Council Changes

New Council Rules in place

Apr 6, 2020 | 7:28 PM

Things are changing for City Council.

From this day forward, while a provincial state of emergency continues, Council will be conducted with four members of Council being allowed to do so electronically. Meetings will also be closed to the public.

The biggest changes are around public hearings.

The requirement for a public hearing will be waived for “informal” applications, such as temporary use permits and variance applications.

It’s a different story for “formal” hearings, such as those that require changes to the Official Community Plan

Specifically, “Staff will include a recommendation in Staff Reports to Council that introduce a rezoning bylaw for first and second readings regarding whether the public hearing should be waived for that application. The criteria that must be met in order for Staff to recommend that Council waive a public hearing include:

a. the rezoning application is consistent with the Official Community Plan;

b. approval of the rezoning application is supported by Staff; and

c. a public hearing on the application is not expected to generate significant public input.

The decision to waive a public hearing will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Click here to report an error or typo in this article