The Town of Hanna council heard that development permit applications were coming in slowly in the first quarter but have picked up recently. The report was made at the May 12 regular meeting of council.

Councillors heard the quarterly report from Development Officer David Mohl. His report noted the following first-quarter development permits: D01-26 Home Occupation - Minor, 607B 12th Avenue West, value $0; D02-26 Construction - Renovation, 609 2nd Avenue West, value $50,000; D03-26 Construction - Renovation, 616 2nd Avenue West, value $40,000; D04-26 Construction - New Shed, 109 Shacker Crescent, value $15,000; D05-26 Fence, 109 Shacker Crescent, value $5,000; and D06-26 Fence, 310 5th Avenue East, value $2,000.

Mohl reported during the meeting that the first quarter of the year was somewhat slow for development permits but has recently picked up. He noted that since the end of the first quarter and up to the May 12 meeting, the Town of Hanna had received 10 more development permit applications.

In fact, Mohl suspected a record may have been broken. He observed the town office processed six development permit applications for him in one day.

Mohl went on to state it seems Hanna residents are very interested in placing fences around their properties. Additionally, house applications have been coming in, along with a house-shop combination application.

“So, our dollar value has actually really spiked in the last month for applications coming in,” said Mohl to council.

During discussion, councillors spoke about some members of the public being unaware that a development permit is required for a fence or a deck.

Mayor Danny Povaschuk stated that he typically gets two to three calls a month from members of the public asking if permits are required for certain developments such as fences or decks. His advice is always to contact the town office to confirm. If a permit is needed, then the process can begin, and if no permit is required, no harm has been done.

Readers should note land-use bylaws (LUB) usually require development permits for improvements such as fences and decks for a number of reasons, including that such an improvement can affect the value and therefore assessment of a property.

As well, fences are typically described in detail in an LUB, including height, setback and, to a certain extent, appearance. Therefore, the development permit will confirm that a fence meets bylaw requirements.

As well, decks are usually described in detail in an LUB because they too can affect the assessment and value of a property. Decks must also be built to a certain standard to ensure they are safely built and not a hazard to anyone using them, in addition to requirements regarding height and appearance.

Mohl added that the Town of Hanna website has a special form dedicated solely to fences.

Councillors accepted the first-quarter development report as information.