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Town of Ponoka council meeting briefs

The Town of Ponoka held their regular council meeting on Oct. 14 at the Council Chambers.

Kim Hutchison

Staff reporter:

The Town of Ponoka held their regular council meeting on Oct. 14 at the Council Chambers.

Land use bylaw

An application was received and reviewed at the Aug. 26, Town of Ponoka Council meeting to amend the Town of Ponoka Land use bylaw No. 013-97 (a bylaw intended to reduce uncertainty about the future use of land) by reclassifying a portion of the southwest quarter of 46 Avenue and 38 Street from Residential Expansion (RX) District to Low Density Residential (R1) District. Owners want to reclassify .273 hectares to allow for the development of 4 residential (R1) lots (Bylaw No. 249-08).

Residents of this location were present and voiced concerns regarding this development. Traffic in the area is known to be heavy and excess garbage is an increasing problem, but it was whether or not the road would be able to support the materials and trucks required to proceed that was the main issue. Residents were not against development in the area but against development on the road in its current condition. While these concerns were taken into consideration giving Bylaw No. 249-08 amending Land Use Bylaw No. 013-97 a second and third reading was approved.

Conflict Resolution Day

The next request for decision was to proclaim Thursday Oct. 16 Conflict Resolution Day in Ponoka, a day established to increase public awareness to advance the understanding and use of dispute resolution alternatives and collaborative, consensus-based decision making processes. The motion was carried. This day will occur on the third Thursday of every Oct.

Rezoning request   

The last decision addressed rezoning a portion of land from Rx to R1 east of 38 Street (Bylaw 250-08). The request for Council to grant a waiver of the requirements as detailed in the Town of Ponoka Land Use Bylaw No. 013-97, Schedule B, Part 17 stating “An Area Structure Plan must be adopted by Bylaw before the land will be considered for reclassification to another residential use” was defeated. Council decided not to give By-law 250-08 first reading until the developer provides an Area Structure Plan prior to rezoning the lot.

The next meeting will be held on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.