The County of Stettler council increased the fee to be paid for a development permit if the work had already been started. The decision was made at the Feb. 8 regular meeting of council.
Councillors heard a report from county planner Craig Teal, who proposed changing the fee bylaw for two additions, including getting rid of the possibility of a fee for registering a recreational vehicle on a residential lot and doubling the fee paid when someone applies for a development permit after they’ve already begun the development. He noted these were the only two changes proposed to the fees bylaw.
“When temporary RV tags were introduced to regulate the use of RVs for a period of less than 21 days, council implemented a fee of $25 but waived the fee up until April 12, 2023,” stated Teal in his report to council.
“Administration recommends abandoning the fee for this permit in light of the administrative costs to create a system to collect the fee; and the negative effect a fee may have on an applicant’s decision to apply for the required permit and risk not being caught over a weekend.”
He also noted increasing the development permit fee would be a way of encouraging people to follow the rules.
“Administration is also recommending changes to the stated penalties for starting development before an application for development permit approval has been submitted or decided upon,” noted Teal.
“The current penalty fees are $2,000 for commercial and industrial uses and $1,000 for all other uses.
“These penalties have rarely been applied despite some instances of development occurring prior to approvals.
“Administration is recommending a revised approach that involves lower penalty amounts and more consistent application of the penalties by administration. The lower penalty amount is based on double of the applicable regular application fee.”
Coun. James Nibourg noted, in effect, someone starting their development then applying for the development permit would face a $100 penalty and wondered if that fee would discourage anyone.
Coun. Ernie Gendre asked if the $1,000 fee that’s on the books has ever been enforced, to which Nibourg answered “No.” Nibourg noted that the penalty probably should have been enforced judging by the number of incidents the county has dealt with.
Coun. Les Stulberg, noting this topic was discussed in depth at a recent committee of the whole meeting, stated that since the large penalty was never enforced then it’s fair to start with a smaller ticket which could be seen as, “…easing into enforcement.”
Reeve Larry Clarke noted he recently spoke with the mayor of a neighbouring municipality who stated their village charges a $300 fee on top of taxes for those who have an unregistered RV on residential property. Clarke stated perhaps the County of Stettler should look at what neighbours are doing to keep things equitable.
After the brief discussion councillors decided to move ahead with the bylaw the way it was presented.
Councillors unanimously passed all readings of the bylaw necessary to bring it into effect.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
