In Ormstown's farm zones, council can authorize two kinds of activity case by case

Bylaw 156-2023 lets council authorize, case by case, a complementary use on a residential property or the storage, conditioning or processing of farm products in zones A and AD, where zoning does not allow it. Fines start at $1,000, and every day counts as a new offence.

The copy the town has posted is an administrative consolidation that says it has no official value. It prints no adoption or in-force date.

Why this bylaw exists

Its stated purpose is to authorize, under certain conditions, a use that the zoning bylaw does not allow in the zone concerned. Council judges the request against the bylaw's criteria after hearing from the planning advisory committee (Comité consultatif d'urbanisme, CCU), and can set its own conditions (art. 1.3). Article 4.2 says it takes effect under Québec's land-use planning act (Loi sur l'aménagement et l'urbanisme) and the Code municipal, and gives no date. It does not say it replaces an earlier bylaw.

That copy (codification administrative) has no preamble and no date of notice of motion, adoption or entry into force. Its signature block is unsigned.

Which uses can be authorized

Article 1.4 lists two, both inside zones A and AD of the zoning plan of zoning bylaw 148-2023 (art. 1.15):

• a complementary use on a residential property in agricultural territory (usage complémentaire sur un emplacement résidentiel en territoire agricole) that complies with article 4.5 of the zoning bylaw;
• storing, conditioning or processing farm products beyond the framework of the Loi sur la protection du territoire et des activités agricoles, in compliance with article 5.34 of the zoning bylaw.

Article 1.13 applies the terminology of the permits and certificates bylaw in force. Bylaw 151-2023, titled "Règlement sur les permis et certificats", defines a complementary use as an activity carried on alongside a single-family dwelling, in the house, an accessory building or on the property (Bylaw 151-2023, terminology). An authorization still needs a building permit, certificate of authorization or occupancy certificate (art. 1.4).

How an application works

1. File with the townAt least 7 days before the CCU meetingThe application goes to the designated official (fonctionnaire désigné), with the fees. A non-owner needs the owner's power of attorney (art. 2.2).
2. Admissibility checkAnswer within 30 daysA non-conforming project is declared inadmissible in writing; an incomplete file is suspended until completed (art. 2.2).
3. CCU reviewNo more than 30 working daysThe CCU studies the file against the criteria, can ask for more information, and makes a written recommendation, possibly with conditions. It goes to council within a reasonable time not exceeding 30 working days (art. 2.5–2.6).
4. Public notice and signAt least 15 days before the sittingThe clerk publishes a public notice and posts a sign on the property announcing the sitting, the request, and the right of any interested person to be heard (art. 2.7).
5. Council decisionBy resolution, with any conditions within the municipality's powers. A refusal states its reasons. The applicant gets a certified copy as soon as possible (art. 2.8).
6. Permit or certificateIssued only after the certified copy is obtained, if the project meets every other planning rule apart from the use itself and the resolution's conditions are met (art. 2.9).

The file must include the signed official form, a description of the use (hours, traffic, machinery, materials, storage), the measures against nuisances such as noise, dust and odours, and a land surveyor's site plan or certificate of location. In an agricultural zone, it must also name the farm products involved and explain how the use will strengthen farming (art. 2.3).

The evaluation criteria

Some criteria say "must" (doit), others "should" (devrait).

Complementary use on a residential property (art. 3.1)

• Must not disturb neighbouring homes through noise, light, odours or hours of operation.
• Must not cause neighbourhood problems or conflicts with farming.
• If it brings a large increase in heavy traffic, should be on a regional or collector road, with safe access.
• Layout must reduce visual, noise and odour impacts.
• Must not be set up on cultivated farmland or soils suited to cultivation.

Storing, conditioning or processing farm products (art. 3.2)

• Can be carried out on a lot separate from the farm operation.
• Must be limited to farm products.
• Must not contribute to depleting drinking water or to contamination through discharges.
• Does not generate separation distances with existing and future livestock buildings.
• If it brings a large increase in heavy traffic, should be favoured on the higher road network.
• Must not cause neighbourhood problems or conflicts with farming, and must meet article 5.34 of the zoning bylaw.
• Must strengthen farming and its development; should not be set up on soils suited to cultivation.
• Products processed must come mainly from farms in the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent.
• Should be near similar uses, to fill in a secteur déstructuré.
• In a built environment of superior or historic quality, must blend in or not harm it.
• Evening or night operations, noise and light must not disturb neighbouring homes.

After approval

Any change to the plans or documents needs a new application and fee (art. 2.10). The resolution lapses if no permit or certificate application is filed within 12 months, or 12 months after the permit or certificate expires if the work isn't finished. It and any permit become void if the use breaches a criterion or a condition, or if they were granted on false or erroneous information (art. 2.11). Article 2.11 does not say from what date the 12 months are counted.

What it costs

The fee is set by the fee-schedule bylaw in force (art. 2.4). In Bylaw 39-2026 (in force June 1, 2026), lines 64 and 65 print no amount:

Line (Bylaw 39-2026)	As printed	Fee
64	Usage conditionnel (voir conditions ligne 65)	None printed
65	PPCMOI (voir conditions ligne 65)	None printed

Penalties

Anyone who breaks the bylaw commits an offence. The bylaw sets these fines (art. 4.1):

Offence	Fine
First offence, individual (personne physique)	$1,000
First offence, company (personne morale)	$2,000
Second offence, individual	$2,000
Second offence, company	$4,000

The second-offence amounts apply to a second offence against a provision of which the person had already pleaded or been found guilty less than 12 months before the date sentence is pronounced on the second offence. Each day an offence continues is a separate offence (art. 4.1).

What this means for residents

In zones A and AD, council can authorize by resolution a complementary use on a residential property in agricultural territory, or storing, conditioning or processing farm products beyond the framework of the agricultural land protection act (art. 1.4, 2.8). Before the sitting, the application goes to the CCU, and a public notice and a sign on the property are posted at least 15 days ahead (art. 2.6, 2.7). An approval lapses if no permit or certificate application is filed within 12 months (art. 2.11).