TAMRMS#: B09
7.1
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Bylaw 08/2022 - Advertising Bylaw (2nd and 3rd Readings)
Presented by: Paul Pearson, Director, Strategic Services and Communications
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RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
recommendation
1. That the Public Hearing be closed.
2. That Bylaw 08/2022 Advertising Bylaw be read a second time.
3. That Bylaw 08/2022 be read a third time.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
The purpose of this administrative report is to introduce a public hearing in respect of, and if Council so desires second and third readings of, a bylaw to provide for alternative means of legal advertising where required by the Municipal Government Act (the “MGA”).
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Program: 1.2 Public Communication and Participation
Service: Website and Online Communications
Description: Provision of information and resources to residents and community using City website and social media.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL (OR COMMITTEE) DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
At the April 19, 2022 Regular Meeting of City Council Bylaw 08/2022 was given first reading and a Public Hearing was set for August 15, 2022.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Petition Period
The City advertised a notice of Public Hearing in respect of the proposed Advertising Bylaw, in CityLights section of the May 4 and May 11 issues of the St. Albert Gazette. In accordance with section 231 of the MGA the public had the opportunity to file a legal petition in opposition to the proposed bylaw. Any such petition would have had to be filed within 60 days of the last date on which it is advertised (i.e., by July 10). The City did not receive a petition in this regard.
As a means of reminding the public of the August 15 Public Hearing, the City posted a Reminder of this Public Hearing in the July 27 and August 3 editions of CityLights.
New Bylaw
The Advertising Bylaw 08/2022 was drafted in accordance with the provisions of section 606.1 of the MGA.
Currently, for the purpose of legal advertisements -- which are public notices mandated by the MGA for public hearings, meetings, some bylaws, or anything else stipulated in legislation -- the City is bound by MGA subsection 606(2) and must therefore either:
(a) publish the notice at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper or other publication circulating in the area to which the proposed bylaw, resolution or other thing relates, or in which the meeting or hearing is to be held; or
(b) mail or deliver the notice to every residence in the area to which the proposed bylaw, resolution or other thing relates, or in which the meeting or hearing is to be held.
If passed, the Advertising Bylaw would give the CAO the authority to publish legal advertisements using any of the alternative methods provided in the bylaw:
- on the official City of St. Albert website (stalbert.ca),
- via the City of St. Albert's official social media channels, or
- on local media outlets' official websites or social media sites.
The Advertising Bylaw also grants the CAO the authority to set public hearing dates in accordance with the requirements of the MGA. This provision was included in the proposed Advertising Bylaw because the choice of a public hearing date may be affected by the chosen method of advertising.
It is important to note that the Advertising Bylaw only applies to legal advertisements as required by the MGA and is not relevant to any other public notices or advertising the City may choose to place for any other reason.
Municipal Scan
Within the Edmonton metropolitan region, Edmonton, Leduc, Leduc County and Morinville have advertising bylaws which permit some or all of their legal advertisements to be posted electronically. There are also various municipalities throughout Alberta with advertising bylaws which permit electronic notification of legal advertisements, including: Wetaskiwin (City), Whitecourt, County of Grande Prairie, Stettler County, Chestermere, Edson, Rimbey, Coaldale, Cochrane, Lacombe (City) and Cold Lake (City). A review of similar bylaws in the Edmonton metropolitan region and elsewhere in Alberta shows that permitting alternative methods of legal advertising is in line with municipal best practices and is likely to bring the information to the attention of substantially all affected residents.
Benefits
The intent of the Advertising Bylaw is not to cease making use of the local newspaper for informing the public of matters for which legal advertisements are required, but rather to provide the City with more flexibility in meeting its obligations regarding statutory advertising, by permitting the use of any of these alternative methods of legal advertisement in order to tailor the medium and message to connect with specific audiences according to the type and content of the notification.
