The City of Delta is issuing a clarification on an upcoming meeting where council will consider an important amendment to its procedure bylaw.
A meeting that was listed as scheduled to be held at the North Delta Centre for the Arts on Monday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. is instead going to be held in South Delta at Municipal Hall at that date and time.
Following a recent announcement by the province on further measures aimed at helping municipalities streamline their housing development application processes, the City of Delta is proposing to amend the requirement to hold a public hearing when a proposed zoning bylaw is consistent with an Official Community Plan.
If a proposed zoning bylaw is consistent with an OCP, and the city clerk provides notice of the zoning bylaw in accordance with the Local Government Act prior to first reading, then council may adopt the zoning bylaw without holding a hearing.
Council can delegate authority to decide whether to hold a hearing to the director of community planning and development.
If the director of community planning and development decides to not hold a hearing, then council may reconsider that decision and refer the zoning bylaw to a hearing at the time of first or second reading of a proposed bylaw.
Delta's practice had been to hold a public hearing for virtually all zoning bylaws, including zoning bylaws that are consistent with Delta's OCP.
Council this week discussed a staff report which provides an overview of recent changes to the Local Government Act including the removal of a previous default requirement to hold public hearings for zoning bylaws that are consistent with the OCP.
The report notes there would be public engagement opportunities to occur earlier in the life of a development application, when there is more opportunity for an applicant to respond to public comments and concerns than at a public hearing.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing had initiated a Development Approvals Process Review to examine current challenges and potential opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of local government development approvals processes.
The proposed Delta bylaw amendment and other relevant information is available on the City of Delta website – https://delta.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/
The direct link to the staff report discussed at council is available at https://delta.civicweb.net/document/215398/
