CARSTAIRS – Council has approved an updated municipal campground policy, which includes the removal of the section which previously permitted reservations at the facility. A second change lengthens the quiet hours period at the campground.
The update came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting. The town-owned Carstairs Municipal Campground is located on Highway 2A on the town’s east side.
The previous reservation section stated in part that, “reservations must be in writing and must be followed up with written confirmation from the town” and “any group reservation for five or more units must be a request for two or more nights.”
Mayor Lance Colby said although the reservation section was in place, reservations themselves were not taken.
“They never really did take reservations,” he said. “This just clarifies that we don’t do reservations. It’s first-come, first-served. As far as phoning ahead and reserving ahead, you can’t do that.”
Another change involves the registration section, which previously stated: “In the event that a site is occupied by an unpaid patron, staff of the Town of Carstairs appointees by the director of operational service will request payment from the occupant. Upon failure to do so, the patron will be asked to leave.”
The updated registration section now reads: “Failure to register and pay for an individual item will result in eviction from the Carstairs Municipal Campground.”
The updated rules and regulations section states that quiet hours are now from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Previously quiet hours started at 10:30 p.m.
“We wanted to streamline the policy to have it follow, to conform, our noise bylaw,” he said. “It’s just so that people don’t get out their loud speakers and start blasting away after 9 o’clock at night.”
Asked if that change was compliant driven, he said, “We had complaints, but not recently. It’s more or less to try to conform with the noise bylaw.”
Council passed a motion accepting the changes.
Meanwhile, council also approved minor updates to the residential community, industrial district and commercial district standards bylaws.
All three bylaws now include the following definition: “Pest means any animal, rodent, bird, reptile or insect which causes, or is reasonably be expected to cause, annoyance or damage or injury to any person or animal or plant.”
The accumulation of materials sections have also seen additions:
- No owner of a premises shall allow the open or exposed storage on the premises of any industrial fluid, including engine oil, brake fluid or antifreeze.
- No owner shall permit the proliferation of any insect or other pest that is likely to spread disease, be destructive or dangerous or otherwise become a nuisance.
“We are going though all our bylaws and policies, looking at them and word-smithing to make sure they all conform,” said Colby.
