City staff works to improve legislative infrastructure
By Timothy Schafer
The entire scope of the city’s legislative infrastructure is coming under scrutiny in the coming months and six are targeted as high priority for work right away.
Sitting high on city council’s priority list are bylaws pertaining to water utility, sewer rental, business licences, cemetery bylaw rates, parks and facilities, and storm drain system connection.
The city will be setting a special meeting to look at the bylaws and set priorities on what needs to be updated, said Mayor Deb Kozak.
Councilor Michael Daly expressed concern about how labour intensive the process would be for the city’s staff.
“It would be helpful to have an idea in setting those priorities as to how much work is involved,” he said.
City staff have already begun to assemble some background on how much work is estimated to be involved, the degree of resources that could be allocated, and what consultations are needed.
Council will be examining the Water Utility Regulatory bylaw and review the rate structure for the 2015 budget.
The draft bylaw is being reviewed by the city’s operations and development services departments. According to a city report to council, recent staff changes have meant the review has been delayed “and a meeting will be held during the fall to continue the review process.”
The Sewer Rental/Regulatory bylaw is expected to be revamped as it is considered outdated and has been deemed to have missing regulations.
The bylaw — and the Liquid Waste and Deleterious materials bylaw — has been dispatched to the city’s lawyers for consolidation into a single sewer regulatory bylaw.
City administration will follow up with the lawyers to draft the new bylaw, with the first round of staff review, and then onto council, estimated to take place in fall.
Home-based businesses will be the centre of the review of the Business Licence bylaw. Amendments were made in 2013 to allow for bylaw enforcement penalties.
According to a city report, the bylaw will be contracted out to the city’s lawyers for total redevelopment this year.
Rates and fees regarding the city’s Cemetery bylaw will also be dealt with under the bylaw review.
A new draft Cemetery bylaw had been prepared and reviewed by city operations staff during the spring.
“It is now awaiting clarification of historic residential and non-residential rate information and is currently under review by the chief financial officer,” read a city staff report to council.
Bylaw concerning parks and park facilities rates has also been classified as outdated by city staff.
Although minor amendments were made to the bylaw during 2013 to allow for bylaw penalties, the bylaw still needs to be combining the Parks Regulatory and Park Facilities Rates into a single bylaw, with the rates being included as a schedule to the Fees and Charges bylaw.
This bylaw review will take place later in 2015.
It will likely be a stormy year for the Storm Drain System Connection bylaw as an update in its rates is expected. The bylaw has not been amended since being passed in 1989, and city operations department has advised it needs revision to cover today’s costs.
As well, regulations of the bylaw will be reviewed by operations department. This review will likely take place once the Water Utility bylaw review is completed.
Medium priority bylaws include sign regulation (sandwich board regulations), animal regulation and control (updates for keeping of hens, and dog-restricted zones), property maintenance, the airport, the youth centre committee and the city’s wharf.
Minor amendments to the Property Maintenance bylaw were implemented in 2013 to add bylaw notice penalties. However, the scope of the bylaw could be expanded and incorporated into a Good Neighbour bylaw.
As well, new bylaws will be drafted concerning the keeping of bees, the keeping of hens and clean air in the city.
The existing Smoking bylaw is expected to be replaced and have its scope broadened by incorporating Anti-Idling and Smoke-free Outdoor Spaces as well as e-cigarettes.
City staff have been advised that the Province is planning to regulate e-cigarettes and introduce new legislation later this year.
