WESTLOCK – The Town of Westlock is asking for the public’s feedback on the current land use bylaw as the municipality looks toward the document’s upcoming periodic update.
The bylaw is what separates the town into different districts, separating residential areas from industrial and commercial districts through the Municipal Government Act and dictates how certain lots are expected to be used.
While builders and business owners can appeal against the bylaw for new projects, director of development services Krystle Fedoretz says they keep the bylaw flexible enough that very few appeals are needed.
However, she notes that improvements and adjustments are often made, and the community is invited to share their thoughts and concerns in a survey that will be available on the town website Feb. 22.
“We want to hear directly from the people it’s going to impact,” said Fedoretz in a Feb. 2 interview. “We want to hear from people who have maybe had experience working through our land use bylaw and what we can do to make it better.”
The bylaw also covers parking, landscaping and signage as well, all things that will be updated by the end of October after the town hears from residents.
Workshops will also be held after the survey is completed. Once the survey concludes and workshops finish up, a new bylaw will be brought before council for approval.
“Maybe there’s things people want to see that are included as uses within the town, so we want to be able to prepare for that and give those uses a place,” Fedoretz concluded.
The survey will be available on Westlock.ca.
