DISTRICT OF SQUAMISH
BYLAW NO. 1295
As Amended by Bylaws No. 1598, 1650, 1663, 1732 and 1802
THIS IS A CONSOLIDATED BYLAW PREPARED BY THE DISTRICT OF SQUAMISH FOR
CONVENIENCE ONLY. THE CORPORATION DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS CONSOLIDATION IS CURRENT. IT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON USING THIS CONSOLIDATION TO ENSURE THAT IT
ACCURATELY REFLECTS CURRENT BYLAW PROVISIONS.
A bylaw to regulate the Meetings of Council and their conduct.
________________________________________________________________________
WHEREAS under Section 231 of the Municipal Act, the Council shall by bylaw regulate
Council Meetings and their conduct.
NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the District of Squamish, in open meeting assembled,
enacts as follows:
1.
Short Title
(a)
This Bylaw may be cited for all purposes as the “District of Squamish Procedure
Bylaw No. 1295, 1994.”
2.
Repeal
(a)
“District of Squamish Procedure Bylaw No. 831, 1983" is hereby repealed.
3.
Acting Mayor
(a)
4.
The Council shall, at or before the first regular meeting each year, appoint one
of its members to be Acting Mayor in the event of the absence of the Mayor
during the time specified in the appointment, and may amend appointments
from time to time.
Meetings of Council
(a)
Regular meetings of Council must take place within Municipal Hall except when
Council resolves to hold meetings elsewhere. (Bylaw No. 1802) The Council of
the District of Squamish shall hold its regular meetings at 7:00 p.m. on the first
and third Tuesday (Amended by Bylaw 1732) of each month unless otherwise
cancelled by Council at a preceding regular meeting. When the date of any
regular meeting falls on a public or civic holiday, the Council shall meet at the
same hour on the next day following which is not such a holiday, unless
otherwise cancelled. (Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(b)
As soon after the hour of the meeting of the Council as there shall be a quorum
present, the Mayor shall take the Chair and call the members to order.
(c)
In case the Mayor does not attend within fifteen minutes after the time
appointed for a meeting, the Acting Mayor shall take the Chair and call the
members to order, or if the Acting Mayor is absent, the Manager of
Administrative Services shall call the members to order and, if a quorum is
present, the members shall appoint a Chairperson who shall preside during the
meeting or until the arrival of the Mayor or Acting Mayor. (Amended by Bylaw
No. 1663)
(d)
Should there be no quorum present within fifteen minutes after the time
appointed for the meeting, the Manager of Administrative Services shall record
in the minute book the names of the members present at the expiration of such
fifteen minutes and the meeting shall stand adjourned until the next scheduled
meeting. (Amended by Bylaw No. 1663)
(e)
All regular meetings of Council and Standing Committees shall be terminated
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1295
at 10:00 p.m., unless a resolution is passed by a simple majority to continue.
(f)
(1)
At least 72 hours before a regular meeting of Council, the Manager of
Administrative Services must give public notice of the time, place and
date of the meeting by way of a notice posted on the notice board in
the Municipal Hall foyer.
(2)
At least 24 hours before a regular meeting of Council, the Manager of
Administrative Services must give further public notice of the meeting
by:
(i)
posting a copy of the agenda on the notice board in the
Municipal Hall foyer; and
(ii)
leaving copies of the agenda at the reception counter at
Municipal Hall for the purpose of making them available to
members of the public;
(3)
At least 24 hours before a regular meeting of Council, the Manager of
Administrative Services must deliver a copy of the agenda to each
member of Council at the place to which to Council member has
directed notices be sent.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(g)
Except where notice of a special meeting is waived by a unanimous vote of
all council members under section 223(3) of the Municipal Act at least 24
hours before a special meeting of Council, the Manager of Administrative
Services must:
(1)
give advance public notice of the time, place and date of the meeting
by way of a notice posted on the notice board in the Municipal Hall
foyer; and
(2)
give notice of the special meeting in accordance with section 223 of
the Municipal Act.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(h)
Inaugural Meeting
(1)
(2)
The first regular council meeting following a general local election
must be held on the first Tuesday in December following the general
local election.
