____________________________________________________________________________ BIRCH HILLS COUNTY LAND USE BYLAW NO. 02-08 OFFICE CONSOLIDATION ____________________________________________________________________________ BIRCH HILLS COUNTY BYLAW NO. 02-08 Being a bylaw of Birch Hills County, in the Province of Alberta, for the purpose of adopting a Land Use Bylaw. WHEREAS Section 639 of the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, Chapter M-26.1 as amended, requires every municipality to pass a land use bylaw; and WHEREAS The Council of Birch Hills County deems it to be in the public interest to repeal the Birch Hills County Land Use Bylaw 4-99, and all subsequent amendments thereto; NOW THEREFORE The Council of Birch Hills County in the Province of Alberta, duly assembled, hereby enacts as follows: 1) That the Birch Hills County Land Use Bylaw 4-99 and all subsequent amendments thereto is hereby rescinded. 2) That this bylaw may be cited as the Birch Hills County Land Use Bylaw. 3) That the Birch Hills County Land Use Bylaw, attached hereto, forms part of the bylaw; 4) This bylaw shall come into effect upon the date of the final passing thereof. Read a First time this 13th day of February, 2008. Read a Second time this _____ day of __________, 2009. Read a Third and Final time this _____ day of __________, 2009. _________________________ _________________________ Chief Elected Official Chief Administrative Officer 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 GENERAL 5 1.1Title 5 1.2 Purpose 5 1.3 Application 5 1.4 Conformity with Bylaw 5 1.5 Additional Requirements 5 SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS 6-12 SECTION 3 DUTIES OF DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES 13 3.1 Establishment of Development Authority’s 13 3.2 Duties and Powers of Development Authority’s 13 3.3 Development Authority’s Discretion 13 SECTION 4 NEED FOR A DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 16 4.1 When Development Permits are Required 16 4.2 When Development Permits are not Required 16 4.3 Non-Conforming Buildings and Uses 16 SECTION 5 DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATIONS 18 5.1 Forms and Notices 18 5.2 Contents of a Development Permit Application 18 SECTION 6 PROCESSING A DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 19 6.1 Permit Referrals 19 6.2 Conditions of a Development Permit 19 6.3 Notification of Permit Approval or Refusal 19 6.4 Contravention 20 SECTION 7 APPEALING A DECISION 21 7.1 Method of Appeal 21 7.2 The Appeal Process 21 SECTION 8 AMENDING THE BYLAW 22 8.1 Contents of an Amendment Application 22 8.2 The Amendment Process 22 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont’d) SECTION 9 GENERAL REGULATIONS 24 9.1 Accessory Buildings 24 9.2 Dwelling Units per Lot 24 9.3 Environmental Standards 24 Watino Flood Map 27 9.4 Exterior Lighting 28 9.5 Home Occupations 28 9.6 Landscaping and Screening 28 9.7 Manufactured Homes 28 9.8 Modular Buildings 29 9.9 Oilfield Facilities 29 9.10 Parking Requirements 30 9.11 Relocation of Buildings 30 9.12 Roadway Setbacks 30 9.13 Sign Regulations 31 SECTION 10 ESTABLISHMENT OF DISTRICTS 32 10.1 Land Use Districts 32 10.2 District Maps 32 SECTION 11 DISTRICT RULES 33 11.1 Agriculture (A) District 33 11.2 Agriculture Restricted (AR) District 34 11.3 Country Residential (CR) District 35 11.4 Highway Development (HD) District 35 11.5 Hamlet General (HG) District 36 11.6 Hamlet Watino (HW) District 38 11.7 Hamlet Commercial (HC) District 39 11.8 Hamlet Industrial (HI) District 40 11.9 Airport Vicinity (AV) District 41 11.10 Crown Land (CL) District 46 SECTION 12 ADOPTION AND REPEAL 47 12.1 Repeal of Existing Controls 47 12.2 Date of Commencement 47 SCHEDULES SCHEDULE A LAND USE BYLAW FORMS 48 SCHEDULE B LAND USE BYLAW MAPS 56 4 SECTION 1 GENERAL 1.1 TITLE This Bylaw may be cited as the “Birch Hills County Land Use Bylaw”. 1.2 PURPOSE The purpose of this Bylaw is to manage the use and development of land and buildings within the County to achieve the orderly, economical and beneficial development of land. 1.3 APPLICATION The provisions of this Bylaw apply to all land and buildings within the boundaries of the County. 1.4 CONFORMITY WITH BYLAW No person shall commence any development unless it is in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Land Use Bylaw. 1.5 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS In addition to meeting the requirements of this Bylaw, it is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain other such permits, approvals or licenses that may be required by the municipality or other Provincial Government departments and agencies. 