Jasper’s bylaws and regulations for development, licensing, inspections, zoning and permitting need to be revisited, according to a recent study.
The Jasper Business Visitation Study, completed by Community Futures West Yellowhead, lists 11 recommendations to improve the business climate in the community.
Those recommendations vary from the need for a streamlined approach to Jasper’s economic development process to an increase in communication between the town’s governing bodies and the business community. There’s also a call to develop an action plan for creative solutions to improve the town’s staff housing shortage, and to make affordable housing a priority for 2016.
The recommendations are based on the feedback Morgan Roberts, business visitation coordinator, received from local business owners and managers from a cross-section of the community’s various industries. According to the study, “they are meant to be used as a tool for further action in the community.”
The provincially funded study had Roberts meet with business owners and operators last summer to ask a list of questions that were drafted in collaboration with the municipality, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce and the Jasper Partnership.
The questions were broken up into six distinct sections, including everything from the type of business it is to what its future plans are and what it needs to succeed.
The study, which includes feedback from 138 businesses, showed that 66 per cent of businesses have considered renovating or expanding their businesses, however only a portion of them plan to act on those desires because of the roadblocks that stand in the way.
Thirty-one per cent of participants listed Parks’ regulations as a constraint, while 24 per cent cited Parks’ planning and zoning guidelines.
Other constraints included municipal regulations (13 per cent), insufficient space for expansion (11 per cent), a labour shortage (10 per cent) and a shortage of adequate staff housing (nine per cent).
The development approval process came up again in the survey, under a rating of community factors, with 83.3 per cent of respondents rating it as poor. As a solution, a handful of participants suggested that the municipality should take the reins from Parks.
In a summary of comments, the study states: “If the municipality had more control of development it would be more responsive to the needs of the residents.”
Under the community services section of the survey, 71 per cent of respondents felt zoning and permitting is poor, 67 per cent felt the availability of land is poor and 62 per cent felt code enforcement is poor.
Under community weaknesses, the same items showed up again, with zoning and permitting coming in at No. 1, followed by code enforcement and adequate staff housing.
More positively, 83 per cent felt both police and fire protection are excellent and street maintenance and water and sewer services are good.
Under community strengths, emergency and medical services, including fire and police protection, were rated No. 1, followed by the town’s schools, both English and Francophone, and the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce.
Businesses also indicated that 2014 was a good year for visitation and sales, with 66 per cent of participants indicating an increase in their total sales between 2012 and 2014.
And on a scale from excellent to poor, 81 per cent of participants felt Jasper’s business climate is good, while eight per cent felt it was poor and is in need of major improvements.
The study’s preliminary results were presented to council last October, in time for Small Business Week. For a copy of the completed study, which includes stats for each of the sections, as well as graphs and recommendations, visit www.westyellowhead.albertacf.com and click “2014 Business Visitation Programs” on the lefthand side.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
