MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has approved a development permit for an event facility, accessory building - tent and parking facility near Didsbury.
The approval came by way of motion at a recent council meeting.
The property involved is located directly east of Rge. Rd. 21 and south of Twp. Rd. 322, at NW 1-32-2-5.
“In early 2020, the landowners approached the county to find an economically-viable solution to allow for event uses in tents to be conducted within the agricultural (2) district area in order to make use of existing infrastructure without having to construct a large event facility due to the economic effects of the pandemic,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
“The landowner submitted an application to amend the existing direct control district by expanding the area to the entire parcel and incorporating the existing development permits within the direct control and make provision for tents as an accessory use within a new set of direct control regulations.”
The tents would be 1,600 square feet and would be located on a 12.46-acre parcel on the property.
Two letters of objection were received during the circulation of the application, with concerns outlined including noise, traffic, safety codes, vandalism, trespassing, property value, enforcement, impact on the road and water supply.
In a letter submitted as part of the application, the applicant said, in part, that, “The noise we create is not loud as is confirmed by our other two neighbours and we have tried to facilitate and mitigate any issues. We have gone above and beyond.”
Administration supported the application, saying it was in compliance with the Land Use Bylaw No. 21/21.
The approval comes with a number of conditions, including that parking shall be contained within a specified area, with no parking of vehicles on any county road allowance at any time, the hours of operation of the event facility will be restricted at 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., including set up and take down.
Council added a condition that prior to the “issuance of the development permit the applicant and/or landowner will provide a water and wastewater site servicing plan to the satisfaction of Mountain View County.”
