Clive council gave initial approval to its proposed Addressing Bylaw and sent it out for public comments.
The decision was made at the Feb. 8 regular meeting held via Zoom to meet pandemic rules.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Carla Kenney presented to councillors the proposed Addressing Bylaw #546-21 after they directed her at a previous meeting to draft a bylaw that would offer more consistent addressing in the village.
Councillors previously heard some emergency services personnel had trouble finding an address.
Kenney stated the draft bylaw was based on a similar document from the City of Red Deer, with a few changes to reflect Clive’s character, such as removing a section that included rules for annexing property.
Kenney also stated a rule within the draft bylaw for the possible future naming of certain streets be left entirely up to councillors, as she didn’t feel staff should be picking street names. Mayor Luci Henry agreed.
One question the CAO had for councillors was whether or not they wanted to charge a fee for residents who wanted to change their address number. She noted the City of Red Deer charges a fee for that service.
Henry stated she felt the CAO should administer the addressing bylaw, including developing street numbers, and changing address numbers should also be left up to the CAO to handle.
Kenney pointed out addresses are linked to the street or avenue that a residence’s driveway opens onto.
The proposed bylaw included a list of fines for those who don’t follow the rules, including tickets for $250, $500 and $1,000 for first, second and third offences, respectively.
Both Mayor Henry and Coun. Jeremy Whelan agreed the bylaw should include a fee for anyone who requests a change in their address number, which would act as a deterrent for nuisance applications.
Coun. Tracy Hallman wondered why a resident would want to change their address number anyway?
Coun. Susan Russell stated she could see some instances where it might occur, such as a taxpayer owning two adjoining lots and wishing to have them listed under one address.
Kenney pointed out address changes might come in from the business community, as commercial lots are wider than residential lots, for example.
Councillors decided not to make a decision on fees for changing address requests, as those would be included in the Master Rates Bylaw.
Councillors unanimously approved first reading of the proposed Addressing Bylaw. It will be publicly advertised and a public hearing held at a future council meeting.
Stu Salkeld, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
