A slew of proposed bylaw changes were up for discussion during the latest public information meeting the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District had with Britannia Beach residents.
To be clear, the public information session did not represent a public hearing, but was an informal way to discuss and give input on proposed amendments to the Area D Official Community Plan.
Area D is the region surrounding Squamish, which includes Britannia Beach, Porteau Cove, and Upper Squamish Valley.
Residents were encouraged to give feedback to the regional district planners.
Below is a sampling of some of the issues that generated a fair bit of discussion during that evening.
So far, these amendments have only passed first reading and may be subject to change.
Urban Agriculture
It’s the bees’ knees.
Small-scale agriculture activities will be allowed in some Area D land falling outside the Agricultural Land Reserve, if proposed bylaw amendments are approved.
This includes allowing bees and chickens on properties.
These amendments were crafted with the areas outside of Upper Squamish Valley in mind, as well as Ring Creek, among others.
“[These are] typical things that are found in bylaws in sort of urban agriculture uses or properties outside of ALR that aren’t designated as farm areas, but people want to have some small scale agricultural uses,” said Ian Holl, a senior planner with the SLRD.
Six hens will be allowed on each parcel of land. Owners won’t be allowed to sell any manure or meat from the hens.
Two beehives will be allowed on any parcel of land under 929 square metres, or 10,000 square feet.
Farmland weddings
Commercial weddings and other events will be allowed on farmland as a result of changes to local zoning regulations, which have yet to be fully approved.
The zoning changes are intended to bring local bylaws in step with amendments the province made last year to Agricultural Land Reserve rules, which created a category for event use.
Commercial events can happen on farmland under a number of conditions.
Events can’t be longer than 24 hours, each event can only have 150 people and there can be no more than 10 gatherings each year, among other things.
Some Britannia residents raised concerns about noise and wondered if neighbours would be given prior notice before events.
Holl said events must obey Area D noise bylaws.
However, no advance notice has to be given before events are held.
Gross floor calculations
In order to address prior complaints that maximum house size limits may have been too small, the SLRD is proposing to calculate house sizes differently in Area D.
The regional district says it will exclude the first 90 square metres of gross floor area in a basement.
The first 60 square meters for a garage will also be excluded when counting against the housing size limit.
“You’re kind of getting free additional space that’s not going to be counted in the overall cap,” said Holl. “If you go beyond that, it’s going to be counted in the dwelling size cap.”
Currently, houses are capped at 465 square metres.
Trees and vegetation
The SLRD is hoping to make tree removal less costly for residents.
A proposal has been put forward to waive permit requirements for removing one tree from a property within a two-year period.
This waiver only applies for trees that are outside covenant areas.
In Britannia Beach there are slope stability covenants on many lots, which forbid taking out trees and vegetation without SLRD approval.
If the proposal passes, there will also be permit fee reductions for residents who want to remove two or more trees outside a covenanted area within a two-year period.
Under the new proposal, reduced fees will also be charged for permits that would allow tree removal or pruning in covenanted areas.
Permits cost $300.
If residents feel some trees are unsafe – for instance dead wood presenting a fire hazard – they can ask the SLRD to inspect the trees and make arrangements for removal.
There were also amendments to a bylaw requiring a permit for removing vegetation in the Agricultural Land Reserve, if it’s related to non-farming uses.
One resident complained he could potentially be nickeled and dimed for clearing out foliage to set up a play area for his children.
