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Photo by Curtis Galbraith.
By Curtis Galbraith
City Hall

Highlights from Monday’s city council meeting

Nov 5, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Highlights from the November 4 meeting of Grande Prairie City Council:

Land Rezoning

Council has decided to take a second look at public engagement and advertising for zoning changes.

Administration ahs been asked to look into this and report back to the standing committee that oversees these things.

This came after a resident of the Arbour Hills neighbourhood came to council with concerns about a recent rezoning of some land along 132 Avenue to allow for new apartment buildings.

He told council there was a lack of consultation from both the city and the developer. He says one of the signs placed at the site was facing away from the road an unreadable, while another was not on the land being rezoned.

He also said it was odd that no one from the neighbourhood was at the last council meeting, where the rezoning was approved. He believes this is because of a lack of notification.

Backyard Suites

The process to approve new regulations for backyard suites that has gone on for eight months will continue for at least another couple of weeks. Council did not give three readings to a new bylaw that would regulate these places.

The changes would include setting the maximum height at 7.6 metres to the peak of the roof or the height of the main house, whichever is lower. The maximum height for one above a garage is also 7.6 metres.

Backyard suites would also be limited in size to the smaller of 80 per cent of the gross floor area of the main house or 75 square metres. One parking stall would be required for a one or two bedroom place.

Councillor Mike O’Connor outlined several concerns, including possible on-street parking congestion, fire flow requirements, the number of people living in one of these suites and the potential impact on things like roads and garbage hauling.

O’Connor says he would be in favour of having these suites if there was a back lane. This will come back to the next council meeting.

Intermunicipal Development Plan

Council did approve a new Intermunicipal Development Plan. This governs future development in areas where the city and county meet.

Changes from the old one include removal of a long term growth area for the city, meaning there are no plans for annexation in the area covered under this plan. City administration says this will encourage development within the boundaries already in place.

There is also an updated dispute settlement resolution. The process to come up with a new plan took over a year to complete.

GPPL Rental Increases

Council approved amendments to the Grande Prairie Public Library Bylaws and Amendments.

Most were housekeeping items, but there are proposed increases in the hourly and daily rental rates for the Rotary Training Room, Rotary Community Room, and the Willie Janssen Discover Room.

This would cover both the standard rates and the ones charged to non-profit groups.

A city report says these rates have not changed since 2018.

from a report by city administration

Youth Advisory Council

Council approved the appointment of 18 young people to the city’s Youth Advisory Council.

The group includes 10 returning members and eight newcomers.

The council meets to discuss various civic issues and provides feedback from Grande Prairie’s younger citizens to council.

Council will next meet November 13 to 15 for 2025 budget talks. The next council meeting is set for November 18.

by Curtis Galbraith