Council approves second phase of land use bylaw renewal project

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on December 13, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

City council on Thursday morning continued their meeting which started Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. and lasted until nearly midnight that day.

Council pulled three items from the consent agenda to deal with separately and passed the rest in one motion.

Among those pulled from the agenda was the Land Use Bylaw Phase II public engagement plan which was approved by a 7-1 vote with councillor Rajko Dodic opposed. Councillor John Middleton-Hope is on an unpaid leave of absence during his campaign to seek election as the representative of Lethbridge West in the Dec. 18 by-election.

Councillor Belinda Crowson called the engagement “incredibly important” and added the City won’t know what to put in the new bylaw until it gets public feedback.

This phase is only one stage in the process of developing the new bylaw project which will be delivered in four phases.

The second phase will examine all three parts of the land use bylaw except social issues which were the topic of the first phase.

Notable topics are residential with a main focus on potential changes to medium and high-density districts as well as commercial and industrial uses and districts and parking requirements.

This project has funding of $1,165,000 which was approved by council in Budget initiative C-5.5, part of the 2023-26 operating budget. The project is the first time in nearly four decades that the City has taken a fresh look at the Land Use Bylaw.

Among the items contained in multiple pages of items that were passed together was a recommendation by the Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee – which consists of all council members – that council approve the hiring of a community safety co-ordinator on a two-year term.

The cost of that position, which comes from operating reserves as a one-time allocation, is $122,500 in 2025 and $123,000 in 2026.

A report submitted by Director of Community Services Carly Kleisinger says that community safety continues to be a real and perceived concern among residents, which was confirmed through a report of findings and recommendations brought forward by the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force. One primary of focus of that task force was to “improve collaboration, support, and acceleration of existing strategies within the City of Lethbridge.”

The report to council states that while funding is required for the position, “by taking a holistic approach to community safety as opposed to solely focusing on band-aid temporary solutions it will likely mitigate long-term costs associated with reactive safety measures, including policing and cleanup.”

Council, however, did not approve a graffiti abatement program proposed by the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone, which included a year-round, city-wide program for both public and private properties as well as the cleaning of downtown alleys of material that could be used for starting fires.

The BRZ currently gets $354,166.67 annually from the City for its Clean Sweep Program which includes graffiti removal from private and public property and infrastructure – with landowner permission – in the downtown. The program expansion had a cost of $160,000 for one year.

In the consent agenda, council also approved the amendment of the 2022-31 Capital Improvement Program for two projects related to water and wastewater projects. Two design projects that were intended to advance expansion plans came in over budget due to inflation and other issues and it was recommended that the budget for E-26 WWTP Process and Electrical Upgrades – Detailed Design be increased to $7.8 million from $4.2 million and E-27 Water Treatment Plant Expansion – Detailed Design be increased to $3.6 million from $2.8 million.

At their next meeting on Jan. 21, council will address multiple public hearings that were conducted on Tuesday afternoon that went on into the early hours of evening.

They included:

• a request to rezone properties at 404 and 408 12 St. S. to Direct Control to allow for their consolidation and the development 12 dwelling units to appear as four townhouses with secondary suites and a fourplex.

• Bylaw 6460, an amendment to the LRARP regarding the vacant properties at 524, 528 and 532 13 St. S. on which a developer wants to build a structure with as many as 47 apartments and two commercial units or 49 apartments with no commercial units.

• Bylaw 6462, a Land Use Bylaw amendment for properties located at 537, 539 and 543 13 St. S. for the purpose of developing these into a six-storey apartment building with 47 apartments and two commercial units or 49 apartments.

• Bylaw 6464: Amendment to London Road Area Redevelopment Plan, re: 605 – 5 St. S. and 510 – 6 Ave. S. This amendment is to allow a developer to redevelop the vacant site at 605 5 St. S. with a new building up to six storeys in height with 47 apartments and two commercial units or 49 apartments.

At 510 – 6 Avenue South, since the closure of Alberta Meat Market in 2012, multiple different businesses have operated there. The parcel was rezoned to its current Direct Control zoning in 2018 to allow additional commercial uses. The developer wishes to also redevelop the site with a new building up to six storeys in height with 47 apartments and two commercial units or 49 apartments.