The Town of Hay River is taking a prominent step forward in the realm of housing, with cost efficiency and accessibility at the forefront.
In June, the community government passed the Hay River Zoning and Building Bylaw, which introduced a number of updates to the various housing practices that were already put in place. The Bylaw begins with a list of objectives that the town will now be working towards, including establishing new zones for construction, prohibiting certain land from being used for anything other than housing, establishing an office for a development officer, and requiring that land owners be notified if any new projects will have an effect on their property, among several other priorities.
Glenn Smith, the Senior Administrative Officer for Hay River, shared some more details on the new Bylaw.
“This bylaw was a product of our Community Housing Plan, and that’s a plan that Council established and put into place a couple of years ago now. It’s focused on addressing some of the gaps that were identified through the needs assessment that was part of that planning phase.
“Some of the more specific items that were updated include an allowance for smaller home footprints during construction. The previous zoning bylaw had some restrictions on the minimum size for construction of your house, so we’ve removed that in most, if not all zones, and so that allows for some of the smaller, more cost effective housing that can be developed.”
Smith adds that more allowances will be made for multi-unit and multi-family projects, as he states there is a common understanding across the community that there aren’t enough smaller scale housing options such as apartments or duplexes. He says that Hay River is now working towards more development flexibility.
Throughout the discussions that crafted this Bylaw, Smith explained that leaders of the K’atlodeeche First Nation, West Point First Nation, and the Hay River Metis Government were all consulted and involved in the process, but that there was little need to discuss land allowances. Smith explained that such matters are more involved in Hay River’s Community Plan, which he then hinted may be receiving its own update sometime next year.
This Bylaw didn’t come without roadblocks, however, as Smith shared one topic that received a fair amount of debate.
“One of the topics and decisions made by council was along some increased allowances for temporary construction camps to be set up. You have to give a lot of consideration to the benefits and the need for it, but also competition. So as an example, where temporary workers are often staying in hotels, you need to be considering what that impact might be, to say, the hoteliers in town.
“So there’s some things where I think that topic was probably one that was most debated by council, but in the end, they think they found a good solution that ensures support to the economic development of the community and the housing needs.”
Smith and the rest of the Hay River government encourage anyone who may have questions or concerns to come forward and share them by reaching out to the Town Hall at 867-874-6522. More information on the Bylaw can be found on the Hay River website.