The Consultant indicated the First Draft of the Rural Zoning By-law would:
- implement the City’s Official Plan,
- consolidate thirteen existing Rural Zoning By-laws containing 193 zone categories into one harmonized and streamlined by-law with 37 zone categories,
- be based on input of the City, stakeholders and the public, and
- build on the recommendations in the “Issues and Methodology Report”.
The draft zoning by-law would have a colour-coded format made up of the following sections:
Parts 1 and 2: Administration and Interpretation to establish where the by-law applies, how it is read and interpreted and transition provisions between existing and new planning applications.
Part 3: Establishment of zones and schedules to introduce standardized new terms and definitions, defining all permitted uses and underlining all defined terms.
Part 4: General provisions to modernize, update and consolidate existing by-laws and add many new terms such as Accessory Residential Units, On-farm diversified uses, shoreline naturalization and seasonal farm help.
Part 5: Parking & Loading Facilities to review and organize minimum parking standards by different use categories and to support a cycling friendly approach.
Parts 6 to 13 to set out Residential, Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, Environmental Protection, Open Space, Community Use and Exception Zones categories to bring consistency, clarity and to protect conformity with the Official Plan. Several features were highlighted:
- The Residential zones consolidate sixty-three previous zones into three zones.
- Zones no longer being structured around seasonality of use.
- New Agricultural and Agricultural Consolidation zone categories to avoid creation of piecemeal special categories and to provide a broad range of on-farm diversified uses.
- New zones to recognize commercial and industrial uses located outside hamlets with modernized and harmonized terminology.
- Maintaining the current Environmental Protection boundaries and recognizing the unique polices of the Longford Reserve.
- A Community Facility Zone harmonizing and modernizing permitted uses such as community gardens with criteria.
- Site-specific exceptions included in the by-law to be reviewed by subsequent draft by-law.
Administrative Enactment section to repeal old by-laws and enact the new by-law.
Interactive zoning mapping for each property, the Wellhead Protection Area and Conservation Authority Regulated areas with mapping to be shared with the Task Force in PDF and hard copy form.
The Consultant highlighted sections intended to address comments and outcomes of Workshops:
- Waterfront areas regulations to support shoreline naturalization, recognize established building lines, regulate shoreline structures and include criteria for redevelopment of existing buildings and structures and to implement the Official Plan’s 30.0-metre setback requirement.
- Agricultural Zoning to permit new and existing on-farm diversified uses contributing to farm income and efficiency and to recognize existing agricultural-related uses but requiring site-specific zoning by-law amendments for new agricultural-related uses.