CALGARY - Mayor Dave Bronconnier is calling for an independent review of the city's new land use bylaw--barely a year old--saying that it needs to be streamlined to better meet the original intentions."We are still receiving a number of complaints from industry partners and others saying the land use bylaw needs some refinement," he said."Now is the appropriate time to do it, with the slowdown in the industry, to change the process, to streamline it, to provide an easier bylaw for people to read."Those were the goals when we started out. There are concerns that we didn't meet the mark. If it doesn't meet the mark, we ought to look at revising it."In a notice of motion Monday, Bronconnier will ask his council colleagues to request an independent review of the June 2008 bylaw and how it works, from application to completed product, with a report coming back in April. Some concerns, Bronconnier said, include that it places a heavier burden on redevelopment than new development and there is a greater need for people to appeal decisions, rather than work them out through the process.Wednesday, at the city's finance committee meeting, city clerk Diana Garner told aldermen that the new land use bylaw has led to an increase in both the number and complexity of appeals before the subdivision and development appeal board.She was recommending an increase in the appeal fee to between $50 and $100 from the existing $25, adding that it still wouldn't begin to recover the cost of a hearing.Non-contentious appeals cost the city about $1,500 to hear, while complicated cases involving dozens of hours can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.The finance committee approved a recommendation from Ald. Dale Hodges to increase the fee for residential appeals to $50, for signs, enforcement orders and subdivision appeals to $200 and non-residential appeals to $500.The committee also approved an increase in the fee to the license and community standards appeal board to $100 from $25, which is refundable if the person appealing is successful.

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Attached is the link to the Shawnee-Evergreen Community Association Bylaws (approved in 2007).

Here is the download:SECA2007Bylaws.pdf (238.27 kb)