Summer Village of Silver Sands
Mailing Address
Box 8, Alberta Beach, Alberta T0E 0A0
New Office/Courier Location
2317 Township Road 545, Lac Ste. Anne County, AB T0E 1V0
Contact Information
p: 587-873-5765 f: 780-967-0431
SURVEYS / PUBLIC HEARING INFORMATION
Please note: The information gathered from these surveys is intended to assist Council and Administration with future planning and budgeting. The results of these surveys will not be the sole determining factor in Council's decision making.
Recreational Vehicle Use Survey (This survey is now closed.)
Historically, the direction for development within the Summer Village of Silver Sands has been to provide for stick-built dwellings and modular homes. The use of Recreation Vehicles and Temporary Living Accommodations was limited to those lots which had been developed with a dwelling.
In 2015, with the adoption of Land Use Bylaw 256-2015, the use of a single Recreational Vehicle was added as a use upon a vacant lot.
In 2019, the Summer Village introduced Bylaw 294-2019 which was a bylaw to amend the Land Use Bylaw as it affects the use of recreational vehicles and temporary living accommodations within the residential districts. Specifically, the effect of Bylaw 294-2019 would have been to restrict the use of Recreational Vehicles and Temporary Living Accommodations to lots where a permanent Single Detached Dwelling exists; where a lot does not have a permanent Single Detached Dwelling, no Recreational Vehicle or Temporary Living Accommodation may be placed upon it. A public hearing was held in September of 2019 and what we heard at the public hearing was a resounding majority of those in attendance did not support this bylaw and it was defeated.
Council is now seeking public input in order to get a better understanding of the residents’ desire on how the community should be developed in the future.
Weed Harvesting Costs Survey (This survey is now closed.)
The Summer Village of Silver Sands is one of 22 communities that utilizes the Weed Harvesting Permit issued under the Lake Isle Aquatic Management Society. This permit allows each property adjacent to the lakeshore a 4-metre swath to be cut once per year. There are a total of 98 lakefront properties in the Summer Village of Silver Sands (83 are private residential / 15 are municipal reserve belonging to the Summer Village). Each cut costs approximately $246.00. The total cost to provide one cut to each lakefront property (residential & municipal) would be $24,108.00. The Summer Village has been approached by a resident who has requested the full cost of weed harvesting for all 98 properties be included in the annual taxes. There would be a few options to levy this expense. One option would be that each taxable parcel would pay approximately $73.05 if divided out equally. Another option would be to levy the expense within the mill rate, this would result in the higher assessed taxable properties paying more of the $24,108.00 than the lower assessed properties. Another option would be for non-lakefront owners to pay a portion of the costs through Summer Village taxes and the lakefront owners to pay a portion directly.
Council Meeting Attendance Survey (This survey is now closed.)
The information gathered from this survey is intended to assist Council and Administration in determining the best time to hold Council meetings. Other factors that Council and Administration will need to consider is efficiency and effectiveness of daytime meetings vs evening meetings, staff and other professional availability and how this may effect current expenses of the Summer Village. The results of this survey will not be the sole determining factor when it comes to setting the day and time of Council meetings.
Fencing Vacant Lots (This survey is now closed.)
The purpose of this survey is to collect resident input on whether or not the Summer Village should allow fencing on vacant lots. Currently, fences are regulated under the municipality's Land Use Bylaw. Typically fences are permitted only on improved lots as an accessory development, much the same as a detached garage is only a permitted use as an accessory to a principal dwelling. Under the current Land Use Bylaw, fences are permitted on improved residential lots at the following height regulations: 3 feet high in front yards, 6 feet high in rear/side yards. In some cases, such as lots with front and rear abutment to roads, special approvals are required before any fence is permitted. Similarly, variances would be required to exceed the previously mentioned height regulations or to allow for fences on non-improved districts.
Construction of Garages in Front Yards (This survey is now closed.)
The purpose of this survey is to get feedback from residents on whether or not the municipality should allow garages to be constructed in the front yard of residential lots. Garages are a class of accessory structure. Typically, as in the Summer Village of Silver Sands current Land Use Bylaw, accessory structures must be built behind "no closer to the front yard than the closest portion of the principle dwelling". There are also restrictions on the total footprint of accessory structures on a lot (1,200 sq. ft. total for all accessory buildings) and the maximum allowable height of an accessory structure (the lesser of 29.8 feet or the height of the principal building) which both impact the permitted size of garages in the Summer Village of Silver Sands. As with other accessory uses/developments, garages are only permitted where a principal dwelling is sited.