Planning & Development Bylaws & Policies

INTRODUCTION

In making decisions regarding issues of planning and development, municipalities have much to consider, including federal and provincial legislation, environmental and historical impacts and the approved policies of the municipality itself. Section 638.2 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires all municipalities within Alberta to have a listing of all policies and bylaws that influence Planning decisions available on their public websites.

The following is a directory of all approved documents of the Town of Trochu which relate to planning and development.

NEW for 2024:

The Town of Trochu has passed a new Land Use Bylaw and a new Telecommunication Structure Policy.

Changes from the previous Land Use Bylaw include:

  • reorganization and reformatting to make the LUB easier to read and understand;
  • ensuring the LUB meets the new requirements of the Municipal Government Act; for example issuing complete application notices;
  • ensuring all uses and terms are defined for clarity;
  • eliminating the need for permits for developments which have low impact, such as certain signs, minor home occupations, and solar panels;
  • creating a new use for fences, and inserting fences as a discretionary use in residential districts;
  • clarification of development permit application requirements;
  • requiring a notice of application to be mailed to adjacent landowners for all discretionary uses prior to a decision being made;
  • increasing the variance power of the Development Officer to 20% from 10%;
  • greater detail of bylaw enforcement, including violation tags and tickets;
  • ensuring the correct land use districts are applied to each property and appropriate uses are listed in each district;
  • slight density increases in residential districts, such as Duplexes in the R-1 District;
  • the creation of a new R-1S Small Lot Residential District;
  • greater detail on the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units;
  • removing all regulations related to Telecommunication Structures, and creating a new proposed Telecommunication Structure Policy in alignment with Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) process
APPROVED PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTS
These documents must be considered when making planning and development decisions:
  • BYLAW NO 2019-05 Inter-municipal Development Plan (IDP)
    • The IDP addresses the long term land use and future growth of lands along the common borders of the Town of Trochu and Kneehill County.
  • BYLAW NO 2023-05 Municipal Development Plan (MDP)
    • The MDP addresses the long term land use and future growth of lands within the boundaries of the Town of Trochu
  • BYLAW NO 2024-07 Land Use Bylaw, zoning map & amendments (LUB)
    • The LUB regulates the control of specific development and use of land and buildings within the boundaries of the Town of Trochu
    • Click here for a larger version of the zoning map
    • This Bylaw replaces Land Use Bylaw 2015-09 which is now repealed
    • Current amendments are as follows:
Read more

 

  • BYLAW NO 2020-16 Northwest Area Structure Plan (NW ASP)
    • The NW ASP guides the future development of approx. 31.9 hectares of land on the northwest edge of Trochu
  • BYLAW NO 1995-9 Trochu Development Authority Establishment
    • The Development Authority is established to ensure that any proposed developments are in accordance with the IDP, MDP, LUB, and any relevant ASPs
  • BYLAW NO 2022-02 Municipal Planning Commission (MPC)
    • The MPC is part of the Development Authority and makes decisions regarding certain development applications as per the LUB
  • BYLAW 2018-08 Regional Subdivision & Development Appeal Board (SDAB)
    • The SDAB makes decisions on any appeals to the decisions of Trochu’s Development Authority

 

These documents may be considered when making planning and development decisions:

 

  • Policy 2021-01-25-01 Residential Business Lot Sale Referral Policy
    • Provides a monetary incentive for a referral that results in the sale of a lot owned by the Town of Trochu
  • Policy 2023-04-10-01 Economic Development Incentive Policy
    • Provides property tax incentives for new residential or commercial developments, and large additions or renovations, as well as grants to aid storefront updates
  • Policy 2004-09-20-08 Ensuring That the Owner Pays for New Services To Old Lots
    • Lays out the responsibilities of payment for new or upgraded water and sewer services
  • 2024-08-12-01 Telecommunication Structure Policy Siting & Design
    • Provides procedural standards for the placement of telecommunication structures within Town limits in alignment with Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) processes
  • BYLAW NO 2022-05 Arboretum & Dr Hay House – Historic Resource Designation
    • Designates the Arboretum as a Municipal Historical Resource and sets out guidelines in regard to future developments
  • BYLAW NO 2018-04 Advertising Bylaw
    • Regulates how MPC decisions are advertised to the general public
HIERARCHY OF DOCUMENTS

The hierarchy of documents within the Town of Trochu’s land use planning framework is established by the MGA.  The MGA requires that each level is consistent with the level above and below, and that policies or regulations within planning document(s) at each level be implemented by those below in the decision-making process.

The MGA provides the legislative authority for municipal land use planning and decision making, while the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) regional plan (or Land Use Policies in their absence) provides broad-based policy directions and principals for municipal land use planning, which are effected through statutory plans and bylaws. The statutory plans provide future direction for the development and use of lands at the fringe areas of the Towns boundaries (IDP’s) or within the whole Municipality (MDP).

The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) regulates the use and development of land based on the policy directions of statutory plans, while the Subdivision and Development Regulation regulates subdivision planning in conjunction with the MGA, applicable statutory plans, and the Land Use Bylaw.

The policies, studies, guidelines, and other documents contain additional information or specific requirements outside statutory plans and the LUB documents that are considered for certain types of development permits and subdivision applications.  Where there is a conflict or inconsistency between a higher-level planning document and lower-level planning document, the higher-level planning document prevails to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency.