Sundre council scraps municipal planning commission

Starting a new business or building a new deck in Sundre should soon be getting a whole lot easier.

Council approved changes to streamline the municipality's land use bylaw last week, making quicker and simpler the process to obtain development and subdivision permits.

Permit applications for developments that fall within the parameters of a particular zone's permitted uses must by law be approved, council heard from administration during the Nov. 14 meeting. However, discretionary allowances would still have to be considered by a delegation, and complex or controversial applications could still go to council for review and consideration before a final decision is made.

Part of the purpose of amending the bylaw is to give council the authority to delegate subdivision and development approval responsibilities through the chief administrative officer, who can designate a qualified person such as subdivision development officers, said Mike Marko, manager of planning and development.

"It will no longer require the municipal planning commission to make final decisions on development applications and subdivision applications," said Marko, adding the change will also provide a new administrative framework to process subdivision development applications in a timely manner.

"We'll be eliminating the two-week waiting period for advertising to issue a final decision for permitted uses. So there won't be any more waiting period for applicants on permitted uses ó you don't require that legally."

The changes also mean no longer having to schedule an application on an agenda for the municipal planning commission, which could take upwards of a month for a decision, he said.

"So we're eliminating that 30-day period just to wait to get on an agenda if an application comes in."

Additionally, customer service and efficiencies will be improved, and a significant amount of staff time will be freed up to focus more on strategic planning and policy development for the municipality, he said.

Certain existing sections within the land use bylaw will also be renamed to reflect an update in terminology, and included for the first time will be the definition and use of medical marijuana production facilities, he said.

"I just want to note that the medical marijuana production facility is a federally regulated use."

Mountain View County, which had no concerns about the proposed amendments to Sundre's land use bylaw, submitted a letter for council's consideration, suggesting a couple of friendly amendments, including replacing the term "marijuana" with "cannabis" as the latter is becoming more commonly used in federal legislation, he said.

"I have no issues with that."

Although there was no additional correspondence submitted for consideration and no residents in attendance at the public hearing, some concerns were raised by a few people who asked Coun. Cheri Funke to inquire about the appeal process and two-week advertising period for development permit applications.

"There are some residents who are worried that council is taking away the little say that they do have with taking away the two-week advertising and taking away the MPC, and we're giving all of the power to staff that have not even been here for six months," said Funke.

Administrator Linda Nelson informed council only permitted uses will no longer be advertised.

"Under the law, if a permitted use is applied for and it meets all of the requirements of the land use bylaw, you must approve it ó you have no choice," said Nelson.

"It's the discretionary uses where you have an option to approve, approve with conditions, or to refuse it. So the bylaw is not taking away the notification period for discretionary uses," she said.

"That's the law ó you cannot appeal a permitted use. It's confusing when you advertise a permitted use versus a discretionary use, because by advertising it, people are going to think they have a right to appeal it, and they really can't."

Following further discussion, council went on to unanimously carry the readings to approve the updated land use bylaw as per the additional amendments suggested by the county.

Nelson then encouraged members of council who hear comments from concerned residents to contact town staff.

"I'm sure that we will very, very easily be able to answer any of their concerns. I'm quite confident that with just a few quick words we should be able to alleviate any concerns," she said.

Mayor Terry Leslie said change tends to leave people with questions, and echoed Nelson's statement to invite residents to seek clarification if required. The town office can be reached at 403-638-3551.