It's official — Revelstoke has gone to the birds.
Revelstoke council adopted the new rules that allow for backyard hen keeping within city limits.
Known as the backyard chicken bylaw, the city amended the Animal Control & Licensing Bylaw to allow people in single-family residential areas (not including mobile home parks) to keep up to five hens at their home.
The bylaw sets out rules governing the care of hens, including minimum enclosure sizes and how to store food.
Residents with hens are required to get a permit from the city.
Building permits up
The total value of all building permits issued by the City of Revelstoke is up by almost $3 million so far this year.
The city issued $10,346,000 in building permits as of the end of August, compared to $7,399,000 at the same time in 2014, according to a report by Dean Strachan, the city's manager of developments services.
Of that number, about $3.9 million was for residential construction, $6.1 million for commercial, $240,000 for industrial, and $130,000 for institutional.
The city issued another $2.5 million in permits in September, Strachan told council.
The department increased staffing by 0.5 full-time-equivalent to meet increasing demand.
"The Development Services data for the first eight months of 2015 show an increase in activity over the same period in 2014 particularly in commercial development," wrote Strachan in his report. "Monthly activity fluctuations and the issuance of building permits for large projects can result in significant fluctuations in data. However, the construction season continues to be busy and the data indicates the increase in activity will continue through to the end of the year."
Council provides tax exemptions
Revelstoke council passed a tax exemption bylaw that provides relief to numerous non-profit organizations.
The bylaw gives a property tax exemption to the city's churches, museums, and non-profit societies including Community Connections, the Revelstoke Hospital Auxiliary, the Order of the Moose, the Legion, the Revelstoke Golf Club, the Selkirk Saddle Club, the Revy Riders, the Illecillewaet Greenbelt Society, the Revelstoke Community Housing Society, Moberley Manor, and the Revelstoke Community Energy Corporation.
The total value of the exemptions is $380,427. The city provides these exemptions every year.