If a quorum of council members elected at the general local election
has not taken office by the date of the meeting referred to in
subsection (1), the first Council meeting must be called by the
Corporate Officer and held as soon as reasonably possible after a
quorum has taken office.(Bylaw No. 1802)
(i)
The Corporate Officer must:
(1)
post in the posting locations, and
(2)
publish in accordance with Section 94 of the Community Charter at
least once a year, a schedule of the date, time and place of regular
Council meetings.(Bylaw No. 1802)
(j)
Posting Locations
In this bylaw, “posting locations” means on the notice board in the Municipal
Hall foyer. (Bylaw No. 1802)
(k)
Annual Meeting
The corporate officer must give notice of the council meeting or other public
meeting in respect of which Council has resolved to consider
(1)
the annual report prepared under Section 98 of the
Community Charter, and
(2)
submissions and questions from the public,
by giving public notice by,
(1)
posting notice of the date, time and place of the annual
meeting in the posting locations, and
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1295
(2)
5.
publishing notice of the date, time and place of the annual
meeting in accordance with Section 94 of the Community
Charter. (Bylaw No. 1802)
Procedure at Meetings
(a)
(1)
Subject to sections 242.2 and 242.5 of the Municipal Act, all Council
meetings must be open to the public.
(2)
Where Council wishes to close a meeting to the public, it may do so
by adopting a resolution in accordance with section 242.3 of the
Municipal Act.
(3)
This section applies to meetings of bodies referred to in section 242.7
of the Municipal Act, including, without limitation;
(i)
Select or standing committees of council;
(ii)
the board of variance;
(iii)
the court of revision;
(iv)
the advisory planning commission; and
(v)
the Parks & Recreation Commission.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(b)
Prior to each Regular meeting the Manager of Administrative Services shall
prepare, for the approval of the Mayor and subsequent distribution, an
agenda of all business to be brought before the Council at such meeting. All
documents from outside parties intended to be submitted to the Council must
be delivered to the Manager of Administrative Services not later than 12:00
Noon on the Tuesday preceding the day of the meeting of Council.
(Amended by Bylaws No. 1598 and 1663)
(c)
The general order of business on the agenda shall be as follows:
(1)
Call to Order
(2)
Adoption of Agenda
(3)
Proclamations (Amended by Bylaw No. 1663)
(4)
Unscheduled Public Attendance (Fifteen Minute Question and Answer
Period - if required)
(5)
Adoption of Minutes
(6)
Business Arising from the Minutes
(7)
Staff Reports
(8)
Committee Minutes and Reports
(9)
Public Hearings
(10) Petitions, Delegations
(11) Correspondence
(a)
Action Requested
(b)
Information
(12) Bylaws
(13) Notice of Motion
(14) Council Questions and Information (Amended by Bylaw No. 1663)
(15) Council - Staff In-Camera Items Announcements
(16) Media Question Period
(17) Adjournment.
(d)
The business shall, in all cases, be taken up in the order in which it stands
on the agenda unless otherwise determined upon a vote without debate of
two-thirds of the members present.
(e)
All motions, except those as outlined in s.5(i) and routine motions including
motions to adopt a report, to receive and file, and privileged questions, shall,
if required by the Mayor, be reduced to writing and read by the mover or by
the Mayor or Manager of Administrative Services before they shall be
debated. A brief introduction previous to the resolution may be made by the
mover. The Mayor or presiding member may, in his or her discretion,
recognize anyone in the debate and speakers may be recognized more than
once. The Mayor shall not recognize speakers for a second time until each
member wishing to speak has been recognized at least once. (Amended by
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1663)
(f)
When there is an amendment offered to any motion, the vote on the
amendment will be taken first and in no case shall there be more than one
amendment before the Council at one time.
(g)
When an amendment is offered as a substitute for the original motion and
the amendment is carried, the original motion shall not be put to a vote.
(h)
A motion before the Council may be withdrawn by its mover and seconder
provided there is no objection by the majority of members present.
(i)
When a question is under consideration, no motion shall be received, except
for the following:
(1)
to refer to a Committee of Council;
(2)
to amend;
(3)
to postpone indefinitely or to a certain time;
(4)
to put the motion to a vote;
(5)
to adjourn.
Such motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are named,
and the last three shall be neither amendable nor debatable.
(j)
A motion to adjourn the Council or to adjourn the debate shall always be in
order, but if such motion is lost, no second motion to the same effect shall be
made until after some intermediate proceeding has taken place.
(k)
A motion to refer the subject matter to a Committee, until it is decided, shall
preclude all amendment of the main question.
