The village council will be setting up to meet and discuss home based businesses by the end of this month.
“Council agreed to set up a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting to discuss Home Based Businesses. The COW meeting is set for Mar. 30 at six p.m. We will be inviting anyone interested in commenting on Home Based Businesses to a zoom meeting. Once we have heard comments from the public, staff will compile the information and report back to Council for further discussion,” said Sheryl Worthing, the chief administrative officer for the village.
A survey regarding zoning bylaw 880 specifically regarding home-based businesses was conducted between Nov. 23 and Jan. 11 in which roughly 68 people participated. The village conducted this survey to determine whether an amendment to the existing zoning bylaws for home-based businesses is needed.
Currently, businesses that are permitted in commercially zoned areas, are not allowed to operate as a home-based business.
The zoning bylaw also limits home-based businesses in a residential zone to fall under one of the six categories: home professional business office, art or music studio, tutoring, homecraft, bed & breakfast and seamstress. Personal services such as hair, skin, nails, personal wellness, tattooing, piercing and microblading are not permitted under this.
However as per the survey, over 90 per cent respondents said that they would support amending the current zoning bylaw to include personal services.
Almost 78 per cent respondents said they would support adjusting the permitted size for a home-based business to 25 per cent of the total floor area, including basements and/or cellars of the dwelling. 60 per cent responded said they support restricting home-based businesses to two clients at a time while 40 per cent would support restricting that number to just one client at a time.
The village is currently taking several possibilities and outcomes under consideration if the zoning bylaw is amended. One of the major implications of any amendment could be that businesses located in the commercial zone at the moment, could chose to move their business to their home residence resulting in the village losing tax revenue. Another possibility would be for the home-based business to grow resulting in it moving to the commercial district and increasing the village’s tax revenue.
The COW will be discussing these implications as well as other possible social implications from noise concerns, signages to parking issues that could emerge as a result of this zoning amendment.
Those interested in attending the virtually held meeting on Mar. 30, would need to email vanderson@burnslake.ca to receive a meeting invitation link.
Leave us a comment to let us know what your thoughts are on this bylaw amendment.
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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