The City of Lacombe is starting off 2019 by tackling one of their strategic goals, reviewing and clarifying the Nuisance Bylaw, and how that relates to issues of animals in the city as well as dealing with some crossover with the Community Standards Bylaw.

The City says they have heard from residents about several contentious issues this past year, and they want to make it clearer and easier for people to address these concerns, and know what a bylaw issue is and what can be dealt with by the Lacombe Police Service.

Director of Community Services for Lacombe Diane Piche says issues with animals, especially cats, are going to be taken out of the Nuisance Bylaw and made into a new Animal Control Bylaw all on its own.

“What we’re looking at is taking the cat portion out of the Nuisance Bylaw, and creating a whole Animal Control Bylaw, so that residence will really have one spot to look at for all animals. And then the Community Standards (Bylaw) and the Nuisance (Bylaw) will really pertain to behaviour that is more neighbourly, or lack of neighbourly.”

Piche says the wording of the bylaws regarding dogs, cats, and the new urban hen bylaw will pretty much remain the same, they will just be under their own bylaw, which also includes the Livestock Control bylaw, which hasn't been reviewed in years.

“That’s going to pertain to things like any livestock of goats, cows, bees. Bees are included and we’re looking at some exceptions for bees because that’s quite the popular activity nowadays.”

Council will now spend the next few months creating the animal control bylaw which will regulate cats, dogs, livestock, and the newly formed urban hen program within Lacombe.

They will also be presenting a new community standards bylaw, which is expected to start taking shape in the spring.

There will also be some public consultation in the spring when they start working on the New Community Standards Bylaw.

Besides removing the animal aspect, they plan on reviewing anti-idling measures, light pollution, noise, and clarifying and expanding the definitions of "unsightly premises" and "dilapidated vehicles".

For more information on the first review of the nuisance bylaw, you can click here to see the full agenda for the January 14th, 2019 City Council meeting. Simply click on the Nuisance Bylaw 326 Project Update under the Corporate Services section.