The City of Estevan has introduced a bylaw that land development services manager Richard Neufeld views as an important one for local residents.
Estevan city council gave first reading to a new development appeals board bylaw during the July 16 meeting. The board will be responsible for hearing and making decisions when someone wants to appeal a development.
Neufeld said the appeals board is required under the Cities Act, and the bylaw is needed so the city can have procedures and modifications that fit Estevan.
“The typical things that the board would be used for would be if a development permit were issued with conditions, and the applicant or a neighbour isn’t overly thrilled with one of the conditions or decisions, so they can appeal that,” said Neufeld.
“There’s also appeal mechanisms for subdivision decisions as well, and a number of other things, such as minor variances.”
The decisions rendered by the appeals board are final, unless someone wants to go to court or to the province. The decision cannot be appealed to Estevan city council.
The city has been operating without a local bylaw, and so Neufeld believes it has been operating under a provincial framework.
“The province has a framework for these boards that you operate under, and then the municipalities that are the planning authorities … have the option to personalize and really bring the whole thing to the local level,” said Neufeld.
The board would meet as required. About a decade ago, Neufeld said a local board was meeting on a fairly regular basis, but it looks like in the last half-dozen years, the board has been fairly quiet.
If there’s an increase in development in the city, Neufeld expects there could be more activity for the board, but he noted the board was not meeting much in the final years of the last economic boom that ended in 2014.
“The more things that are approved or declined, the odds are more often that people will not be happy with the conditions of the decision that were made,” said Neufeld.
At least three members are required for quorum, but Neufeld would like to have at least five on the board, so that if one of the board members is in a conflict of interest regarding a possible decision, they still have at least three or four members able to discuss and vote.
All members will be appointed by city council, based on a list provided by the city clerk. Board members cannot be city employees or active members of city council, and must be a resident of the city.
The term of each board member will be two years, and a board member may be reappointed a maximum of two consecutive times.
“You want community-minded people, and you want a chairperson who knows how to run a meeting, so that you don’t get tripped up procedurally, and then you need fairly well-rounded experience around the board, people that have a fairly good understanding of the duty to be fair and run by procedures,” said Neufeld.
Nominations cannot be accepted until the bylaw is given final approval, which is expected to happen at the Aug. 13 council meeting. If an appeal is then filed, the city will have to start looking for board members at that point.
If there aren’t any appeals, then the city won’t have to start looking for board members until later in the year.
