Big Valley council concluded the summer season by passing Bylaw 830 at their Aug. 23 regular council meeting.
Bylaw 830 adds the Tiny House Residential District (R-1T) to Big Valley’s Land Use Bylaw, creating a district for the low density residential development of “tiny” detached dwellings within the village.
According to all information collected by CAO Michelle White, this bylaw will put Big Valley on the map as the first community in Alberta, and possibly in Canada, to have the necessary legislation in effect for a tiny home development.
White states she is actively working with potential purchasers and handles tiny home queries every day.
Council believes passing this bylaw is a very positive step forward in the process, and has requested administration draft a press release to promote the subdivision to a larger audience.
Bust-Out Rodeo
A delegation from the recently renamed Bust-Out Rodeo Association presented council with a roundup of the 2017 rodeo and a request to expand their lease area.
This was the first year the Bust-Out Rodeo was held at the newly developed outdoor rodeo grounds, and according to delegate Tom Cassidy, it was a rousing success.
Unfortunately, the rodeo overshot the boundaries of their leased area, and only a last minute special meeting between Big Valley council and the rodeo association allowed extra space to be utilized to accommodate the overflow.
According to Cassidy, close to $75,000 in donated equipment and supplies and $45,000 in man hours have already been invested into the improvements of the leased land for the new rodeo grounds.
This year’s event clearly demonstrated the need for more space and a formal request was made to expand the leased area north to the village corporate boundary.
The Rodeo Association hopes to continue with improvements by having water brought to the grounds and installing horseshoe pits and walking trails.
Additionally, there is an agreement in place between the Bust-Out Rodeo Association and the Big Valley Athletic Association for the development of an archery range.
Council agreed in theory to an expansion of the leased area, but expressed concerns regarding public works access to the village’s dry dumping ground and encroachment on an existing Bearspaw Petroleum Ltd. lease.
Adminstration was direct to prepare a report addressing these issues for the September council meeting.
AUMA Campaign School
Aided by an Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) grant, Big Valley will be hosting a “Supporting Women in Local Government” event on Monday, Sept. 11 at the Big Valley Drop-In Centre.
Spearheaded by Big Valley Coun. Sandra Schell, this information evening is designed to help women become informed about their potential in local government.
Keynote speaker, Clive Mayor Anita Gillard will be on hand to answer questions after the presentation.
Besides her years of experience in local government, Gillard is also a former member of the Women in Governance Committee.
Code of conduct bylaw
The final draft of Bylaw 828, the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw passed second and third readings.
Though the modernized Municipal Government Act (MGA) is not yet in place, the bylaw follows all current municipal government rules and regulations.
Council chose to adopt the comprehensive document, trusting that Big Valley citizens expect high standards of conduct from their elected officials.
Linda Stillinger,
ECA Review Reporter
