CITY COUNCIL NEWS

Bylaw of the Month

Bylaws are a tool local government can use to

create a vibrant and liveable community. These
are laws created by Municipal Councils and
Regional District Boards to reflect the needs
and desires of citizens for their community
and to attempt to resolve issues that arise as
a result of people living and working together
in the geographic space defined by the City or
Regional District boundaries. Bylaws generally
address issues of public safety, citizen health
and welfare, protection of private and public
property, nuisance properties and animals,
business activities, and services provided by
local government.
Over the past year your Council has been busy
cleaning up the Citys bylaws; repealing ones
that are no longer relevant, updating others
to current provincial and federal regulations
or best practices, and proposing new ones
to ensure Quesnel can promote itself as a
progressive and vibrant place in which to
live, work, and invest. The bulk of this work is
undertaken by our Policy and Bylaw Committee
(PABCOM) chaired by Councilor Paul. These
Committee meetings are open to the public,
however PABCOM is not a decision-making
body, it can only make recommendations to
Council and the entire Council must vote to
act on the Committees recommendations at a
regular public meeting.
Council cannot enact a new bylaw or change
an existing bylaw without undertaking public
consultation. In some cases this involves
holding a single public hearing prior to the
final reading of a bylaw, notice of these
hearings are published regularly in the
newspaper and online. However, if Council
believes that more extensive public input
is required then staff can conduct surveys,
engage one-on-one with potentially affected
parties, or hold town hall meetings. Currently,
PABCOM is recommending that Council
take four potential bylaws out for further
consultation during our Official Community
Plan review to obtain more extensive
community feedback: shipping containers and
accessory buildings, signage, secondary suites,
backyard hens and bees.
As part of Councils desire to better inform
residents and businesses about our activities,
we are initiating a new communications tool:
bylaw of the month. The last Tuesday of each
month Council will refresh itself and the public
on a particular bylaw: why we have it, what
were hoping to achieve by it, how it is being
enforced. During the following month our
communications clerk will highlight this bylaw
on the Citys website and social media and our
enforcement officers will engage the public in
strategic education about and enforcement of
this particular bylaw.
This months focus is our new smoke-free
public spaces bylaw. Council recently passed
this bylaw to ensure the health of our residents
by protecting them from secondhand smoke in
the Citys parks, playgrounds, and designated
public spaces (most notably Spirit Square and
the Footbridge). Quesnel is merely catching
up with other BC communities by finally
instituting this particular bylaw.
If you have questions or concerns about any
of our bylaws, please contact me or any of the
Councilors.

Mayor Bob Simpson

bsimpson@quesnel.ca

This column is paid for by the City of Quesnel.

410 Kinchant Street, Quesnel, BC V2J 7J5 | www.quesnel.ca