A regular Council meeting was held on Tuesday, December 18th, at the Municipal Office in Coleman. Mayor Bruce Decoux called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Land Use Bylaw amendment Application
Administration recommended that council give second and third reading to Bylaw #861, being a bylaw to amend the Land Use Bylaw to add Contractor and Warehouse, secondary to an approved use to the C-2 Drive-in Commercial District as discretionary uses.
The application was submitted to allow a future development permit application for a C-2 parcel located at 11534 and 11532, 20th Avenue in Blairmore. Because the proposed uses are not listed uses in the C-2 District, an application cannot be made for this type of development. Although a Development Authority does have variance power to waive the majority of requirements in a Land Use Bylaw, a development authority does not have the ability to vary or waive uses.
It is important to understand that this is only a Land Use Bylaw amendment and not a development permit application. Therefore, this application should be considered on its merits alone as a Land Use Bylaw amendment to the C-2 District. All site-specific concerns will be dealt with at the time of a development permit application should this Land Use Bylaw Amendment be approved.
Currently in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Land Use Bylaw, the word contractor is a discretionary use in the 1-1, industrial district. This District is located primarily in the Frank Industrial Park, with a few areas in the west end of both Blairmore and Coleman. Contractor is not a listed use in the SIP-1, Sentinel Industrial Park District. This is thought to be an oversight that will be corrected it the Land Use Bylaw revisions. It is also proposed that the definition of contractor will be expanded to contractor, general, and contractor limited in the new Land Use Bylaw.
The C-2 District is in various locations throughout the Municipality and accommodates a variety of different uses. The linear strip of parcels between 112th Street and 117th Street in Blairmore holds the greatest area of C-2 parcels. The inclusions of these uses in the C-2 District is not expected to have undesirable repercussions recognizing that the MPC is the decision making body r all discretionary uses. The MPC is required to exercise careful discretion in determining the merits and issues related tot a particular discretionary use application and is not obligated to approve a discretionary use application.
Both second and third readings for Land Use Bylaw Amendment Application were carried unanimously.
Bylaw 860- Annual Borrowing Bylaw
Administration recommended that Council give reading and approval to an annual borrowing bylaw for the purpose of providing adequate cash flow for operations and to provide payment of requisitions. This request is based on the understanding that the 2013 first and second quarter Alberta School Fundraising Fund (ASFF) requisitions, which is estimated to be the same as 2012, of $689,000 per quarter and will be withdrawn from the Municipality’s general bank account on March 31st, 2013, and June 30th, 2013.
The timing relative to cash flow is vital as the 2013 Municipal property tax notices which include the annual ASFF requisitioning of $2,756,000 are not due until June 30th, 2013. The Municipality has projected a tax levy of $9,612,286, on January 1st, 2013 ($6,855,376 Municipal and $2,756,910 in ASFF), for which the municipality receives approximately$390,000 per month in preauthorized tax payment, which provides $2,340,000 of cash flow to June 30th, 2013. The remaining $7,272,286 will be collected through monthly preauthorized payments of $390,000 per month or $2,340,000 over the last six months of 2013and the balance of $4,932,286 is due and payable at June 30th, 2013. The use of a line of credit precludes the rollover of all Municipal investment for operational purposes.
Both second and third readings were passed unanimously.
