Within the last week, several municipal councils throughout the Northwest were faced with a subdivision application where the nearby ratepayers have voiced substantial objections. Should, or could, a municipality deny an application just because the neighbours don’t like it? I even had a ratepayer call this week and ask, “how can council even consider this if all the neighbours are in 100 per cent objection to it?”
In my opinion, this is the hardest consideration council must make when evaluating subdivisions. The struggle results from council trying to balance the interests of all parties involved. They must consider the perspectives of the ratepayers who elected them, the applicant’s proposal and they must also try to foresee how the municipality will be sustainable in the future, whether that be environmentally, economically or with municipal infrastructure in mind. A strength of the current municipal governance system is the variety of opinions available. One councillor may side with the neighbours to protect what exists within the community, but another councillor may side with the applicant and want to diversify the current situation. This dialogue is what makes decisions happen.
A council could deny a discretionary use application simply because the neighbours don’t want the application. But is this a good enough reason to deny the application? Possibly, but perhaps not. Unfortunately, I have had situations where a developer has appealed the denial of a subdivision application to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board, because they didn’t feel this was a good enough reason to deny an application. In some cases the SMB agreed with the developer. So where does this leave the municipality and the neighbours who object?
One of the greatest inclusions within recent planning documents is the incorporation of “evaluation criteria” that assist council’s in making their decisions. These criteria are qualitative questions that are asked to get a feel for council’s position on the application. Questions can include: impact to adjacent landowners, proximity to non-compatible developments, impact to the environment and consideration of specific types of economies council is wanting to see within the municipality. These types of questions usually can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” but with many shades of grey.
It is in these shades of grey councils are able to get a feel for each other’s positions on the decision-making spectrum, and it assists them in making the best decision possible. A wise senior planner told me once that this “best decision” likely results in everyone walking away from the table a little unhappy, because everyone had to compromise to the inclusion of these evaluation criteria may not stop the developers from appealing the decision made by council. Fortunately, when the appeal is presented to the SMB, an administrator or planner can describe the evaluation criteria used to make the decision, which should bolster council’s position. The decision wasn’t made just because council or the neighbours didn’t like the applicant, or they didn’t want the proposal in their backyard, but because of the solid evaluation criteria listed within their approved planning documents that the developer was aware of when they submitted the application.
I realize these may not be comforting words to the neighbour who is furious about the notification letter they just received in the mail, or online, about an adjacent proposal that may affect their current lifestyle. This is where public participation is so critical, because council needs to hear how this application will affect individuals, especially in regards to those evaluation criteria mentioned above. This feedback will assist council in making their decision, or perhaps going back to the developer and asking for a revision to the proposal to minimize adverse effects the existing landowner is feeling. Councils should consider feedback prior to deciding, but please remember their decision may not match exactly what was suggested.
— S. Yvonne Prusak, BASc, MA, MCIP, RPP, is a municipal planner with municipalities and communities in Northwest Saskatchewan. She specializes in land use planning and development.
