Every parcel in the Town of Creston has a specific Zone and Land Use Designation. Zoning determines what can be done on a property, and the land use designation represents the community’s long-term vision. While the current Zone of a property may differ from the long-term Land Use Designation, a property can only be rezoned if the new Zone conforms to the Land Use Designation.
Together, the land use regulations can significantly impact the quality of life in a municipality by prioritizing livability, economic opportunity, and growth.
- Zoning regulations are in the Zoning Bylaw No. 1958, 2022.
- Land Use Designations are in the Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1854, 2017.
Zoning and Official Community Plan Amendments
Rezoning is the process of having your Zone changed to another Zone. You must apply for a Zoning amendment and, in some cases, an Official Community Plan amendment if your planned development does not meet the requirements of the current Zone or Land Use Designation.
For example, if your property is zoned as Residential - Low Density (R1), and you want to build a tri-plex, a rezoning to Residential - Medium Density (R3) would be required. As both the current and proposed zone are within the Residential Land Use Designation, an Official Community Plan amendment is likely not needed.
If your property is zoned as Residential - Low Density (R1) and you would like to change it to General Commercial (CG), both a Zoning amendment and an Official Community Plan amendment to change the Land Use Designation are likely required.
Application Process
Once the Town of Creston has received a complete application, the application will, in most cases, take 3 – 6 months to process. Successful applications will go through the following steps:
- Pre-application meeting with Staff
- Submission of complete application
- Staff review and development of report for Committee of the Whole
- Committee of the Whole (Council consideration of application and report, and direction to staff on next steps)
- Referrals sent to appropriate agencies (Provincial Ministries, School Board, and others as applicable)
- Amendment Bylaw presented to at Council Meeting for consideration of 1st and 2nd Readings
- Notification sent to neighbours within 60 meters of the subject property, inviting them to the Public Hearing and informal public informational meeting. Public advertising of proposed Public Hearing.
- Informal Public Informational Meeting, to be hosted by the applicant (Zoning only)
- Public Hearing
- 3rd Reading
- Adoption