receiving about nuisances such as noise, fireworks, pets at large and parking on roadways.
"A family reunion or another one-off, I don't care," Bruns said. "If you are having your 39th wedding of the season, that is a different story. You will need to get a permit so we can start having the appropriate discussions."
Reeve Doug Drozd interjected that the restriction is only for short-term accommodations and wouldn't affect long-term rentals where you rent to a tenant for 30 days or more.
Heavy equipment restrictions
Bruns said that while the municipality proposes restricting heavy equipment, it would only be in a Residential Recreation District.
"It is because those lots are very small and cannot accommodate large equipment like tractor-trailers, so they often end up parking on a road right of way, hindering and even blocking emergency vehicles from passing," she said.
Sea can restrictions
Despite the Internet chatter, Bruns said the number of sea cans allowed in various districts remains the same. In a residential district, they remain discretionary and capped at two. There are no such restrictions in an Agricultural District.
Sign restrictions
Again, Bruns said the municipality has received several inquiries saying they are concerned that the proposed LUB would prohibit all signs, adding she is not sure where that is coming from.
She added that Section: Permit Not Required states that the only restriction for a sign before it needs to be permitted is that it can be no larger than 32 square feet.
"That is a sheet of plywood," she said. "If you go larger than that, you need a permit because you need to think about where to place it regarding traffic flow and driver visibility."
Day homes
Bruns said the new land-use bylaw relaxes the requirement, removing the necessity of applying for a permit if a home has four children or less (not including their own). She added that under provincial regulations, a licenced day home is supposed to have at most six children.
Solar power restrictions
The final area the municipality wanted to clear misconceptions is about solar power.
Bruns noted they have received several inquiries from agricultural operators who are concerned that they would be restricted from using the alternative power source.
There is no restriction on using an array on an existing structure for farm use or if it is under 200 square feet.
The Get The Facts brochure states that large-scale alternative energy systems should be placed on poorer-quality agricultural lands only, following a recommendation from the province.
Coun. Walter Preugschas supported the brochure's creation and suggested the administration schedule another public information session, this time in the evening.
Oyarzun agreed but said they are looking into what type of format would be most effective.
