Yellowknife (Apr 25/03) - The snowmobiling bylaw is back before council. Again.

The same housekeeping item to clean up the legal description of the Willow Flats area in the bylaw was before the municipal services committee Monday.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said council had to decide exactly what they wanted to do with the bylaw before sending it to administration.

"You sent it back without instruction, now we're looking for instruction," said Van Tighem, on behalf of city administration.

Council gave only vague instruction to revamp the legislation at last week's council meeting. Some councillors wanted to take the opportunity to give the bylaw a thorough look, while others said this was an inappropriate means of reviewing the whole bylaw. They worried the review could be a time consuming process that may not be completed in the six months left in their mandate.

Committee members decided Tuesday that the bylaw should first come before council for the housekeeping matter. They will look at the restricted areas which caused the original controversy can be looked at as part of the city's upcoming general plan review later this year.

City administrator Max Hall said that may be a more appropriate way to look at the issue.

"It was only up for a housekeeping matter," he said. "That's an odd policy for a way to draft a bylaw."

Council originally looked at the bylaw when Ann Gunn brought them a petition asking for snowmobiling to be banned in Willow Flats. City administrators discovered that the ban was already in place but the area was improperly zoned in legal description in the bylaw. The bylaw was before them only to bring the legislation up to date.

Hall said the ban in Willow Flats would be difficult for bylaw officers to enforce without first clarifying the law.