If Bowden residents want to obtain development permits or deal with issues such as safety code concerns, there's a new procedure in place.
As of Jan. 1 Red Deer County now deals with all those matters, instead of the town, although Bowden's municipal planning commission will still have an overall say in planning and development, including handling issues like variances (i.e. side yard widths).
Bowden town council and Red Deer County council ratified the new arrangement last month.
Instead of dealing with the town through chief administrative officer Andy Weiss or development officer Jade Prefontaine, Bowden residents with property issues will now have to apply to Red Deer County.
From now on, any questions regarding subdivision, development, planning and safety codes in Bowden go through the county via 403-350-2170, or fax 403-346-9840.
Permit application forms and checklists are available via the Red Deer County website (http://www.rdcounty.ca). They were posted there as of Jan. 4.
Weiss says the change makes his and Prefontaine's life a bit simpler.
“Development and planning is a significant responsibility and to have that responsibility delegated to the county certainly is going to ease stress,” he says.
“The other benefit is that when you have all of this under one roof, it provides a better level of service to the citizens and that's really what it's all about.”
However, Weiss points out development and planning concerns were only a relatively small part of his job. He figures he'd get one or two dozen enquiries in that vein per year.
“But the level of expertise that they're going to be providing for us is certainly something that's welcome, for sure,” he says.
Besides, he notes, this way Bowden residents get access to planning specialists the town simply cannot afford to provide.
“They have an in-house engineer, they have in-house building inspectors and planners; all of that stuff that if we wanted to access it, we had to pay before. Now it's free – or we have access to it for free,” he says.
Weiss and Red Deer County officials stress that while the Town of Bowden doesn't pay for that expertise, residents will, through fees for various services.
“Although the municipality itself won't pay, applicants pay,” Weiss says.
He also notes that this arrangement still gives town officials a big say in planning development in the town.
“Discretionary uses and variances are still addressed and deliberated in-house by the Municipal Planning Commission, which is made up of Town of Bowden residents,” he says.
"Development and planning is a significant responsibility and to have that responsibility delegated to the county certainly is going to ease stress."ANDY WEISS CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER TOWN OF BOWDEN
