Land Use Bylaw receives first reading

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Morinville – A week after being introduced during Morinville Town Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting, a bylaw that amends a number of land use terms and conditions passed first reading with a unanimous vote of council Tuesday night.

The proposed amendments address a variety of issues that currently affect Morinville’s residential and commercial property owners and include development permit and appeal provisions, enforcement provisions, corner fences, deck projections, amenity areas, site access, sign provisions and clarity on home occupations for small businesses.

The bylaw would also amend some districts in town. The vacant land between Morinville Community High School and Aspen House, currently a combination of C1 (primary downtown commercial use) and Semi-Public is proposed to be redesignated C2. If the bylaw makes it through second and third reading, the redesignation would open the vacant lands to automotive and equipment repair shops, automotive and minor RV sales, auto body shops, gas stations, veterinary clinics and hospitals.
Theatres, in the Land Use Bylaw since 2003, were originally confined to Commercial Corridor (CC) districts. Amendments to the bylaw would now allow theatres in C1 (Primary Commercial) districts.

Home-based businesses are also addressed in the bylaw with proposed amendments dealing with a number of issues that have confronted businesses. Distinctions between minor and major home occupations will now be determined based on the key factors of number of employees, client visits to the premises and the use of utility trailers. Currently, a home based business would be considered a major occupation if the business stores materials or equipment in a detached garage or outbuilding. Any home based business that sells in the home would still be considered a major occupation.

Now that the bylaw has received first reading, it will be brought to a public hearing to be held in Council Chambers June 14 prior to being moved on to second and third reading.

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1 Comment

  1. Just a notice to the general public:

    NOW is the time, as major planning documents are being changed, to review the proposed changes and speak up if you disagree.

    Don’t wait until something is being planted across the street on that green patch that you were told would never be built on. It is usually too late by then.

    Once something is zoned to X, then any of the permitted uses of that zoning MUST be allowed to go ahead if someone chooses to do so. Also, most of the discretionary uses will usually be allowed to.

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