EAD meeting October 2011

Lake zoning bylaws were gone through again. One of the important items brought up in all CSRD areas; was that sufficient manpower/money and set be aside to enforce this bylaw. Staff will be seeking legal review about how the bylaw will be effective to be enforced. A second reading would be done in October and then to it would go to the public hearing after that.
A revised "Crown Land Telecommunications" policy was requested by TELUS to speed up their applications to put up transmission towers on Crown land. Existing TELUS transmission sites are presently near Scotch Creek and Adams Hill; newly proposed and recently approved sites are in Sorrento and Eagle Bay and Taft Mountain; they may offer some better cell access to the North Shuswap, in the future. Any proposals will still have to go to the public for an input (to be advertised twice in the papaer). The Director would still decide upon the sites inpact and have input.
Directors are looking into the expansion of the use of municipal ticket utilization bylaw for enforcing our bylaws. When a ticket is given and not disputed; after 14 days a fine would be forth coming. It was wondered if it is appropriate to fine for all bylaws and you can ticket pretty well for any of the bylaws. For instance; for people for putting a shed to close to the property line. It would seem a bit heavy handed to do that. When put into the perspective of people not remedying the shed positioning and what to do with them. Presently most tickets(tickets that have been written) have been paid; if tickets are ignored a collection agency is employed to collect the money. Eventually the infraction could end up with a court decision. Education is the first thing to be done when an offense is found. With the hope that the person would self regulate themselves once they understood why the bylaw exists. If education is not effective;if the person continued to persist in flaunting the bylaw, then a ticket would be given.Directors often hear; “All these bylaws mean what? nothing; when the offenders only have to ask for forgiveness. This is after the fact and they then get away with breaking the bylaw”. What is needed is to have an enforcement that is effective in handing out our bylaws. The work load has become heavy, for the bylaw officer and the resource for bylaws is not enough, for bylaw enforcement; there will need to be an increase. The CSRD will be looking towards raising funds through taxing to by for the bylaw enforcement in next year budget. The budget is about 108,000 for by law enforcement for all of the CSRD, the thinking is that another bylaw officer would be needed.