(l)
If a motion has not been seconded, the recording of the motion in the
Minutes is dependent upon Council's wishes, as no action is considered as
having been taken on the motion.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
6.
Order of Debate
(a)
Members desiring to speak must address themselves to the Mayor or
Chairperson, addressing the Chair as "Mayor __________" or "Chairperson
__________", and shall refer to other members as "Councillor".
(b)
The mover of any resolution or amendment will have the right to close the
debate.
(c)
In a discussion, if any member believes his or her meaning to be
misunderstood or misrepresented by a subsequent speaker, he or she shall
have the right to correct the misunderstanding or misrepresentation but not
to introduce new matters.
(d)
The Manager of Administrative Services shall record in the minutes the
names of members opposed on every vote. (Amended by Bylaw No. 1663)
(e)
A member of Council wishing to have returned for reconsideration a
resolution or proceeding of Council, other than a bylaw, which has not been
given the assent of the electors or which has not been returned for
reconsideration by the Mayor, and which has not been acted upon by any
officer, servant, or agent of the Municipality, may do so provided that
member of Council gives notice in writing within fifteen days of the date
Council originally made the decision, that he or she will move at the next
meeting that the question be reconsidered. A two-thirds majority vote of
Council is required on a motion to reconsider.
(f)
Any question of order in the proceedings of Council or its Committees, not
specifically covered by this bylaw or Provincial Statute, shall be determined
in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order. (Amended by Bylaw No.1598)
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1295
7.
8.
Bylaw Procedures
(a)
Every proposed bylaw shall be printed or typewritten before it is introduced
for consideration by the Council.
(b)
The readings of a bylaw may be given in a short form.
(c)
Where the Council resolves to consider a bylaw clause by clause during a
meeting, such consideration shall be done as the second reading of the
bylaw.
(d)
A bylaw that requires a public hearing and that has received second reading
before the hearing shall not be amended before the hearing unless the
second reading is rescinded and the bylaw as amended is given second
reading.
(e)
A bylaw that has received third reading shall not be amended before
adoption unless the third reading is rescinded and the bylaw as amended is
given third reading.
(f)
The Manager of Administrative Services shall endorse upon every bylaw the
date of the readings and the date of final adoption. (Amended by Bylaw No.
1663)
(g)
The only motion required for the reading of a bylaw shall be:
"THAT (short title of the bylaw) be given first three readings (or first
two readings).
(h)
The only motion required for the final adoption of a bylaw shall be:
"THAT (short title of the bylaw) be adopted".
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(i)
Should a motion to give any reading to a bylaw fail, then the bylaw will be
defunct thirty days afterwards.
Committees
(a)
The Mayor shall appoint, at or before the first regular meeting each year,
such Standing Committees of Council as he or she deems appropriate and
may amend appointments from time to time. The first named member of
each Committee shall be the Chairperson thereof. The members shall
appoint a deputy Chairperson from among their members at their first regular
meeting each year. The members shall appoint an acting Chairperson when
both the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson are not
(b)
The Mayor shall ex-officio be a member of all Committees.
(c)
A meeting of the Committee of the Whole may be called at any time by the
Mayor.
(d)
The Council may, by vote, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole by a
resolution "... that the Council does now meet as a Committee of the Whole".
(e)
The procedural rules of Council shall be observed in Committee of the
Whole. The procedures in this bylaw to the extent where they may, shall
apply to all Council committees.
(f)
A motion in Committee of the Whole to rise without reporting, or that the
Chairperson of the Committee leave the Chair, shall always be in order and
shall take precedence over any other motion. On such motion, debate shall
be allowed but no member shall speak more than once to such a motion and
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1295
on an affirmative vote the Mayor, should he or she have left the Chair, shall
resume the Chair and proceed with the next order of business.
(g)
When all matters referred to a Committee of the Whole have been
considered, a motion to rise and report shall be adopted. The Committee,
when it has partly considered a matter, may report progress and ask leave to
sit again. In resumption of business the Chairperson of the Committee of the
Whole shall report to Council and the adoption of the report shall be moved.
(h)
(1)
(i)
Committee of the Whole;
(ii)
any select committee appointed by the Council; and
(iii)
any standing committee appointed by the Mayor.
