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

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

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