Speargrass nixes secondary suites

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Secondary suites are no longer permitted as a discretionary use within the Speargrass Golf Course Community.

Wheatland County council voted on June 12 to remove secondary suites as a discretionary use for the Speargrass low density residential district and the Speargrass medium density residential district under the county’s land use bylaw.

The bylaw was originally amended on July 16, 2012 to include secondary suites as a discretionary use within six residential land use districts, including the two Speargrass land use districts.

The recent move was made after the Speargrass Community Association (SCA) asked the county to remove “dwelling, secondary suites” as a use within these two land use districts that comprise the community.

The application was made in response to a Speargrass property owner previously applying to the county for a development permit to establish a secondary suite in September 2019. Several residents voiced concerns about the proposal, so the county’s municipal planning commission ultimately denied the application in October 2019.

An open house in Carseland on Jan. 16, attended by about 40 people, gave residents the chance to discuss the amendments requested by the SCA.

Then, a public hearing for the bylaw changes was held on May 19. Some residents voiced concerns about secondary suites in Speargrass, including perceptions that secondary suites approved in the community would result in increased noise levels, elevated street parking, unsightly premises, nonadherence to design guidelines and safety concerns.

The SCA also requested changes to the land use bylaws to include fencing as a permitted use, meaning that installing new fencing would require a development permit; and a proposal to restrict the duration that recreational vehicles (RVs) can be parked on private property to five days.

However, proposed amendments to the county’s land use bylaws to incorporate these changes were removed during the second reading of the amendment bylaw, meaning these changes were not made by council.

Requiring the county to approve fencing in Speargrass would create more regulatory hurdles for property owners in Speargrass, said Megan Williams, Wheatland County planner. This was considered unfavourable, as the county’s economic development strategy identified red tape and difficult permitting processes as an ongoing challenge in the county, explained Williams. 

The county’s land use bylaws provide restrictions on fencing, which for residential, hamlet-zoned parcels, including the two Speargrass residential land use districts, restricts fencing height to one metre in height at the front of a property, and 1.8 metres along the sides and rear of a parcel.

The proposed amendments to fencing that were not adopted included a prohibition on fencing at the front of a property and a restriction of side and rear yard fencing to 1.5 metres. Additionally, fencing material was proposed to be restricted to corral fencing, black chain link fencing, or chicken or hog wire in combination with corral fencing. 

While these changes were not adopted, fences remain under the community’s architectural controls stating what type of fence can be used in the community, explained Donna Biggar, Wheatland County Division 3 councillor, during the meeting. 

“This way, (residents) don’t have to go in and get a permit every time they want to put a fence up,” she noted.

The time restriction for RVs was not adopted because it would likely prove to be difficult and time-consuming for the county to enforce, as explained by Williams. 

“If an RV is found to be on a parcel for more than five consecutive days, staff would need to go through the stop order enforcement process and apply for injunction through the Queen’s Bench Court before it could be removed,” she said. Furthermore, if an RV is on a parcel for more than five days, then placed back on a parcel, then the five days clock would reset, she explained. 

Additionally, enforcement would require a county enforcement officer to provide a notice of entry to access the property to chalk mark or otherwise mark an RV to start the time of offence, as explained by the county’s protective services in the accompanying report by administration.

Given these complexities, the time restriction on RV parking would be too hard to monitor, said Biggar.