By Marianne Cole
Two major issues are currently hot topics in Clearwater County: County/village of Caroline amalgamation and the Land Use Bylaw review. Here is a snapshot of info on these matters.
Clearwater County/Village of Caroline Amalgamation
At the September 12, 2023 county council meeting a motion was made that negotiations be started immediately with the village of Caroline on a potential amalgamation and that the negotiations be conducted with both councils as a whole. During extensive discussion on the matter the following concerns/points of information were brought forward:
· Why is amalgamation the focus instead of dissolution?
· Dissolution of the village may be less costly as the province gets involved and covers more of the costs.
· No estimate of the cost for the process, or a timeline was available.
· Currently administration staff from both the village and county are working on a potential draft agreement.
· A meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs was suggested in order to “clarify the air” as to who would be paying for this process and how much it would cost.
· Cost is certainly a key issue along with the overall impact on residents if/when amalgamation were to take place.
The lack of information on the whole matter including the options involved, their impacts/costs, and what the end result might look like has been particularly frustrating. According to an article on the Rural Municipalities’ website, titled “Jointly Initiated Amalgamation Regulation Discussion Paper”, “The public should have the opportunity to voice support or opposition, and the municipal authorities should be providing sufficient information to the public to take an informed position.” Moving forward we trust that we will get more adequate information and that we will have an opportunity to voice our opinion. Perhaps a referendum might be an option.
Land Use Bylaw Review
The initial steps in the process for reviewing the Land use Bylaw began with meetings last week. As of Friday, September 29th, 5 meetings have been held with a total of 83 people attending. The following information and concerns have been heard.
· What is the Land Use Bylaw? The LUB is a document that determines what you can and can’t do on your property. Not only does it provide guidelines for buildings, it also stipulates rules on allowable activities, be they personal or commercial/business.
· Concerns have been expressed about the lack of publicity as well as the timing of the meetings. Farmers are currently busy in the field and it is difficult for other working people to make 8:30AM or 5:00PM meetings.
· There were repeated concerns with “government overage” (too many rules and restrictions).
· Particular concerns were focussed on potential rules for seacans. Currently there are no rules for seacans which would technically make them illegal in the county.
· Repeated comments were expressed related to the use and storage of recreation vehicles on private property (how many could be allowed??).
· Housing concerns (use of secondary suites, mini houses, and bona fide need residences) were mentioned, noting the questionable need to remove a residence after the bona fide need ended. The current housing shortage would support maintaining such residences.
· People need more information in order to even know what concerns they might have.
In summary, these recent meetings were “kick off” events. Committees are now being formed to review comments, address issues raised, and work on proposed changes. A Public Advisory Committee (PAC) is being organized and we encourage interested people to apply for this committee. You can call the Clearwater County office (403-845-4444) or check the county website for more information. There will also be future stakeholder meetings and it was suggested at the Leslieville meeting that information sessions be held in each county division.
Coming Events:
Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, CCTA regular meeting
Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, CCTA’s Annual General Meeting
Closing thought (a comment made at the LUB meeting in Leslieville): “Common sense isn’t always common.”
