If you have an existing secondary suite in your residence you can come in and complete an application form to register your suite with no application fee before April 29th. An existing secondary suite is a suite that was built before April 9, 2009. If you complete the registration and file it with the Development Services Department before April 29th you will pay no application fee and will only be required to ensure that your suite meets the basic health and safety standards which include having windows with an unobstructed opening in sleeping areas, hard wired smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher. All suites in Lake Country must be registered! Call or email the Development Services, Building Inspections Department at 250-766-6675 if you have any questions! Application for Existing Suites
REMOVAL OF THE BUNDLED PROCESS FROM DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS PROCEDURES BYLAW
Council gave 3 readings to Development Applications Procedures Amendment Bylaw 786, 2011 which removes the ‘Bundled Process’ option from the bylaw. The ‘Bundled Process’ combined all review and approval steps into a single comprehensive package in order to expedite approvals in the community. Expediting the approvals process is always a double‐edged sword. On the one hand, a faster approvals process can save time and money for developers in the community. But on the other hand, expediting the process can curtail opportunities for Council, staff and the residents of the community to have an influence and role in the process. The ‘Bundled Process’ has only been used twice in District history, with mixed results. The removal of the bundled process does not signal an end to the District’s efforts to work towards expediting approvals processes. Even without the bundled process many options exist to expedite development where appropriate.
TEMPORARY COMMERCIAL PERMIT EXTENSION
Council approved a 1-year extension of a Temporary Commercial Permit (TC2010-001) for a lawyer’s office located at 10026 Hwy 97. D. Oscar Barnes operated a lawyer’s office at the residence and when the operation became too large to be considered a home based business, Mr. Barnes was granted a 1-year temporary commercial permit. Extension of the temporary commercial permit will allow the business to continue to operate and an application to rezone the property to commercial use is likely within this period. The 1-year extension will expire May 11, 2012.
PRESENTATION ON WWW.OUROKANAGAN.CA
Leigha Horsfield, Employment Counsellor for Community Futures, did a presentation for Council on their community website OurOkanagan.ca. Our Okanagan is an online tool developed to address challenges identified by Community Futures and Okanagan Partnership and to connect those looking for a local product or service with those that can provide them. The District already has a profile on the site and Leigha asked that Council further support the site by putting a link on the District’s web page and including information on benefits of the site in Business Licence applications.
2011 ELECTION APPOINTMENTS
Council appointed Hazel Christy as the Chief Elections Officer for the 2011 Municipal General Local Election with Reyna Seabrook and Willene Perez appointed as Deputy Chief Elections Officers. Voting day will be held on Saturday, November 19th with Advance voting opportunities on Wednesday, November 9th and Tuesday, November 15th between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm at voting places designated by the Chief Election Officer. Nomination packages will be available August 26th. In order to be a candidate for the 2011 Municipal Election you must: be 18 or older on general voting day; be a Canadian citizen; be a resident of BC for the past 6 months; not be disqualified by the Local Government Act or any other reenactment from voting, being nominated, being elected, or otherwise disqualified by law.
TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS ON ALR LAND
Residents in Oyama brought some concerns to Council’s attention about the current regulations governing tourist accommodations on ALR land in Lake Country. Council directed staff to prepare a zoning bylaw amendment respecting tourist accommodation regulations on A1 and RLP zoned land addressing issues such as siting of units, setbacks, buffering and/or screening and the number of units permitted on a parcel of a given size.
Until the zoning bylaw is amended, all new applications for tourist accommodations on ALR will be forwarded to Council for consideration. After a waiting period of 7 days, Council can withhold further applications for a period of 30 days. During those 30 days Council must consider the application and decide whether to withhold the permit for a further 60 days or issue the permit with conditions that are in keeping with public interest and the bylaw that is under preparation.
ACTION ITEM FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING
The Committee recommended that Council convene a meeting of all of the current Council Advisory Committees to discuss issues being addressed by each committee and develop a better understanding and cooperation between the committees. Council suggested that such a large meeting may be difficult to organize and decided to further discuss how to organize and structure such an event at a future Strategy Meeting.
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