Crowsnest Pass council unanimously voted through a comprehensive update to the municipality’s land use bylaw.

The bylaw, last amended in 2013, encompasses a broad array of land uses and development requirements. Council voted down a proposed amendment last October, largely over concerns that the amendment would have allowed people to live in campgrounds within the municipality year-round. 

Council’s new bylaw (1132, 2022) bars year-round camping, but RV park operators can now apply for permits allowing for year-round occupancy in RVs, provided that live-in RVs are connected to in-ground water and wastewater services.

Permit applications must specify the number of permanent RVs and the percentage of RV parks to be devoted to year-round occupancy. 

RV owners can’t dump wastewater in the municipal sewer system or at municipal wastewater facilities. 

One RV can be stored and lived in on a permitted residential lot during construction, according to the bylaw’s updated standards.

RVs can be stored on commercial lots only if owners are granted a permit under the bylaw’s new temporary storage yard designation. 

Commercial vehicles cannot be parked at short-term rentals or B&Bs.

When this point came up for discussion at council’s Feb. 7 meeting, Johann Van Der Bank, director of planning and development, explained that a number of residents had complained about work crews parking giant trucks in residential neighbourhoods. In one instance, Van Der Bank said, a work crew had pruned trees on a short-term rental property without permission, leaving debris strewn on the driveway and on the street. 

Sea cans may be permanently stored in residential neighbourhoods, provided that the cans are covered by a pitched roof and covered in siding so that they resemble sheds, according to the new bylaw. 

Council had invited residents to share their input on the bylaw amendment at a public hearing during council’s Feb. 7 meeting, but no one showed up. 

Municipal administration hadn’t received any written submissions on the bylaw, Patrick Thomas, the municipality’s chief administrative officer, told council.

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Short-term rental bylaw amendment deferred

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