Red Deer County council has approved a land use bylaw amendment regarding excavation and construction site preparation. The approval came in the form of third reading during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The two-part amendment applies to site grading and preparation.
Under the section applying to site grading, an application for a development permit for excavation of land that is not for the purpose of construction site preparation must include the following information:
• The location and area of the site where the excavation is to take place.
• The expected duration of the excavation.
• The type and dimensions including average depth of the excavation to be done and the effect on existing drainage patterns on and off the site.
• Identification of the outdoor noise and the discharge of substances into the air.
• The condition in which the site is to be left when the operation is complete, including the action which is to be taken for restoring the condition of the surface of the land to be affected, and for preventing, controlling or lessening the creation of erosion or dust from the site.
As well, the applicant shall “ensure that dust and noise control measures are undertaken to prevent such items from becoming an annoyance to neighbouring landowners. The applicant shall conduct dust control procedures at the request of and to the satisfaction of the development authority, acting reasonably.”
The section related to construction site preparations includes that “no evacuation other than what was identified shall be carried out until permits or approvals are issued. Activity shall be limited to the lands identified for the evacuation” and that topsoil (taken up during site preparation) must be stockpiled on the subject property.”
Meanwhile, council also gave final reading to a bylaw that provides for the imposition of an offsite levy in connection with $11,709,904.48 construction improvements along the C&E Trail north of Innisfail.
The approval came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The purpose of the levy is to recover 50 per cent of the costs of the improvements from future development over the life span of the improvements.
The lifespan of the improvement has been estimated at 17 years, the estimate growth rate is 1.1 per cent and the total benefiting area is calculated to be 6,678 hectares.
“The offsite levy applies to all new developments and subdivisions excepting where development permits are for a permitted use excepting aggregate processing or aggregate removal within the agricultural district, or any residential land use district of the Red Deer County land use bylaw, or where a subdivision application is for a boundary adjustment,” county manager Curtis Herzberg said in a briefing note to council.
