Coming Up: February 22
Council meets on Monday. The agenda includes:
Barrier Free Grant
High Performance Sport Centre Proposal
Property Tax Deadlines
Secondary Suites
Following is more information and my take on agenda items.
As always, any mistakes or opinions belong to me and me alone, not to Council or City staff.
While I express my current views below, I work hard to go into meetings ready to listen and with an open mind. I learn new information and participate in debate. This always informs, and sometimes changes, how I vote on issues.
If you would like to watch the meeting or read any of its supporting material for yourself, you can do so by clicking here. The City will post the highlights of Council’s decisions here.
BARRIER FREE GRANT
It is recommended that Council approve a new grant to increase accessibility in our community. It would be a matching grant of up to $10,000 for commercial buildings making upgrades to remove barriers for people with physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities. Examples of projects might include ramps, accessible washrooms, barrier free counters, or widened doorways to accommodate wheelchairs.
Council previously allocated $750,000 towards beautification and patio grant program. This money was intended to incentivize construction activity as part of Council’s Economic Recovery response to COVID-18. $542,000 is remaining in this grant program. It is recommended that $250,000 be re-allocated towards the Barrier Free Grant.
I intend to support this grant. It will improve experiences for folks with disability in our community, and provide businesses increased opportunity to serve them. Additionally, this economic recovery money will be most effective if it is spent sooner rather than later. Creating another opportunity for businesses to access it will make it more likely to be utilized quickly.
HIGH PERFORMANCE SPORT CENTRE
There is a group of community members hoping to establish a High Performance Sports Centre. This would be a facility that includes gym space, ice rinks, exercise and weight equipment, a yoga/program space, therapy rooms, and a performance analytics lab. Currently, many high performance athletes travel to Calgary or Edmonton to access development programs. And programs available in Grande Prairie are often spread across the community, making them difficult for youth athletes to access if they don’t have a stay at home parent. The group behind this Sports Centre hopes to create a local, more accessible training facility.
This would be setup as a non-profit with significant private support. However, there has been an ask for regional municipalities to fund $4.5 million in capital spending and $400,000 in annual operating costs.
It is recommended that Council direct the review of a viable, detailed business case for this project. It is also recommended that Council work with the Grande Prairie Regional Recreation Committee to explore a joint funding agreement that would layout how municipal contributions could be shared between municipalities throughout the region.
I support these recommendations. I don’t know if I’ll ultimately support the City contributing funds towards this project. However, I think it is worthwhile to continue discussions with the community members organizing it and with other municipalities in the region. A concrete funding proposal for City Council to consider and vote on should be developed.
PROPERTY TAX DEADLINES
In the next couple of months, Council will be setting the 2021 tax rate.
Usually, taxes are due in June. However, it is recommended that Council direct administration to draft Bylaws to move the tax deadline to August 31. It is also recommended that late signup fees and NSF charges for those who choose to make monthly payments be waived. These changes will give businesses and residents more flexibility in when they pay their taxes, which is helpful for those struggling with the economic fallout of COVID-19.
This is an easy, low cost way to support our community. I intend to support it.
SECONDARY SUITES
In the past, Grande Prairie didn’t have restrictions on the number of secondary suites in a community. It also had no limits on driveway widths and low requirements for on-street parking. This led to a few neighbourhoods that are not well planned: they have huge amounts of secondary suites with little to no on-street parking available.
Since these neighbourhoods were built, a number of new rules have been introduced. There are minimum on-site parking requirements for secondary suites, and maximum driveway widths are limited to make sure that there is on-street parking available.
There is also a limit on secondary suites. Within any 50m radius, a maximum of 2 suites are allowed. It doesn’t matter if the suites share the same road, or if they are on completely different streets- any 50m circle within the City cannot touch properties with more than 2 suites on them.
BILD Grande Prairie is an association representing home builders. Its members have experienced a higher demand for homes with secondary suites than they can meet under current restrictions. It has recommended a Land Use Bylaw that would allow up to 5 Secondary Suites in a 50m radius if those suites are located:
On a corner lot
Across from a public greenspace (ex: storm pond)
Across from Medium or High Density Housing, Commercial, or Industrial property that provides its own on-site parking
Across from the side lots of other homes rather than front yards
It is recommended that Council pass Land Use Bylaw amendments that would be consistent with this request. I’m likely to support these amendments. They seems reasonable to me. Here are some considerations that go into my thinking:
People should be able to do what they want with their property as long as it doesn’t have an undue impact on neighbours. Given the nature of where these suites will be located (ex: across from greenspaces) and other relatively new rules in the City (ex: maximum driveway widths)- I don’t think they’ll contribute to problematic communities like we have seen in the past
If there isn’t ample opportunity for legal secondary suites, more illegal suites will be created in our community. Illegal suites often have a bigger impact on the neighbours than properly planned legal suites. And tenants can be more vulnerable to bad landlords if they are in an illegal suite.
Our housing market is suffering right now. Mortgage rules, skyrocketing lumber prices, and a struggling economy are making it difficult for people to buy homes. Secondary Suites are one way to make a home purchase more affordable.
Reducing our residential taxes is a priority to me. Creating more density in neighbourhoods means that it is more efficient to deliver services to our residents, which helps taxpayers save money
That’s what is on our agenda for Monday. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.
We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.
After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.
Thanks for reading!
-Dylan