Athabasca town council has rescinded a portion of its Procedures for Development and will now require prospective subdivision developers to front a $5,000 application fee.
The fee will be used to cover the preliminary reviews of a developer’s construction plans. Previously, the town would pay to have a developer’s plans reviewed by planners and engineers for the first two sets of plans.
“It’s not cost effective for the town,” said town councillor Joanne Peckham of the old approach. “This is for the subdivisions, so the onus is being put on the developer that looks after the planning costs, the conceptual drawings, the engineering, the construction plans, whereas before the onus was put on the town.”
According to town development officer Rachel Ramey, this is changing an outdated policy and will not be a deterrent to development because it will be nothing new to developers.
“It’s a typical fee that they’ll usually pay,” Ramey said.
Also part of the changes to Procedures for Development at last Tuesday’s regular council meeting was the inclusion of residential additions under the $2,000 Performance Guarantee, which works as a damage deposit. The deposit, which already applied to projects like garages, is refundable once the home addition is complete and in compliance with regulations.
The Encroachment Agreement fee, a fee for small construction projects such as fences and sheds, has been dropped from $1,500 to $100. Ramey noted that $1,500 was “way too high of a price to charge residents.”
Council approved the first readings of two bylaws that will go to a public hearing March 4 at 7 p.m. One of the proposed changes would modify sections of the Land Use Bylaw and add a definition for a “hedge.”
The proposed changes would also alter the zoning for the Athabasca County office, which is currently not in compliance with the Land Use Bylaw. As well, the Fas Gas on 50th Street is up for rezoning to become a conforming use.
Last month, the town spent $16,109.94 on training DVDs for the fire department — a one-time cost. Councillor Adams questioned the cost at Tuesday’s meeting.
Fire Chief Denis Mathieu later explained to the Advocate that the expense is actually cost-efficient.
“It is pretty expensive, but well worth it,” Mathieu said, stating there are over 100 episodes to the training program that teach all basic firefighting practices, rescue techniques and operations.
“If you send a person to training school, a one-week course will cost you a couple thousand dollars just for one guy, and we’ve got 25 guys, so training is a pretty big expense,” Mathieu said.
Council has directed administration to enter into an Encroachment Agreement with a Muskeg Creek property owner in the amount of $1,258.50. The offer is open to acceptance for 30 days. If it is denied, the town will make plans to remove the encroachment.
