The consultation process continues for the Town of Olds' long-awaited community standards bylaw, which was presented before council at its Dec. 15 policies and priorities meeting.
The goal behind the bylaw is to take the town's most frequently used bylaws and consolidate them into a single statute, a project that has been in the works since October 2013.
Four areas are covered in the new bylaw: public behaviours and nuisances; property care; traffic and parking; dogs and cats.
Town chief administrative officer Norm McInnis said public input is being sought, as “there are sections in this bylaw that will touch every resident in this community.”
There will be time for the public to understand the bylaw before public engagement and an online survey will likely be conducted as well, he added.
“We really want to hear from everyone. We don't just want to hear from people who are for certain pieces or against certain pieces. We'd really like to have a broad engagement and hear from a lot of members of the community,” he said.
“It's been a very well thought-out process. Where we're at now is, have we got the balance right?”
Some residents will think the bylaw is too lenient on some matters. For others, they'll find it too onerous.
To Coun. Harvey Walsh, it was the issue of RV parking.
“This is probably the most restrictive RV policy or bylaw in any of the communities I've researched, including Calgary or Edmonton,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the definition of what counts as an RV under the draft bylaw was broad, capturing many vehicles that would be exempt in bylaws elsewhere.
The draft bylaw states an RV is: "any vehicle or a trailer that is designed, constructed and equipped, either temporarily or permanently, as a temporary accommodation for travel, vacation, or recreational use, includes but not limited to: motor home, travel trailer, tent trailer, or fifth wheel trailer; slide-in campers, chassis-mounted campers, camper-van conversions, campers which are mounted in trucks; boats, jet skis, all terrain vehicles, off road motor bikes, snowmobiles, and trailers to carry them.”
