April 24, 2024

City Council passed first reading on the Land Use Bylaw, also known as the Zoning Bylaw, triggering a legislatively required public hearing which was held on April 15. The Public Hearing was adjourned and administration will bring more information and recommendations for next steps for City Council at the next Council Meeting on April 29. The public will not have an opportunity to speak on this item during the meeting.

The City of Red Deer is reviewing its Land Use Bylaw (Zoning Bylaw). The primary intent of the project is to review the fundamentals and regulations of the Land Use Bylaw, with the intent to increase flexibility and adaptability by reducing regulations where they are not necessary. Equally important, we will be improving the document’s usability and reviewing the related processes to improve the customer experience.

Every municipality in Alberta is required to have a Land Use Bylaw. The Land Use Bylaw establishes rules and regulations for land development as well as the process of making decisions for development permit applications within The City of Red Deer.

This project, it has been broken up into the following stages:

Phase 1 (we are here):

We are currently on this stage, and this is the focus of our public engagement. In this stage, we are reviewing and updating the following components:

• All Residential Zones and Related Regulations
• All Commercial Zones and Related Regulations
• All Industrial Zones and Related Regulations
• Definitions
• Defined Use Regulations
• General Regulations, limited to the following:
  • Parking
  • Landscaping
  • Accessory Buildings

Phase 2 (2024+):

In 2024, we will begin work on reviewing and updating other components of the Land Use Bylaw. Public engagement will continue when we enter this phase. Some of the other parts of the land use bylaw that will be updated in the future include:

• General Regulations
• Overlays and other districts, such as Parks and Environmental Preservation
• Direct Control Districts and Site Exceptions.