The Town of Bonnyville has finished amending its land use bylaw.
After a series of open houses and public discussion, the bylaw has been approved and amended for the first time since 2005.
The bylaw lists town development plan requirements. It aims to make development regulations more uniform and concise.
Standardised regulations give more authority to the Development Officer. It is now clear what is not permitted by the bylaw.
“One of the primary things that we did was amend the on-street RV parking,” said Mayor Gene Sobolewski. “There were a number of little things like heights of buildings and heights of signs that we adjusted. We finally adopted the bylaw.”
Between April 1 and Oct. 31 recreational vehicles are not allowed on residential land parcels for more than five days. They must be drawn in the property site plan or completely within the bounds of the property.
This is extended to seven days between November 1 and March 31 of the following calendar year.
It states that at no time shall a recreational vehicle be kept so that the recreational vehicle encroaches on a sidewalk, roadway or impede a sight triangle of a parcel.
One recreational vehicle, holiday trailer, motor home, camper or tent trailer is allowed on a lot with a single-family dwelling. It can't, however, be occupied longer than 72 hours per month or a 30-day period.
“We had folks that were parking these things out in the street and staying in them for quite some time, or you had others bringing these things in. We don't care about somebody that is vacationing, or if they have family come up and stay for the weekend. It was more (to put a stop to) the six month stay,” said Sobolewski.
The bylaw also details regulations for residential yards and building sites. Any garbage, piling of materials or wrecked vehicles deemed unsightly must be removed.
Multi-building construction projects like subdivision developments must submit a comprehensive site plan.
The plan must include dimensions for any area dedicated to a private roadway, emergency access routes, amenities areas, maintenance areas, waste removal locations and common parking areas.
Since a company's own recreational and commercial vehicles are not permitted on a street for more than five days, the plan must also include where they intend to park for the construction period.
Signs were also divvied up into classes and given regulations for their dimensions.
Among others, community organization banners for the downtown core are now regulated. They must be supported by a 1/8-inch cable at along the top and the bottom, and be vented at two-foot intervals.
Commercial building heights were extended a metre, from 14-metres tall to 15-metres. Residential buildings were extended to 7.62-metres tall without exceeding 10 metres or 2.5-storeys.
“One thing we did focus on is not copying other communities. Let's not take what they've done and put it into ours, let's make ours unique and address the needs of Bonnyville,” said Sobolewski. “I don't really care what the City of Edmonton does, or Calgary, I'm more interested in Bonnyville. That was the direction that the administration took.”
