There will be no changes to Rocky Mountain House’s 2011 architectural guidelines bylaw, at least in the short term.

An approved motion from Coun. Ken Moesker put discussions about stricter rules for non-residential buildings on hold, including possible requirements to use heritage materials such as wood and stone.

Moesker cited forthcoming provincial regulations under Bill 28, which may include provisions for community design codes. He said the town should wait until the provincial rules are released.

Deputy Mayor Dale Shippelt also suggested leaving the bylaw unchanged.

“Do we want people to build, or not to build?” Shippelt asked, saying any new regulations could be a roadblock to desired new development in town.

New powers for Municipal Affairs could allow the minister responsible to establish community design codes by regulation. Documents reviewed by council also indicated the minister may require a municipality to pass a bylaw adopting a community design code in all or part of the municipality.

Bill 28, officially titled the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, was introduced on April 2 by Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams.

The sweeping bill proposes legislation covering areas including housing and municipal governments, as well as changes to the Libraries Act.

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RELATED

• Rocky Mountain House moves to update architectural guidelines bylaw for first time since 2011
• Rocky Library sounds alarm over Bill 28

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Popular support for stronger regulations

Despite council putting a pin in further discussions, results from a public survey suggest Rocky residents generally support stronger building controls.

Although the summertime survey received just 39 responses, a total of 60 per cent of respondents said they either “somewhat support” or “strongly support” the measures.

Less than 40 per cent opposed the measures, while a small number of respondents were neutral.