This is important to our community

Have you heard? This month we are starting a process of community consultation about our zoning bylaw. STOP. This may sound boring to you but let me tell you why it isn’t and why it’s really important to our community.
The zoning bylaw will help define what our community looks like in the future. Growth is going to happen. We can’t stop it, but we can manage it. We can ensure our neighbourhoods still have the charm and family-friendly feel we love and contribute to sustainable economic growth too.
A bylaw will also help cut some of the red tape and speed up future developments. Right now, our bylaw is so old that when you want to do something on your property, it usually isn’t listed in the bylaw, so staff have to write bylaw amendments to allow it. That can take quite a bit of time, so we want to bring the bylaw up to date to ensure property owners can move forward with projects more easily. Amending the whole bylaw will make sure the rules in it reflect what is important to you.
Initially, we will be asking for your feedback in five key areas:
1. Home businesses: What would you like to do on your property, and what would you like your neighbour to be allowed to do? Home-based businesses are great ways for entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground and contribute to our economy while providing services our community needs. They can also be a source of parking issues and noise so let’s find the right balance.
2. Density (residential infill): This is about basement suites, laneway homes and basement suites in duplexes. We need a variety of housing options in our community, and we would like you to tell us what and where they would be best located.
3. Short-term rentals: Yes, this is a hot topic, too. The zoning bylaw can address some regulatory issues around short-term rentals but not all of them. Our noise bylaw and business license bylaw also help manage STRs. Maybe we need a special STR bylaw too, but we don’t know. This is the start of a conversation so we can figure out how we can manage them.
4. Agricultural Land Reserve uses: The Province regulates what can occur on properties that are in the ALR, but as a municipality, we have some say, too. We want to know what you would allow on these properties.
5. Urban agriculture (chickens, bees, farms stands, etc.): This will be another interesting conversation. How do you feel about your neighbour selling their garden vegetables from a stand in their front yard? Do you want to have a few egg-laying hens? How about bees? We will ask you what you want to see in our community.
This bylaw is a very important foundation to our future. Please get involved in the conversations. Take the surveys on our website (one for each topic). Sechelt.ca/zoningbylaw has more information, or you can pick up some printed information and paper surveys at the library. Let’s do this.