The Reeve for Hanover says proposed amendments to the province's planning act are a step in the right direction.

The province has released more details on Bill 19 - The Planning Amendment Act, which is intended to improve efficiency in planning. If approved, the Act would set a 30-day timeline for Municipal Board reviews of development plan bylaws. Stan Toews says presently those can take months.

(Hanover Reeve Stan Toews)Amendments would also see a change in how a zoning bylaw appeal is triggered. Toews says currently it only takes one objection. The province is considering changing that so that at least 25 voters or 50 per cent of adjacent property owners would need to object before it would warrant an appeal.

"There will have to be more people opposing before it goes to Municipal Board," explains Toews.

He says the way it works right now is quite cumbersome, resulting in a backlog at the Municipal Board level.

Another change would see an increase in the minimum variance that can be approved by a designated municipal employee. It would change from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

Toews says there are also a number of proposed changes on the agriculture side. For example, municipalities would be given the option to set their own threshold for livestock operation conditional uses in order to fit local circumstances. Also, the Act would delete the requirement that all livestock operations with 300 animal units or greater be identified as conditional uses in zoning bylaws. Toews notes if approved, municipalities would be able to set their own limits.

In cases where a producer needs to upgrade existing farm buildings to improve animal safety, Toews says they could make the improvements without the need for renewed approval, but limits the increase in the original number of animal units by 15 per cent.

Also, the Planning Amendment Act would create an interdepartmental technical review process for aggregate quarry proposals and introduce provisions that allow the proponent of a livestock operation or aggregate quarry to appeal the local denial or conditions of approval to the Municipal Board.

Toews says these proposed amendments are what municipalities have been asking for. If approved, they could be adopted as early as June.