Policy 084

I pride myself on my familiarity with Village of Barons policies, so I was rather surprised when policy 084 showed up in the September 2026 agenda, as I had never seen it before. Upon referencing my copy of the Village Policy Index, policy 084 is not listed.

What is policy 084?

Off Street Parking and Care of Boulevards and/or Lanes
Number: 084
Adopted By: Resolution
Date: May 7, 2025

Well that is certainly odd, as policy 083 was adopted after 084.

Council Devices Policy
Number: 083
Adopted By: Resolution
Date: May 28, 2025

June 10, 2025
Regular Council Meeting

Policy #083 - Council Devices Policy
Motion made by Mayor Doell to adopt Policy #083 – Council Devices Policy as presented.

Carried unanimously

Here are the results of a search “policy” from all of the 2025 council minutes:

Motions from the April 17th Special:

Motions from the May 13th Regular:

From what I can see, Policy 084 was never passed by motion of council, so it seems very strange that it would be labeled with an adoption date.

Structural Issues

Council Whims

Bylaw 769 still suffers from the same structural issues I cautioned against over a year ago, which makes it almost impossible to enforce. Specially the granting of a permit being at the whim or caprice of council.

A council may not by bylaw reserve to itself any discretion when the empowering statute authorizes the council by bylaw to enact a regulation. The bylaw creating obligations to be observed by citizens legislated under powers set out in the enabling statutes must be sufficiently explicit that the citizen seeking to observe the provisions of the bylaw may from a reading of the bylaw satisfy himself that he has complied with its requirements. The requirements should not be left to the whim of the council.

— Lidstone and Company ¹

Nebulous Requirements

1. The approval of applicants will not be recommended if a suitable alternative exists for parking entirely on the owner’s property, which may include:
   …
       iii. The use of rear service lanes where such lanes are accessible and currently in use by more than one property owner.
   …
       iv. Alteration to or relocation of structures to accommodate parking on the owner’s property.
   …
       vi. Approval will not be granted for a parking space on the boulevard that will encroach upon any public sidewalk or in the absence of sidewalks, in that area where a sidewalk may be constructed in the future, as determined by the Village of Barons Council.
   … — Bylaw 769 ²

As shown below, this bylaw has almost zero chance of being upheld if tested in court.

the Supreme Court of Canada indicated that bylaw will be declared invalid where its vagueness is “so serious that the judge concludes that a reasonably intelligent man, sufficiently well informed if the by-law is technical in nature, is unable to determine the meaning of the by-law and govern his actions accordingly.”

— Montréal v Arcade Amusements Inc, [1985] 1 SCR 368

A bylaw is uncertain when it is “too general and nebulous to admit of any definite interpretation”.
— Barthrop v West Vancouver and Field (District) (1979), 17 BCLR 202 (BC SC).

Thoughts

This is a rushed and flawed bylaw that the village has overwhelmingly spoken out against. It’s time to drop it and move on.