Residents will have a chance to let the city know their thoughts on proposed changes to the city’s zoning bylaw during a public hearing at council’s Feb. 25 meeting.

And it appears landscaping may be a big concern for a number of residents.

Council passed first reading of the proposed amendments Monday night. That means the next step in the process will be a public hearing before council votes on the final two readings of the bylaw.

The changes have been labelled as “administrative edits” by the city’s planning staff.

Such changes typically come forward about once a year to deal with day-to-day issues that arise in the administration of the bylaw. They are described as being fairly minor in nature.

One of the numerous changes proposed prompted questions to staff from councillors Steve Roddick and Jan Stick.

As Roddick said, it has prompted comments to come forward continually around one issue: perennials. He asked city staff to detail exactly what the changes will mean for residents landscaping their yards – and why it was brought forward.

Mike Gau is the city’s director of development services. He explained the proposed regulation would require that perennials be the main plant placed on a property where landscaping is outlined as a zoning requirement.

While annuals would still be permitted to be planted, it would be in addition to perennials, which would be the minimum required landscaping in certain comprehensive zones that are in place in the city’s newer residential areas, like Whistle Bend.

Gau added the amount of landscaping required depends on the individual lot.

“It varies with the size of the property,” he said.

The proposed requirement came forward as a way of ensuring what is planted remains for many years to come.

While perennials grow year after year following the initial planting, annuals only last for one year.

Stick wondered about the requirement as well, confirming with Gau that the regulation would only be in place for new lots.

Existing developments would not be impacted, Gau said.

Other amendments to the zoning bylaw would include:

• changes and additions to definitions to provide more clarity;

• specifications that outdoor storage cannot be in side yards as well as landscaping requirements specific to triplex and townhouse lots;

• clarity on permits for accessory buildings to show that while they are permitted in residential zones without a permit (provided one has been issued for a principal use); in all other zones, a permit would be required;

• regulations around access to multi-family developments so that it would be limited to lane access except where there is an internal road network;

• greater clarity on restrictions around outdoor storage for home-based businesses;

• parking spaces requirements for religious assemblies to be based on occupancy rather than seating;

• clarity on where required parking spaces for condos may not be designated for exclusive use to ensure that parking for shared uses remains available; and

• amendments to regulations around sandwich boards so the height and placement are in line with Transportation Association of Canada guidelines.

Those would see signs limited to 0.9 m high from the current 1.2 m and only two signs permitted at any street corner (currently, two are permitted at only certain corners) with permits for them issued on a first-come, first-served basis.

Other amendments:

• no requirement for political candidates to register with bylaw services; rather, if there was an issue with signs, candidates would simply be contacted directly about it;

• greater clarity around setbacks and minimum lot sizes in a variety of zones;

• an increase in maximum lot coverage for middle units of townhouse lots so that there’s an increased ability for owners to develop accessory buildings;

• a mapping change so that the potential school site in Whistle Bend is zoned as Public Service rather than the current Future Planning, as the Future Planning zone was mistakenly put in a previous bylaw amendment; and

• the addition of the failure to comply with the zoning bylaw and failure to comply with an order as ticket-able offences under the bylaw, with fines $250 for first offences and $500 for subsequent offences.

Following the Feb. 25 public hearing, city staff will bring forward a report to council on what was said at council’s March 18 meeting.

It’s expected council would then vote on second and third readings of the bylaw on March 25.