Jasper Municipal Council members will dip their toes into development matters as the Municipality of Jasper prepares to take over land-use authority from Parks Canada.

On Tuesday (June 16), council accepted Jasper National Park superintendent Geneviève Caron’s invitation for councillors in their individual capacity to serve as members of the Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC).

“I see this as an opportunity to strengthen the transparency and improve my understanding between Parks and the Municipality,” said Coun. Wendy Hall at last week’s meeting.

PDAC is a five-member public committee that makes recommendations to the superintendent on development applications that may not conform to Jasper’s land-use policy and require special consideration.

In the past, Parks Canada has solicited applications from members of the general public interested in sitting on PDAC.

“Appointing elected town representatives will support a transparent and publicly accountable planning review process,” Caron wrote in a letter to council.

Mayor Richard Ireland identified the five individuals to serve as regular members — Councillors Hall, Danny Frechette, Laurie Rodger, Kable Kongsrud and Kathleen Waxer. The two alternates are Councillors Ralph Melnyk and the mayor himself. Hall will serve as chair.

Ireland said Hall was qualified for the role since she took governance courses and was Jasper’s serving member of the West Yellowhead Regional Assessment Review Board.

Administration presented on the superintendent’s invitation during last week’s committee of the whole meeting.

Beth Sanders, director of Urban Design and Standards for the Municipality, said this was an opportunity for council members to learn more about land-use planning decisions.

“In the short term, it would just give you experience participating and wrestling with the pros and cons of a development proposal,” Sanders said.

CAO Given described this proposal as a “trial run” for when the Municipality begins to handle development matters.

PDAC will meet only a handful of times a year, and the time of the meeting will be determined based on the schedule of members. While PDAC typically deliberates in private, Sanders suggested council members do so publicly.

Mayor Richard Ireland said it wouldn’t necessarily be inappropriate to only hold hearings in public and deliberate in private, since PDAC was quasi-judicial.

“Things might get said about individuals that are not fit for the public record but have to be discussed by the body that hears it,” Ireland said.

Given clarified that while PDAC did have a semi-judicial role when it came to appeals, it also dealt with variances from the land-use policy.

Because council members are not employees of the Municipality, they are eligible to participate. They will also serve as residents, not as council.

Ireland said he was worried about the public perception that an elected body was advising a federal bureaucracy and emphasized that council members will be acting as individuals and only making recommendations. He also acknowledged there was some risk for the superintendent, who may not be able to follow the recommendations.

“It’s a risk on both sides, and I respect the superintendent for making the offer,” he said.

Once the Municipality is closer to accepting land-use authority, administration will return to council with the option of creating a municipal planning commission, which would serve a similar function as PDAC.

“You will make a much better, educated choice on that matter once you’ve had the chance to deliberate with these kinds of files,” Sanders told council.

Peter Shokeir // info@thejasperlocal.com