Kamloops council has set a new deadline for people to write submissions before public hearings.

Those letters will have to be sent in by noon on Fridays, before a public hearing on the following Tuesday.

Councillor Sadie Hunter says this will give council sufficient time to review each submission.

“This will provide council a couple of days to read through the information and be prepared before a public hearing, instead of trying to look at it in the hour or two before meetings. So I think this actually works out for both sides of the conversation.”

The motion to push forward the deadline for submissions was brought forward by councillor Bill Sarai, who says people who miss the deadline can still speak in-person at public hearing.

“So I just think it’ll give council a better tool to look into the matters that we are elected to do, instead of rushing through it and missing something, and not being fair to the developer or the person that has a concern,” Sarai says.