Land Use Order Review

The Land Use Order is a document that regulates development within the Special Areas. Every municipality in Alberta must have one under the provincial Municipal Government Act. It categorizes all properties in the municipality into various land use districts and prescribes how land and buildings can be used in those districts. It sets up a system for issuing development permits and talks about the appeal process.

The Alberta Municipal Government Act requires all municipalities in Alberta to adopt a Land Use Bylaw. This document regulates the use and development of land and buildings within the municipality. In the Special Areas, we use ministerial orders in place of bylaws as we are a crown agency established by the Special Areas Act.

The Land Use Order regulates development in the Special Areas. If you are planning to construct a building, change land use (zoning), undertake redevelopment, erect signs, or subdivide land, the Land Use Order will help you understand any rules and regulations you need to consider.

A good place to start is to find out what the current land use (zoning) is, and what the permitted and discretionary uses are for that type of land district. You can find land use district maps in the draft Land Use Order.

The next step is to figure out what use(s) exist on your property. If a use is not listed as either permitted or discretionary for that land use district, it is prohibited by the Land Use Order unless protected by law. Another step is to review your Real Property Report (RPR). This report shows you where your buildings are in relation to property lines. This will let you review property setbacks and site coverage requirements.

The Land Use Order classifies parcels of land into Land Use Districts. This is also known as zoning. There are seven types of land districts included in the proposed updated Land Use Order:

• Agricultural (A)
• Grouped Country Residential (GCR)
• Hamlet (H)
• Rural Commercial (RC)
• Rural Industrial (RI)
• Rural Mixed-Use (RMU)
• Airport Vicinity Overlay (AVO)

The Land Use Order outlines the rules for development of land in the Special Areas for each district (zone) as well as the process for making decisions for development permit applications. Each district (zone) has its own set of regulations which include a list of permitted and discretionary uses.

Examples of regulations in land use districts can include things like number of dwellings on a property, setbacks from property lines, and separation distances between uses.

In the Land Use Order, a “permitted use” means the use of land or a building which is listed as Permitted in a Land Use District and for which a Development Permit must be issued, with or without conditions, by the Development Authority, if the proposed Development meets all requirements of the Land Use Order.

A “discretionary use” means the use of land or a building for which a Development Permit may be issued by the Development Authority, with or without conditions.

Translation? Permitted use means a development permit must be issued if development meets requirements. Discretionary use means a development permit may be issued (or refused) or referred to the Municipal Planning Commission for review. In both cases, conditions may or may not be attached to the development permit.

Each land use district lists permitted uses and discretionary uses, as well as instances when a development permit is not required in that type of land district.

A development permit is defined as a document authorizing development issued under the Land Use Order. It considers the what and where of a potential project or development. This is a different document than a building permit, or other permits issued by safety code officers. In the Special Areas, building permits and other safety code permits are managed through Palliser Regional Municipal Services.

In the Special Areas, each district office manages development in that area. Every Special Area has a Development Officer appointed by the Board to perform Development Authority duties.

In the Land Use Order, development permits are not required for some types of developments. These include things like:

• Extensive agriculture
• Day home
• Home occupation
• Non-structural alterations
• Landscaping
• Patio/deck
• Fences (as per Section 9.10)
• Small accessory building in hamlets
• Accessory buildings/agricultural buildings (Agriculture District)
• Some signs

You can find a detailed list of these in Section 1.11 of the Land Use Order.

The Land Use Order document clarifies that most home-based businesses do not require a permit from the Special Areas. Some larger home-based businesses may require a permit, depending on the size and location of that business.

There are three types of home businesses (called home occupation) in the Land Use Order:

• Home Occupation – Phone & Desk (no permit required)
• Home Occupation – Minor (permit only required in hamlet)
• Home Occupation – Major (permit required in all zones)

Contact your local Development Officer to learn more.

A subdivision is defined as the division of a parcel of land by an instrument or dividing a parcel of land and obtaining separate legal titles.

Palliser Regional Municipal Services acts as the Subdivision Approving Authority for the Special Areas. This means Palliser Regional Municipal Services processes all subdivision files for the Special Areas Board and provides recommendations for decisions on subdivisions to the Board.

Subdivision services provided by Palliser Regional Municipal Services includes all aspects of the subdivision process including advice and discussions with applicants including application review, circulation process, subdivision report and recommendations, circulation of decision document and final endorsement procedures.

Learn more about subdivision in the Special Areas by visiting https://www.palliserservices.ca/subdivision.

Changes to the Land Use Order have been made to make this document more flexible and easier to use for everyone.

Some of the major changes include:

• Aligning the Land Use Order with recent legislative changes and the Special Areas Board’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP)
• Reducing red tape by adding more types of developments that do not need a permit including secondary suites, day homes, decks (up to 150 ft²), demolitions, accessory buildings outside hamlets, and some signs
• Allowing more subdivision and development without re-zoning including two dwelling units per parcel (up to three parcels per quarter section) for Agricultural Districts
• Increasing flexibility of development in hamlets by combining four hamlet districts into a single hamlet district that blends residential, commercial, and industrial uses
• Simplifying regulations for renewable energy development by removing anything that is already regulated by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)

One of the most important goals of the Land Use Order update was to make it easier to read and understand by all users, and to streamline development processes in the Special Areas.