City Of Progress Case Study

The City of Progress recommendations to best balance resident interest in bed and breakfasts and to increase tourism, while limiting neighborhood disturbances, focusses on sustainable development agreements and controls. The following paper will explore the best practices to allow the planning department and council to meet all resident objectives and allow for a sustainable tourism industry. Senior Planning recommendations for maintainable growth and resident satisfaction include controls/discretionary use and/or development agreements in order to deal with the residents’ intent on providing bed and breakfast in its community. These options give council flexibility, while at the same time control when giving permissions to residents for

development of bed and breakfast accommodations to its tourist. By building this proposed framework into the City of Progress’s municipal development plan, it will create a sustainable future for both the residents and local government by balancing population pressures and municipal financial stability.
To ensure that a municipality’s land use is sustainable, regulations setting the parameters of its land use must be determined and adjusted occasionally to meet the community’s needs and growth.

To allow the residents of the City of Progress to start providing bed and breakfast as a tourism stimulant, strict controls are required to avoid detrimental side effects to its community. Council can consider imposing a conditional/discretionary use in its zoning bylaw to deal with the development of bed and breakfast in the community. The City of Progress can also consider a development agreement, which gives a type of flexibility and control to the developments in the city. In some cases, pilot projects are implemented to test resident tolerance and community success prior to amending zoning bylaws, regulations or land use. An example of this would be the City of Grande Prairie’s Urban Hen Project, in which, Council will decide whether to permit an exemption to the animal control bylaw. The exemption would allow 15 properties to have backyard chickens for a one-year pilot project, with a 6-month evaluation. This pilot project would provide council an opportunity to test resident tolerance and community success prior to permanently amending land use and by-laws. The City of Progress may consider a similar pilot project with bed and breakfast prior to amending bylaws and zoning to ensure community

success.
A conditional or discretionary use provides council the ability to permit a development in a development zone with various conditions or requirements.

This provides control measures on a case-by-case basis of how each bed and breakfast should be permitted/regulated. In many cases, when there is no controls set or guidelines on how developments/use are permitted, a municipality can end up a poorly planned community with resident dissatisfaction. Discretionary use or controls require applicants to request permission to Council. There are strict regulations or requirements council can set in its zoning bylaw to ensure that each application meets requirements prior to development permission. Public hearings can also be a control mechanism to ensure residents affected by these developments have the chance to voice concerns. Council will have direct control with the public’s input on how each development permit approval. This type of regulation is flexible, but gives enough governance to Council and the residents impacted by development in their area. Discretionary use or control is very feasible to communities, as each individual application for development is considered; using public input and requires no changes to zoning or community plans. Appeal rights to discretionary uses or controls are limited, and in some provinces do not exist. Land use Bylaws C1260 (City Of Grande Prairie), clearly states how appeals to the Subdivision Development and Board can occur. Recommendation

to build discretionary uses into City zoning bylaws to allow different types of development examination on a case-by-case basis would be beneficial for the City of Progress.
City of Progress Council may also want to consider implementing development agreements. Development agreements have specific requirements that are fashioned to specific developments such as a bed and breakfast. Imposing requirements such as hours of operations, number of occupants and other services provided are reasons that developments agreements are beneficial. The flexibility of this option is favorable, as it gives extensive variations to establish rules best benefitting the entire community. Zoning bylaws or municipal development plan often specifies the areas where development agreements are permitted and/or required. Development agreements must comply with the legislation as they significantly affects existing zoning that the municipality have. The public are involved and there is an appeal process for those who do not agree with the development authority’s decision. Since Council makes the final decision on development agreements, a provincial body hears appeals for development agreements. Development agreements
Therefore, as Senior Planner for City of Progress, recommendations would include controls/discretionary use and development agreements to best balance resident interest in bed and breakfasts and to increase tourism, while limiting neighborhood disturbances. These options gives the Council flexibility while at the same time control when giving permissions to residents for development of bed and breakfast accommodations to its tourist. Pilot projects could be a temporary way to test resident tolerance and community success prior to permanently amending land use and by-laws. Both of these options provides control to the council and the public as they allow permits to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The public can have their input on developments that affects them and can give the Council directions on how their community is developed. Addressed concerns can be evaluated prior to granting the permits for each bed and breakfast. By building this proposed framework into the City of Progress’s municipal development plan, it will create a sustainable future for both the residents and local government by balancing population pressures and municipal financial stability.