Last month, the MD of Bonnyville council agreed to go ahead with amendments to a bylaw that would, if passed, allow the MD to install and operate garbage bins on a chosen site used to service MD residents without requiring a development permit.
The amended bylaw would effectively exempt the MD from the development permit process, thus eliminating any ability of adjacent landowners to appeal developments of this type.
Land Use Bylaw 514 passed first reading at the MD council meeting Aug. 22.
A public hearing regarding the amended bylaw will be held Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. at the MD office in Bonnyville. The hearing will allow objections to the proposed amendments to be made and discussed. Submissions to the hearing should be made in writing, according to the MD's notice to the public.
The proposed amendments were initiated by a court decision in May, which ruled in favour of MD residents Mike and Agnes Wasylyk, who had been disputing the placement of two MD-operated garbage bin sites located next to their property.
The provincial court ruling stated the two garbage bin sites were “storage sites” by definition and as such require development permits to operate legally.
For over a decade, the Wasylyks have been concerned with the placement and cleanliness of the sites, as well as the process by which they were made permanent. Correspondence between the Wasylyks and the MD had been ongoing until the matter reached the courts.
The Wasylyks sent the MD written complaints about trash and odours permeating their property, which the family had planned to subdivide. However, the Wasylyks said they might have to reconsider those plans, explaining that the proximity of the sites to future properties will likely devalue the land and make subdividing the acreage economically unviable.
According to court documents, bins were first placed at the two sites adjacent to the Wasylyk's property in 1998 or 1999.
After the family approached the MD with concerns about the sites, the MD assured them the sites were only temporary and a permanent plan was in the works.
The MD built fences around the sites and eventually a decision was made to make the sites permanent.
This decision prompted the Wasylyks to take the matter to court, where a judge determined the garbage bin sites to be “storage sites” which, according to the MD's own bylaws, would require development permits to exist legally.
The MD argued in court that because these were public utilities, development permits were not required, adding it could cost $150,000 to move the sites and that sites such as these were required to keep up with growth in the area.
The MD is now appealing the court's ruling and is moving forward with amendments to the applicable bylaws.
Wasylyk said the MD appears “dictatorial” and that the way the MD is going about this process is a “complete abuse of power.”
He added, “They are forcing us to fight for our own rights and they are completely ignoring the democratic process.”
He said if the bylaws pass, there could be negative repercussions for all landowners. “The MD is doing what they want, when they want, and it's not right.”
Representatives from the MD did not return calls on the matter.
Wasylyk also questioned the role the provincial government had to play in this matter.
One of the sites in dispute is located near Chatwin Lake on Crown Land – land which is pursuant to a recreational site lease.
Because the garbage bins were located on a recreational site without provincial approval, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development stepped in and gave the MD a year to relocate the site, according to correspondence provided to the Nouvelle.
However, approximately six months later the provincial government approved the site location after a request by MLA Genia Leskiw, without consulting the Wasylyks on the matter.
Leskiw would not comment on the matter.
Wasylyk again called these actions a “complete abuse of power” and followed up his concerns with letters to the Minister of Municipal Affairs Doug Griffiths, Environment Minister Dianna McQueen and Justice Minister Jonathan Denis, however, none of the ministers have yet to respond.
