Recent Development Permit Area project aided enforcement

A recent project to standardize development permit areas (DPA) included moving the ‘applicability’, ‘exemptions’ and ‘guidelines’ sections from the official community plans to the zoning bylaws to achieve several benefits, including improved ability for enforcement. When the requirement for a development permit and guidelines for development were solely in official community plans, a penalty could not be set under the Bylaw Notice Bylaw, and enforcement could only be pursued through injunctive relief or through the courts.