Town passes offsite levies bylaw amendments

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Town of Strathmore council voted to pass third reading for Bylaw 24-17, being the updated offsite levies bylaw during the Nov. 6 regular meeting. 

Prior to second and third readings of the bylaw, council held a public hearing in order to gather and gauge public feedback regarding the drafted bylaw. Prior to the meeting of council, no written submissions were received the town in regards to the bylaw. 

Bylaw 24-17 is an update to Bylaw 21-07, meant to replace the latter upon the passing of third reading. Offsite levies are standard for most municipalities in Alberta. These are designed to provide necessary funding for projects which are required due to new development. 

Behaving similarly to utilities charges and taxes, offsite levies are an avenue for new developments to contribute their share to the town from a financial standpoint. 

The update to the bylaw was presented before the Committee of the Whole, Sept. 11. First reading was initially given to Bylaw 24-17, Oct. 2, during a regular meeting of council. 

Through the bylaw, the town is effectively now divided into 11 unique development zones instead of three, which aims to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the costs for each area. 

No members of the public were present during the public hearing to speak either in favour of or in opposition to the bylaw. 

“One of the things with creating these 11 zones is to make sure that each zone only pays for the portion which they are impacting,” explained Ethan Wilson, manager of infrastructure with the Town of Strathmore. 

“One thing to remember is that in the past, the town used to collect offsite levies at the building permit stage, which is a process that we are getting away from … having that area cover the existing town gives us the ability to charge those fees for land that has never been developed.”

Wilson explained as an example, should a new storm pond be developed on new land adding to the town, the new zoning system will ensure a zone such as downtown will not have to pay contributions, as the infrastructure would not influence downtown residents and businesses.

The rates now established in the bylaw are slightly higher than in the previous bylaw, which is attributed to inflation and timing. 

Second and third readings of the bylaw were carried unanimously by council following the conclusion of the public hearing. 

More information about the bylaw is available via the town’s website and Nov. 6 regular meeting agenda.