In the recent decision made by the Intermunicipal Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (ISDAB), it was chosen to have a stop order carried through as previously made by the County of Paintearth earlier this summer.
The eight steel hopper bottom grain bins once in question reside at SW-5-40-14-W4 near Castor and are owned by Jason and Shauna Ann Felzien.
A stop order was issued by the county on June 16, 2021 as the bins were said to be not in compliance with the land use bylaw and needed to have a development permit to be legitimate.
The bins were also in contradiction of minimum requirements of a Front Yard as defined in the Land Use Bylaw being located closer than 150ft from the centre line of all other roads as well as the Side Yard definition at 120 ft for the road side of a corner lot adjoining a municipal road.
At the outset of the appeal hearing on Aug. 6, 2021, held digitally, Chair Todd Wallace requested confirmation from all parties in attendance that there was no opposition to the composition of the board hearing the appeal.
The board had reviewed all submitted material in advance and on Aug. 25, a decision was reached to uphold the stop order issued by the county because of safety concerns and non-compliance with the setback requirements.
The board was concerned that if the bins were to fall over, the lack of space between the development and Range Road 145 may create safety concerns for those who use Range Road 145, based on the distance between the Range Road and the Development and the height of the Development.
The bins are 40 feet, while the distance to the centre line is 37 feet. If one of the grain bins fell over into the road, it would block the road.
Although the board heard Mr. Dwayne Felzien share that the bins had been secured, they had no information about the details of the securing so in the absence of such evidence the board had safety concerns.
With the decision now in place, the appellants (the Felzien’s) are required to relocate the binyard to another location so it complies with the setback requirements in the Land Use Bylaw, namely a setback of a minimum of 100 feet from the centreline of Range Road 145 while maintaining a minimum of 60 feet from the centreline of Township Road 400, by 4 p.m. on September 30, 2021.
Or they have the option to submit a complete application for a development permit with a variance to the setback standards for the development from Range Road 145 to the County’s development authority by the same deadline
Further, if the application for a development permit is denied, whether by the Development Authority or on appeal, they must restore the lands to their predevelopment state within 30 days of receipt of the decision of the county or appeal body, as applicable; or if a development permit is granted, comply with the development permit and all of the conditions contained therein.
Background
In 2018, county administration received concerns about an unauthorized bin yard development at Felzien’s property.
That spring, the Director of Community Services spoke with the appellants to discuss concerns about the proximity of the bins to Range Road 145.
On December 17, 2018, the Director of Community Services sent a warning letter explaining that the bin yard did not comply with the setback requirements in the County’s Land Use Bylaw in place at that time, the 2017 version of Bylaw 593-09 and directed the pair to apply for a development permit by Jan. 31, 2019.
On Jan. 15, 2019, the appellants met with County of Paintearth council to discuss a potential development permit application.
Council informed the Felziens’ that there would be upcoming changes to the Land Use Bylaw, so council would keep any enforcement but still encouraged them to apply for a development permit in September or October 2019.
Throughout 2019 and 2020, the county held public consultations on the proposed Land Use Bylaw and on May 4, 2021, council adopted the new Land Use Bylaw 698-21, which is the bylaw in place as of the date of the hearing.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
