By Craig Westcott
Witless Bay council has voted to amend the Town's development regulations to allow for bigger sheds, garages and other accessory buildings.
"This is something that we've been working towards pretty much since we got on council (in 2021)" said councillor Jacob Hayden, the chair of the planning committee, who gave a resume of the main changes.
"We've increased the total maximum floor area of an accessory building from 70 metres squared to 100 metres squared, per floor," said Hayden. "And in the case where there may be more than one accessory building on the property, the total maximum floor area will be a collective maximum of 150 metres squared."
The new rules also see the minimum clearance from the nearest point of a residential building going to three metres from the previous minimum of two metres.
Greenhouses and cold frames with areas of 16 metres or less will no longer require a permit and will not be included in calculating the total area of accessory buildings.
The motion carried unanimously at last month's public meeting held on February 20.
In related news, council approved a motion to delegate its authority for issuing fence and patio permits to Town staff to expedite small construction projects for residents.
"This is just something to streamline processes for our residents," said Hayden. "They're very straightforward applications when they come in and nobody wants to have to wait a month (for the next council meeting) to put their patio down."
That motion also passed unanimously.
