North Cypress-Langford Council Reviews Complete Overhaul of Planning Bylaws

In an average municipal council meeting, a lot of items can fly by very quickly thanks to Council’s familiarity with a topic or the frequency with which they handle this issue. That changes in the first few months of a new Council term, where in-depth explanations of procedures and other items that longtime Council members or staff might take for granted.

This month’s North Cypress-Langford Council meeting began with the financial report. CAO Trish Fraser takes the time to break down and explain each step for the benefit of new Council members. The same time and attention was taken with other issues including the procedure for prioritizing road repairs, granting policies, and committee assignments.

One of the biggest items to come forward was the new set of zoning bylaws for the municipality as a whole. This 100+ page document aimed to unify legacy policies from both the former municipalities of North Cypress and Langford as well as modernise them to the standards in current use by the planning district. There were several questions that arose over the course of the conversation, including types of zones that incorporate multiple uses, and restrictions in operations overtop of the aquifer. This first reading, it was explained, is just the initial step to get the issue on the table. It will be followed by a public hearing and there will be multiple opportunities to make changes before the new bylaws are passed.

Roads and gravel were once again on the agenda as Council looks at engaging a second contractor for screened gravel and gravel hauling. Gravel is a major budgetary category for the municipality, which stockpiles crushed gravel to use on the many gravel roads throughout the area. With the amount of flooding this year, and the need for different sizes of crushed gravel for different purposes, additional help is needed and there has been a need for public works to prioritise repair of current public roads before upgrading others that are used primarily for machinery.

Other topics included the hiring of a new leisure services manager, the annual AMM conference, cleaning fire hazards at Fairview dump, a new website for the municipality, staff appreciation gifts, and a number of regular reports and correspondence from around the municipality.