Proposed Changes to Subdivision Criteria

Article #3: Proposed Changes to Subdivision Criteria

In addition to looking at land uses on a property, and the regulations and standards around those uses, the Land Use Bylaw also addresses subdivisions in the County.

Subdivision means the division or splitting of a parcel of land into multiple (2 or more) titles.

The County’s subdivision criteria looks at what properties can be subdivided and how a particular property can be subdivided. Different land use districts have different subdivision criteria. For instance, a parcel of land in the Rural Agricultural Land Use District has different subdivision criteria than a parcel that is zoned Grouped County Residential or Hamlet Residential.

Current Subdivision Criteria:

Some of the current subdivision criteria include:

• In the Rural Agricultural and Urban Fringe Districts an intact quarter section (160 acres) of land can be divided/split one time: either into two 80-acre parcels or by taking out an existing farmyard. Vacant parcels are allowed up to a maximum of 1.2 ha (3 acres) in size.
• In rural areas of the County that require a private septic system (wastewater treatment), the minimum parcel size is 0.8 hectares (2 acres).
• In most of the urban areas of the County (hamlets), the minimum parcel size is 464.5 square metres (5000 ft²) because there is a municipal wastewater system in place to take away and treat any wastewater.
• Any subdivision must meet the Minimum Distance Separation to a Confined Feeding Operation.
• In rural areas where there are more than three contiguous residential parcels being created, the land must be rezoned to an appropriate land use district, such as Grouped Country Residential.
• All parcels must have both physical and legal access to a county or provincial road.
• There are also suitability considerations when considering a subdivision, including the presence of steep slopes, flood prone land, wetlands etc.
• For all existing subdivision criteria, please refer to Part 7 of the current Land Use Bylaw.

Proposed Changes

After a review of the subdivision criteria, a few changes are proposed:

• Clarification on policy 1(10) to address subdivided parcels more clearly.
• Allow for a parcel to be subdivided if it meets the Minimum Distance Separation to a Confined Feeding Operation. Currently a parcel cannot be subdivided at all if the parcel contains a confined feeding operation - even if the proposed subdivision would meet the Minimum Distance Separation.
• Remove Section 9 (Horticultural Use), which is covered in the new policy for Non-Residential Uses.
• Revise Section 10 (Industrial/Commercial Uses) to address subdivision of parcels for those designated in one of the commercial or industrial land use districts.
• Add a new section, Non-Residential Uses, to address subdivisions in the rural and urban fringe districts that may be non-residential in nature (i.e. horticulture, nursery, kennel, minor recreation)