REQUEST FOR DIRECTION
DATE: August 21, 2023 Report No. ADM-23-025
TO: Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Consideration of Public Hearing Scheduling and Decision Making Timelines
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ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
In order to improve meeting efficiencies and support good governance and organizational excellence:
1. Does Council wish to change its current practice of scheduling Public Hearings to regular Council meeting agendas?
2. Would Council like to consider alternative options for decision making timelines on applications after receiving input at Public Hearings?
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That it be recommended to Council that staff be directed to prepare amendments to Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081 to change the scheduling of Public Hearings to a separate meeting night including direction regarding the regular scheduling of these meetings; and that Council provide direction on timelines for decision making after the close of a Public Hearing.
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BACKGROUND:
Public Hearings are legislatively required as part of certain land use application procedures. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to balance the broad powers of elected officials with respect to land use decisions so that residents and other interested parties have an opportunity to share their views about certain types of planning and land use bylaws. The length of Public Hearings can be prolonged due to the number of interested parties wishing to provide input to Council on the proposed bylaws and the amount of related Council discussion.
Legislative changes introduced in 2022 provided an exception to the requirement for holding Public Hearings for applications that are consistent with the current Official Community Plan. This exception authorizes Council to choose to not hold a Public Hearing for those specific applications as outlined in the Local Government Act. With the recent announcements from th...
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