The benefits of passing the Advertising Bylaw are:
- provide options to use lower cost methods of legal advertising;
- modernize the City's communications for the digital age; and
- provide the ability to act more nimbly and quickly in response to time sensitive matters for which legal advertising is required.
Example
We can understand the potential impact of the Advertising Bylaw by looking at the timelines associated with the legal advertisement of this very bylaw. The Advertising Bylaw is one example of a bylaw which, by statute, requires legal advertisement -- see MGA section 606.1(4).
Council gave first reading to the Advertising Bylaw on Tuesday, April 19. Because the City has not passed a bylaw which permits alternate methods of legal advertisement, the City was required to do two consecutive weekly legal advertisements in a locally circulated publication in accordance with section 606 of the MGA. Given the publishing deadlines, the earliest we could get the legal advertisements done was on May 4 and May 11. Following this, the City had to wait 60 days for the petition period to conclude (in accordance with section 231(4) of the MGA), which put us to July 10. This fell during the summer break, so the earliest the public hearing for this bylaw could be scheduled was August 15.
If the legal advertisement could have been posted on the City’s website, that could have occurred on April 20. The 60-day petition period would have begun then, which would have put the end of the petition period on June 19. Assuming no petition would have been received, the City would have been able to hold the public hearing on July 4 (or perhaps even June 20). This would not have precluded the City from posting information about this bylaw in a local newspaper (and, in fact, given the length of time between the legal advertisements and the date of the public hearing, administration made the choice to publish a non-legally required reminder of this public hearing in the July 27 and August 3 editions of CityLights), but the posting on the City’s website would have acted as the “legal advertisement”, the associated timelines would have started to count down earlier, and the process could have proceeded a bit more quickly and efficiently.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Council is required to advertise the proposed Advertising Bylaw in accordance with section 606 of the MGA and hold a public hearing before passing the Advertising Bylaw. The public hearing provides the public a chance to share their opinions on the proposed bylaw.
The public also had the opportunity to file a legal petition in opposition of the proposed bylaw, within 60 days of the last date on which it is advertised, and no such petition was received.
The following internal stakeholders were canvassed for feedback regarding the Advertising Bylaw: Legal and Legislative Services, Planning, Corporate Communications and Design, and Community Relations.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
Financial:
Electronic methods of advertisement are anticipated as being lower cost than traditional notification methods (print or mail).
Legal / Risk:
The Advertising Bylaw complies with the requirements of section 231 (petition for vote on advertised bylaws and resolutions) and section 606.1 (advertisement bylaw) of the MGA. A public hearing must be held before the Advertising Bylaw may be passed, and there must be a sufficient petition period (60 days after the last date on which the Advertising Bylaw is advertised).
If the Advertising Bylaw is passed, the choice of electronic means for legal advertising would minimize the risk of a bylaw or resolution later being challenged on the basis of a defective notice, provided the electronic notice is placed at least five days before the matter in question is considered by Council, .
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendations which would result in passing the proposed Advertising Bylaw as presented for first reading, the following alternatives could be considered:
Alternative 1. Council could make a second reading amendment to the Advertising Bylaw to clarify that the existing methods of legal advertising set out in MGA section 606 are not displaced by the Advertising Bylaw, but remain as options to accomplish legal advertising. The following Council motion at second reading of the Advertising Bylaw would preserve these existing alternatives for legal advertising within the bylaw:
“That the Advertising Bylaw 08/2022 be amended by adding the following immediately after subsection 3(c):
“and/or
d. by employing an advertising method set out in subsection 606(2)(a) or subsection 606(2)(b) of the Municipal Government Act”
Alternative 2. Council could defeat the Advertising Bylaw, thereby maintaining the status quo with respect to mandatory legal advertising which does allow for any electronic means of legal advertising.
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Report Date: August 15, 2022
Authors: Paul Pearson and David Leflar, Directors
Departments: Strategic Services and Communications, Legal and Legislative Services
Assistant Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Diane McMordie
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher