The new and improved Land Use Bylaw (LUB) is headed to a Public Hearing on August 11!
You might have seen the maps and bylaw notices, but what is this really about?
All municipalities have a LUB, or something like it. This bylaw is how a town controls development within its borders. All development must be authorized by the government responsible for the area (in the case of Peace River, that's the Town). If you want to build a house or a business, you have to work with the Town first.
The LUB creates 'zones' for what is allowed. So in the downtown, it might say something like, "Restaurants and gift shops are cool – mining operations are not". So if you want to create a cafe business, you might look at the LUB and see that cafes are a "permitted use" in the downtown and other areas, but not in residential zones. Permitted means you're good to go, and so long as all your plans are up to regulatory snuff, game on.
If you *did* want to put a cafe somewhere the LUB says you can't, you have to go through the bylaw amendment process, which usually takes a number of months and must be approved by Council.
That's why we want the community to understand the new LUB, which is being reviewed right now, before it's in place. This bylaw truly affects everyone in town, and if you have plans to build here, it will become part of your reality. It's a wide-ranging bylaw that guides all development and land use in the community.
Here's a list of some of the major changes being proposed in the new LUB right now. It will give you a better sense of what the LUB is all about:
Combining residential districts
Merge eight low-density residential zones into a single "Residential 1" district, permitting single homes, duplexes, and accessory dwellings town-wide.
New residential 6 district
Introduce a "Residential 6" district for properties without municipal water and sewer services, tailoring regulations to these areas.
Main street development rules
Adjust building height requirements on Main Street, reducing the minimum from 2 storeys to a 1.5-storey façade to encourage development.
Simplified business relocation
Allow certain businesses to change locations within commercial or industrial buildings without a development permit, provided the business falls within a ‘permitted use’ class.
Home-based business regulations
Permit home offices and minor home-based businesses (e.g., massage therapy) to operate without a development permit, supporting entrepreneurship with minimal neighbourhood impact.
Commercial patios
Enable businesses to establish patios on private property without a development permit, following specific guidelines.
Solar panels
Allow building-mounted solar panels without a development permit, ensuring installations meet safety standards through building permits.
Fence regulations
Set maximum fence heights (e.g., 1 meter in front yards, 1.9 meters in rear yards) to establish clear expectations and maintain neighbourhood aesthetics.
Storage containers (sea cans)
Permit storage containers as accessory structures in commercial, industrial, and institutional areas, with limitations in downtown zones; continue to prohibit them in residential areas except during construction.
Landscaping requirements
Introduce specific landscaping mandates for new developments, such as requiring at least one tree in the front yard of new house developments.
Recreational vehicle (RV) parking on residential property
Limit residential properties to a maximum of one RV, with guidelines on placement to maintain neighbourhood character.
Downtown parking requirements
Remove minimum parking requirements for most uses along key downtown streets, except for apartments and hotels, leveraging existing public parking.
On-street parking credits
Allow on-street parking adjacent to a development site to count toward parking requirements for public and commercial uses.
Bicycle parking
Introduce bike parking requirements for apartments, commercial, and public developments where on-site parking is mandated.
Public notification process
Modify how the public is notified about development permits, including notifying neighbours before certain decisions and posting results online.
Assessment criteria for applications
Establish clear criteria for evaluating discretionary use and variance development permit applications, considering factors like visual impact, traffic, and environmental effects.
So that, and much more, is what the Public Hearing is about. Council has passed first reading of the bylaw, triggering the Public Hearing. This is the next chance for the community to voice any support or opposition to aspects of the bylaw. If you have specific questions about the bylaw, you can also contact the town office. Staff are happy to answer questions! They love nothing more.
After the Public Hearing, Administration will take that feedback and submit the bylaw back to Council. Once it's given three readings, it's passed, and those will be the new development rules going forward.
You can read the whole bylaw and see more information at peaceriver.ca/LUBrefresh.
