SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A city councillor is worried a proposed bylaw amendment could take potentially important decisions out of the hands of city councillors and put them into those of unelected bureaucrats at city hall.

The proposal concerns the city's Land Administration bylaw. City administration wants council to approve an amendment that would allow staff to review and approve certain encroachment agreements without turning to council for approval.

Encroachment agreements deal with parts of a building or other structures which overlap onto city land. These could be signs, canopies, wheelchair ramps and other additions.

At a municipal services committee meeting on Monday, Coun. David Wind said the criteria under the proposed amendment for what will be put to council for approval and what will not be is too ambiguous.

"I don't have difficulty with having routine matters handled by the administration," said Wind.

"What I'm saying here is that in matters that are not routine ... the prerogative of council is to determine whether something should be improved upon is taken away, if administration doesn't bring it to council."

Nalini Naidoo, manager of planning and lands for the city, and city administrator Max Hall said non-routine matters will still be brought before council.

"There's only a few things that, if (council approves) this bylaw, we can do without council's consent. Siding insulation and wheelchair ramps, those are the only things that this bylaw will allow to encroach," said Naidoo.

"If there are other things that do come up that don't fit into this list, it has to come back (to council)."

City councillor Bob Brooks supported the amendment.

"There's no use bringing every single item back to council if it's an extra two inches (onto city property)," said Brooks.

Wind maintained the intention of the bylaw should be clearly stated in the text of the regulation itself.

"We had an instance in another bylaw before Christmas, where the intent of administration was not to be heavy-handed in the application of the bylaw when it came to parks and recreation facilities, and there was quite an uproar," said Wind, referring to administration's request to update the city's parks bylaw last year with new prohibitions, including a ban on tobogganing, propelling plastic balls, and walking off trails in city parks.

"We should insist that the wording in bylaws actually follow what administration wishes."

Hall said city administration will review the wording of the bylaw amendment before taking it to council for a vote.

The city currently requires a $1,000 fee in cases of encroachment, and Hall mentioned this may be reviewed as well.