(2)
At least 72 hours before a regular meeting of a committee, the
Manager of Administrative Services must give public notice of the
time, place and date of the meeting by way of a notice posted on the
notice board in the Municipal Hall foyer.
(3)
At least 24 hours before a regular meeting of a committee, the
Manager of Administrative Services must give further public notice of
the meeting by:
(i)
posting a copy of the agenda on the notice board in the
Municipal Hall foyer; and
(ii)
leaving copies of the agenda at the reception counter at
Municipal Hall for the purpose of making them available to
members of the public.
(4)
At least 24 hours before a regular meeting of a committee, the
Manager of Administrative Services must deliver a copy of the agenda
to each member of the committee at the place to which the committee
member has directed notices be sent.
(5)
At least 24 hours before a special meeting of a committee, the
Manager of Administrative Services must give advance public notice
of the time, place and date of the meeting by way of a notice posted
on the notice board in the Municipal Hall foyer.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
(6)
Notice of a special meeting may be waived by unanimous consent of
all of the members of a select or standing committee.
(7)
At least one member constituting the quorum of a standing committee
must be a member of Council.
(8)
The Chairperson of a standing or select committee, in consultation
with District staff, shall approve all committee meeting agendas.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1650)
9.
Petitions and Delegation
(a)
No person or group of persons wishing to appear before Council may do so
unless he or she or they have first notified the Manager of Administrative
Services in writing before he or she has prepared the Agenda and circulated
it to the members of Council, except with leave of the Council. (Amended by
Bylaw No. 1663)
(b)
Every delegation shall be allowed a maximum time of ten minutes to present
its petition or submission unless extended by a two-thirds vote of the Council
present, after which the Council may dispose of the petition or submission at
the meeting, refer the subject matter to a Committee or take such other
action as is deemed expedient.
(c)
Every petition presented to Council shall include the name of each petitioner
with his or her civic address and telephone number. In the case of a
corporation, the authority given by the corporation to sign the petition shall be
produced in connection therewith.
(d)
Only those persons or delegations in attendance to present an issue that has
arisen since the agenda closed and which must, in Council's opinion, be
dealt with prior to the next Regular scheduled meeting are eligible to be
recognized during the Unscheduled Public Attendance. The Mayor shall call,
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Bylaw No. 1295
at the beginning of the Unscheduled Public Attendance portion of the
meeting, for persons wishing to be recognized and, with Council's assent,
having determined the number of persons eligible to be recognized, shall
assign a time allotment for each eligible person or delegation to present their
issue with consideration that the total time shall not exceed fifteen minutes,
except with leave of the Council.
(e)
10.
Proclamation Delegations will be provided a maximum of three (3) minutes to
make a presentation to Council, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of the
Council present, after which the Council may dispose of the Proclamation
request, refer the request to a Committee or take such other action as is
deemed expedient. (Amended by Bylaw No. 1663)
Minutes of Meetings
(a)
Minutes of Council meetings must be kept in accordance with section 236 of
the Municipal Act.
(b)
Minutes of Committee meetings referred to in section (c) must be kept in
accordance with section 237 of the Municipal Act.
(c)
Section (b) applies to meetings of:
(i)
Select or standing committees of Council; and
(ii)
Any other body composed solely of council members acting as
council members.
(Amended by Bylaw No. 1598)
11.
Acting Mayor
At the first regular meeting held in December each year, or at an inaugural meeting
held under section 4(h), Council must in respect of the ensuing calendar year
designate a councillor to serve as acting mayor to act in the place of the mayor
when the mayor is absent or otherwise unable to act or when the office of the mayor
is vacant. (Bylaw No. 1802)
12.
Severance
If any section, subsection clause or other provision of this bylaw is for any reason
held to be invalid by the decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, the decision
does not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the bylaw. (Bylaw No. 1802)
If any section, subsection clause or other provision of this bylaw is for any reason held to
be invalid by the decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, the decision does not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of the bylaw. (Bylaw No. 1802)
READ A FIRST TIME this 15th day of February, 1994.
READ A SECOND TIME this 15th day of February, 1994
READ A THIRD TIME this 15th day of February, 1994
RECONSIDERED AND FINALLY ADOPTED this 22nd day of February, 1994.
“Corinne Lonsdale”
Corinne Lonsdale, Mayor
“Bob Miles”
R.A. Miles, Clerk-Administrator
Consolidated as at: May 17, 2004
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Bylaw No. 1295