CANMORE – A new appeal board was created to hear potential appeals in regards to the Town of Canmore’s animal control, business registry and taxi bylaws.
The committee will allow people who have received written notices under those bylaws to appeal without attending a council meeting.
The main push for the committee was to establish a less public forum than a council meeting to hear the appeals, but still have it be open to the public.
“We don’t get many, but there can be a lot of issues around these," said Sally Caudill, the Town’s CAO. Council meetings can be very public, so it’s more about making sure it’s the right forum. We still conduct the hearing in public, it’s a lot less scrutiny than a regular council meeting. It feels more appropriate for some of the personal circumstances than what may be brought up.”
Under the previous setup, an appellant would appear before council. Depending on the appeal’s placement on the agenda and other business being brought before council, it could mean it was done in full or empty council chambers.
The committee’s creation would have it remain public, but in a less daunting environment.
Caitlin Miller, the Town’s manager of protective services, said appeals are rare. There was at least one appeal filed last year, she said, but it was withdrawn when the appellant learned they had to do so at a council meeting.
The written notices can be filed under Section 545 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which is failure to comply with a bylaw such as a fruit tree being asked to be removed. The other notice would be under Section 546 and is for unsightly properties, which is largely around safety issues.
The MGA allows people to appeal written notices within 14 days of the ticket being written for Section 545 and seven days for Section 546. The MGA intends people to appeal to council, who are permitted to accept, deny or modify the written notice.
The appeal committee will have Caudill, the general manager of municipal services Scott McKay and two council members. Coun. Jeff Hilstad and Mayor Sean Krausert will be the council members following a secret draw, with Coun. Jeff Mah interested in joining the committee.
Miller said the time commitment was dependent on the number of appeals filed.
The creation of the committee will give a “consistent process for written notices and orders to be appealed,” the report stated.
It would also allow the public to access the process and decisions, giving added transparency, and “eliminate the perception of bias from appeals to written orders or notices."
The report emphasized anyone receiving a written notice that has been heard by the committee can still go to the Court of the Queen’s Bench on any ruling.
Miller said they’re continuing to work on a process, so it’s not yet decided if any appeals will be streamed. She said they will still have a public notice go out and be open to the public.
She noted many municipalities have such appeal committees and that the upcoming Community Standards Bylaw would also fall under the committee when an appeal is filed.
“It’s tidying up our procedures to be in line with the Municipal Government Act, it also provides a much more appropriate venue for hearing any appeals as Caudill described,” said Krausert. “They’re not frequent, it is good to have a better system in place.”
