A potential dog control bylaw amendment that would see dogs on a fixed-length leash of two metres or less received support in the Village of Lumby.
Tom Kadla, chief administrative officer, said council spoke in favour of the correspondence from the Regional District of North Okanagan regarding the proposed district bylaw change. However, Kadla said that the Village of Lumby is currently drafting its own animal control bylaw.
“Council was supportive of the proposed change if its only applicable in the municipal boundaries of the Village of Lumby,” Kadla said.
The potential amendment presented to the RDNO at a past meeting was sent to electoral area directors and Coldstream, Vernon and Lumby administration for comment.
Pat Ellis, the owner of K9 Control Systems which is contracted by the district to enforce the RDNO bylaw, said the bylaw currently requires interpretation regarding adequate control of a dog.
“There is currently no requirement to keep dogs on leash in public spaces,” Ellis said in a letter.
“We continue to receive, on a daily basis, complaints about off-leash dogs.”
According to Ellis, K9 Control Systems and the RDNO received 577 complaints regarding dog control in 2017.
Marijuana legislation concerns
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that marijuana will be legal in Canada Oct. 17, and some businesses are concerned about the future location of cannabis shops.
The Okanagan Regional Library submitted a letter to the Village of Lumby recently expressing their concern of the potential for library facilities being next to non-family friendly businesses and requesting that council treats the library’s proximity to cannabis-related businesses as they would for schools, daycares and youth centres.
Kadla said that provincial legislation should deal with that concern already and, in addition, that council is considering that cannabis only be sold in commercial zones.
“Council will have to put it off to the planning department to see what that looks like,” Kadla said.
Village revitalization
Council gave three readings to the new Village of Lumby Revitalization Tax Exemption bylaw June 18.
“It’s a tax revitalization to incentivize businesses to redevelop,” Kadla said.
The program seeks to encourage the construction of new buildings and exterior alterations, and the improvements of existing buildings within the general commercial zone.
Council is expected to adopt the bylaw at the July 16 meeting.
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