Land Use Bylaw Review

The Land Use Bylaw is the “rule book” for managing development in the County. The regulations in the LUB aim to address the potential impacts created by land uses and development, and establish the forms of development that can occur in the future, providing certainty to those who live, work and enjoy the County. 

Land Use Bylaws have many benefits:

• Manages potential impacts between land uses, the community, and the environment. 
• Provides certainty to the County of what type of uses and form of development is expected to occur. 
• Provides certainty to landowners/ developers on the types of uses and developments both they and their neighbours can and cannot have.

The existing Bylaw has not been substantively reviewed in over 20 years. Creating a more current Land Use Bylaw is one of the many ways the County is working hard to make the Wetaskiwin region an attractive community for economic investment while balancing the impacts of development on the environment and the local community. 

How do I stay informed?

The County of Wetaskiwin is committed to engaging the community throughout the Project, ensuring that residents have the opportunity to contribute their insights.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at lubreview@county10.ca

Land Use Bylaw Open Houses

This past summer four Open House sessions on the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) were held in Wetaskiwin, Winfield, Mulhurst Bay, and Alder Flats. Over 300 people attended the Open Houses! Thank you to everyone who participated. Your feedback is being taken into account in the development of the new Land Use Bylaw, a key step toward a more efficient, sustainable, and vibrant future for our community.

The engagement boards can be viewed here. 

Engagement Process: 

• September 7, 2023 – Council Workshop;
• October – November 2023 – Public survey in Newsletter and on Website;
• November 2023 - Land Use Bylaw Educational Roadshow;
• April 2024 – Newsletter update on LUB progress;
• May 9, 2024 – Wetaskiwin Open House;
• May 30, 2024 – Council Workshop; and
• July & August 2024 – 4 LUB Open Houses plus the annual Buck Lake Open House.

The Draft Land Use Bylaw includes the following proposed major changes:

•  Reducing Districts from over thirty (30) to ten (10) – This will be achieved by combining similar districts and eliminating districts that are not being used. 
• Permitting up to two (2) dwelling units on a lot – The current standard is a maximum of one (1) dwelling unit on a parcel with some exceptions.
• Simplifying and streamlining Recreational Unit (RU) regulations on private property – The current Bylaw has a convoluted set of regulations for the storage of RUs, short-term camping, and Recreational Units Use. The updated Bylaw proposes to allow a maximum of two (2) RUs, for personal use and storage, on Residential Recreation (RR) and Rural Residential Conservation (RRC) parcels with or without a dwelling, and Hamlet Residential (HR) and Country Residential (CR) parcels with a dwelling. In the Agricultural (AG) District, three (3) RUs would be allowed on parcels forty (40) acres or less and four (4) on parcels greater than forty (40) acres. There would be no longer any separate short-term camping or storage regulations.
• Home Occupations – There are currently five (5) different categories of Home Occupations in the existing Bylaw and all require a Development Permit. The update proposes reducing the categories to just Major and Minor Home Occupations and exempting Minor from requiring a Permit provided the business complies with the Home Occupation Regulations.
• Discretionary and Variance Assessment Criteria – The updated Bylaw introduces discretionary use and variance application evaluation criteria to support development officer decision-making.

 There are also several other minor changes such as reducing some yard setbacks, exempting accessory buildings up to 150 ft² from a Development Permit (currently 108 ft²), increased variance capabilities, adding regulations for specific uses, improved sign regulations, laying out enforcement process, etc. Further, the new Bylaw has also been reformatted to add clarity, remove redundancies, and improve ease of use and readability.

Read the complete draft Land Use Bylaw. 

What’s been done so far?
In the fall of 2023, the County launched a Land Use Bylaw educational roadshow, reaching out to approximately 66 residents to share the purpose of the project and gather initial feedback. Alongside the roadshow, a survey was conducted to collect input on specific LUB topics, receiving an impressive 246 responses. This past summer, four Open House sessions were also held in Wetaskiwin, Winfield, Mulhurst Bay, and Alder Flats, with over 300 people attending.

Thank you to everyone who participated. Your feedback is being carefully considered as we draft the new Land Use Bylaw, an important step toward a more efficient and vibrant future for our community.

Where are we at?
We are currently in Phase 6 of our Land Use Bylaw Review and Update process. In this phase, the Project Team, comprised of County Planning and Development Staff, V3 Consulting, and the Planning and Development Committee, reviewed the feedback received, not only from the summer but also all the engagements over the past year, and go about completing a draft of the Land Use Bylaw (LUB). The draft Land Use Bylaw is now available for public review. 

County Council has completed their review of the draft Land Use Bylaw, which is now available for public review on our website. This allows residents and stakeholders the opportunity to review the proposed changes and provide additional comments. 

Following the public review period, a formal Public Hearing will be scheduled, giving everyone a chance to share their thoughts directly with Council before any final decisions are made. First Reading of the draft Bylaw is scheduled for November 26, 2024, when Council will also set the date for the Public Hearing, anticipated to be December 17, 2024. The feedback from this hearing, along with previous input, will be carefully considered as Council moves towards adopting the new LUB, ensuring it reflects the community’s vision for a more efficient and well-planned future.