MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Individuals wanting to speak through electronic means during future Mountain View County public hearings will be encouraged to pre-register to speak, according to bylaw changes being considered by council.
Council gave first reading to Bylaw No. 07/25 Establishing Procedure and Conduct of Public Hearings at the May 21 council meeting, held in person and online.
The provincial government recently adopted new legislation providing a mandatory requirement for municipalities to conduct public hearings for planning and development bylaws with options for electronic participation.
County administration has made a number of recommended changes to Bylaw No. 7/25 to bring the county into compliance with the new provincial legislation.
One change would be a requirement for residents who wish to participate remotely to proactively register to speak.
“This is recommended to ensure hearing efficiency as well as to ensure that on online participants that wish to speak are missed due to technical difficulties,” Chris Atchison, director of legislative services, told council in a briefing note.
The proposed updated bylaw states: “Individuals that wish to speak through electronic means during a public hearing are recommended to pre-register by submitting their contact information and file number of the hearing they will be participating in to the executive director (before the public hearing).
“The chair may permit other individuals that are attending remotely, but have not pre-registered, the opportunity to speak at the chair’s discretion.”
The proposed updated bylaw also states that, “Public hearings with participation by electronic means are authorized to be held either through video or tele-conference systems as deemed appropriate by the chief administrative officer (and that) individuals that attend via electronic means will be unable to view the presentation slides but are encouraged to follow along with the publicly posted agenda package.”
Regarding public hearing procedure, the proposed updated bylaw states that, “Unless otherwise permitted by the Municipal Government Act, council may only hold one public hearing of each proposed bylaw that considers residential developments or developments that contemplate both residential and non-residential developments.”
Council gave first reading to the proposed updated bylaw, which will come back before council for further consideration at a future council meeting.
Code of conduct bylaw repealed
Meanwhile, during the May 21 meeting, council gave final reading to Bylaw No. 08/25 Repealing Bylaw, which repeals the county’s code of conduct bylaw.
Under the new provincial Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 50), municipal councils “cannot regulate conduct or create codes of conduct for councillors or non-councillor committee members via bylaw or resolution.”
Granted third reading by the provincial government on May 14, Bill 50 states that a council “may not make a bylaw or a resolution that addresses the behaviour or conduct of councillors or of members of council committees who are not councillors.”
Municipal Code of Conduct bylaws dealt with matters such as conflicts of interest, interactions between council members and staff, and allegations of improper influence by elected officials.
Mountain View C ounty Reeve Angela Aalbers has voiced concerns with the elimination of municipal code of conduct bylaws.
“While we recognize that no system is perfect, the unilateral removal of this important governance tool without first engaging local governments in meaningful dialogue, is concerning,” Aalbers told the Albertan.