5 SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS In this Bylaw: “ACCESSORY BUILDING OR USE” means a building or use, including a farm building, which in the opinion of the Development Authority, is subordinate to, exclusively devoted to, and located on the same site as the principle building or use. “ACT” means the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000 as amended. “ADJACENT” means land that is contiguous to another parcel of land, or would be contiguous if not for a river, stream, railway, road or utility right of way or reserve land. “AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY” means an industrial use related to agriculture involving the storage or processing of farm products and without restricting the generality of the above may include a grain elevator, seed cleaning plant, abattoir, pelletizing plant, bulk storage tank or area, auction market, livestock holding station, anhydrous ammonia, bulk fertilizer or a use similar to those listed. “AGRICULTURE (EXTENSIVE)” means the raising or production of any cultivated crops, livestock or dairy products which utilizes relatively large areas of land and in which the use of buildings and confinement areas is auxiliary to the use of the land itself. “AGRICULTURE (INTENSIVE CULTIVATION)” means the raising or production of any cultivated crops which relies generally on the confinement of plants, and includes such uses as market gardens, nurseries, tree farms, berry farms and greenhouses. “AMUSEMENT FACILITY” means any facility where four or more of any combinations of mechanical games, electronic games, and/or pool tables are kept for the purpose of furnishing entertainment to the public for a fee. “APARTMENT BUILDING” means a residential building containing three or more dwelling units, each with an entrance either directly from the outside or to a common vestibule. “APIARY” means all permanent structures relating to the raising and keeping of bees for commercial purposes. “APPEAL BOARD” means the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. “AUTO BODY AND PAINT SHOP” means an establishment for the repair and/or painting of motor vehicle bodies but does not include facilities for the sale of fuels, lubricants, or automotive accessories, or for mechanical or electrical repairs. “BASEMENT” means that portion of a building between two floor levels which is partially underground but which has two feet of its height from finished floor to finished ceiling above the adjacent finished grade. “BED AND BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENT” means an establishment that provides breakfast together with the rental of up to 3 bedrooms and the bath facilities of a private single detached dwelling that is permanently occupied by the owner of the establishment. “BUILDING” includes anything constructed or placed on, in, over or under land but does not include a highway or public roadway or a bridge forming part of a highway or public roadway. 6 “BUILDING SUPPLY SALES” means a building or structure in which building or construction and home improvement materials are offered or kept for sale at retail and may include the fabrication of certain materials related to home improvement. “BUILDING HEIGHT” means the vertical distance of a building measured from the average grade adjacent to the building to the highest point of the roof. “BUS DEPOT” means a building and associated facilities used by bus operators for the loading and unloading of persons and goods and may be used to store buses and related equipment. “CABIN” means a small, roughly built house or cottage, used on a seasonal basis. It has a floor area no less than 74.3 m2 (800 ft.2) and has a direct connection to a source of potable water, electricity and sewage disposal. “CAMPGROUND” means a recreational development for the purpose of providing short-term or occasional accommodation for recreational vehicles or tents. A campground is not construed to mean a development for the purpose of accommodating long term, i.e. longer than fourteen (14) consecutive days of permanent occupancy. “CAR AND TRUCK WASH FACILTY” means the provision of facilities, including a central water supply for washing vehicles. “CHILD CARE FACILITY” means a facility licensed by the Province to provide daytime personal care, supervision and education, but does not include overnight accommodations. Typical users include day care centers, play schools, schools, nursery schools, and other similar uses. “CONFINED FEEDING OPERATION” means a confined feeding operation as defined in the Agricultural Operation Practices Act or its successor legislation. “COUNCIL” means the Municipal Council of Birch Hills County. “COUNTRY STORE” means a building located outside a hamlet where merchandise and foodstuffs are offered for retail sale. “DEVELOPMENT” means any development as defined in the Act. “DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY” means the Development Officer or Municipal Planning Commission as the case may be. “DEVELOPMENT OFFICER” means the person appointed by a resolution of Council to the office established by Section 3.1 of this Bylaw. “DEVELOPMENT PERMIT” means a document authorizing a development issued pursuant to this Bylaw. “DISCRETIONARY USE” means the use of land or a building which is listed in the column captioned "Discretionary Uses" in a table of uses for certain districts in this Bylaw, and for which a development permit may be issued subject to the provisions of this Bylaw.