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Business Licence Bylaw amendments to deter crime, improve clarity

August 24, 2021 5:00 PM
(Red Deer, Alberta)

City Council passed first reading on a number of Business Licence Bylaw amendments to address some of Red Deerians’ crime and community safety concerns.

In late 2019 and early 2020, The City hosted public engagement sessions with more than 400 residents to discuss concerns about crime and community safety, and to collect ideas for solutions to be implemented by different levels of government, police and members of the community.

Today, administration brought forward amendments to the Business Licence Bylaw to Council which would create barriers for crime in alignment with The City’s Strategic Plan.

“We took what we heard from the community, and compared it to our existing bylaw to understand what we could do to help influence real change,” said Amy Fengstad, Parking & Licensing Supervisor. “If implemented, we are confident these changes will help deter crime and create positive change for local businesses and residents in our community.”

Changes to the bylaw include:

  • Auto wreckers, salvage yard, scrap metal dealers will now require proof of identity and information about materials before purchasing or receiving scrap metal. This data could be reported to police to aid in crime reduction efforts and improve enforcement.
  • Added consistency between the regulations for Pawn Shops, Pawn Brokers and Second Hand Dealers, which clarified needs for reporting to mitigate challenges related to stolen goods. These businesses would now also be able to sell new items.
  • Added clarity for mobile business units and food services to help guide operations, including details around mobile unit parking opportunities.
  • Administrative changes to improve clarity and address shortcomings of the bylaw, including adding administrative fees to cover costs of lapsed, expired or late renewals, errors or additions to the business directory for exempt businesses.

“We are confident these measures will help create barriers for criminal activity, and will also make the bylaw more straightforward for businesses.” said Fengstad.

The amended Business Licence Bylaw will return to Council for second and third reading on September 13.

For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications
The City of Red Deer

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