Voter ID bylaw passed; land use bylaw sees first reading in St. Paul

Voter ID bylaw passed

The proposed voter ID bylaw passed second and third readings at the St. Paul Town Council meeting on Feb. 22.

The bylaw was amended to include passport as an acceptable ID under Option 2, meaning it could be used in conjunction with a second piece of ID that has a voter’s address on it.

According to Mayor Maureen Miller, the goal of the bylaw is to make as many opportunities as possible for people to vote in the municipal election, which is due to be held in the fall alongside the St. Paul Education trustee election on Oct. 18.

“You don’t want those questions to arise when you show up at the voting station and not have the ID that has been accepted. So we are now going to be able to publish what all that is well in advance so that people can be prepared and hopefully open up as many voting opportunities as possible,” said Miller.

Coun. Ron Boisvert moved to give the bylaw second reading. The motion carried.

Coun. Norm Noel moved to give the bylaw third and final reading.  The motion carried.

Land use bylaw passes first reading with amendments

St. Paul Town Council will have a special meeting on March 4 to further discuss Coun. Nathan Taylor’s amendments to the Land Use Bylaw before it is brought back for the public hearing and second and third readings on March 22.

The bylaw has been undergoing revisions since 2019 and was previously discussed with the public at a tele-town hall on Jan. 13. Council and administration are eager to finish the project because “it will streamline that whole process for a lot of development,” according to Mayor Maureen Miller in an interview after the meeting.

Taylor’s specific concerns which need to be discussed further are around the permitted uses in the town’s industrial park.

“Open for business to me means we’re open for business. In the industrial park almost everything should be permitted and a few things discretionary. Whereas the bylaw had many things that were not permitted,” said Taylor.

He noted manufacturing and processing facilities and oilfield support services were specifically not permitted under the draft presented.

Taylor had raised the issue at an earlier meeting, but council neglected to pass a motion specifically approving or not approving the changes and the suggestions were not incorporated.