In five Ormstown zones, a request to change the planning bylaws requires an overall development plan

Bylaw 153-2023 requires anyone asking to change the planning bylaws for zones RO-1, RO-3, RO-4, RFD-1 or RFD-5 to first file an overall development plan, prepared by an urban planner, which council grants or refuses by resolution. The copy the town has posted is an administrative codification and shows no adoption or in-force date.

Why this bylaw exists

The bylaw has no preamble. Its stated object is to govern PAEs, which are required when someone asks to change the planning bylaws (règlements d'urbanisme) for certain zones, and which let the municipality define "in general terms" the development it wants (art. 1.3).

Bylaw 153-2023 replaces Bylaw 66-2011 and its amendments, without affecting proceedings begun or permits issued under the old bylaw (art. 1.4).

The copy the town has posted is an administrative codification (codification administrative) that warns it has no official value. It prints no notice-of-motion, adoption or in-force date, and article 5.1 says only that the bylaw "will come into force" under the Loi sur l'aménagement et l'urbanisme and the Code municipal. The signature lines for the mayor and the interim director general and clerk are blank.

Where it applies

The bylaw applies to zones RO-1, RO-3, RO-4, RFD-1 and RFD-5 on the zoning map annexed to zoning bylaw 148-2023 (art. 1.2). It has no map of its own.

What an application must contain

Applications go to the town's planning department (service de l'urbanisme) on the required forms, in three paper copies and one electronic copy (art. 3.1, 3.2). Besides contact details and the current cadastral plan, the file must include:

• a plan of the physical site with a topographic profile at 5-metre contour intervals made by a land surveyor, plus watercourses, flood zones, wetlands and woods (art. 3.2 b);
• the PAE itself, prepared by an urban planner (urbaniste): an overall plan at 1:5,000 and a concept plan at 1:1,000 showing phases, uses, streets, paths, parking and parks (art. 3.2 c);
• an ecological characterization by a biologist, a civil engineering feasibility study with a traffic impact study, a soil study, visual simulations, a land-use table, infrastructure cost estimates and a phasing schedule (art. 3.2 c);
• a letter committing the owner to transfer the streets meant to be public; to transfer at least 10% of the land for parks, playgrounds or a natural space, or pay 10% of its assessed value, or part of each as council decides; not to oppose servitudes, and to bind any buyer to that; and to carry out the PAE as approved (art. 3.2 d).

The file is admissible once complete and the fees paid. An applicant who is not the owner needs the owner's power of attorney (art. 3.2).

How an application is reviewed

1. Review by the competent authorityThe competent authority (autorité compétente) checks the file, suspends the study until anything missing arrives, and gives a preliminary opinion on whether the project meets the criteria (art. 3.4).
2. Sent to the CCUwithin 60 daysEvery admissible application goes to the planning advisory committee (comité consultatif d'urbanisme, CCU) within 60 days of receipt (art. 3.5).
3. CCU studyThe CCU applies the criteria in chapter 4. It can ask for more information, hear the applicant, visit the property and sit more than once (art. 3.6).
4. Written recommendation60 days, or 90The recommendation to council is due within 60 days after the application is presented, and can be postponed to a later working session held within 60 days after the session at which it was due. If the CCU asks for more information, the deadline becomes 90 days. A changed application counts as a new one, with fees (art. 3.7).
5. Council decisionAfter consulting the CCU, council grants or refuses the PAE by resolution (art. 3.8).
6. RezoningCouncil may then adopt a bylaw amending the planning bylaws to include the approved PAE (art. 3.9).

Chapter 3 sets no public notice, public meeting or objection period for a PAE.

What council can require, and what comes after

As a condition of approval, council can require an agreement in which the owners or developers pay the cost of certain parts of the plan, including infrastructure and equipment, carry out the plan within a set time, provide financial guarantees, put in place mitigation or compensation measures for lost natural areas, and transfer the park land. (art. 3.8).

An approved PAE does not replace permits (art. 3.10). Permits bylaw 151-2023 asks for a copy of the approving resolution with a subdivision or building permit application (151-2023, art. 3.1, 3.4). Any later change to an approved PAE goes through the whole process again as a new application (art. 3.11).

The rules for each zone

Zone RO-1

The aim is collective housing and housing within reach of first-time buyers (art. 4.3). Permitted uses are seniors' residences, multi-family buildings of no more than 4 dwellings, and semi-detached or row single-family houses, at a minimum of 20 dwellings per hectare with water and sanitary sewer (art. 4.4).

Zones RO-3 and RO-4

The two zones' total area must be 85% purely residential and 15% other permitted uses in buildings mixed with housing: 10% parks, green space and trails, and 5% commercial and public functions, which must occupy the ground floor with dwellings above, up to 8 dwellings in mixed use. The minimum density is 20 dwellings per hectare with water and sanitary sewer, and the project must follow the phasing in article 5.35 of the zoning bylaw. A street loop to Route 201 through zone I-1 is mandatory (art. 4.6).

Zones RFD-1 and RFD-5

The objectives are to favour very low density, minimize the road network and favour hobby farms (fermettes) (art. 4.7). Only detached single-family houses are allowed, at a minimum required density of 3 dwellings per hectare, and no water or sewer service is required. Criteria include avoiding dead ends, few watercourse crossings, wetlands and lakes kept inside larger lots, large setbacks, and phases of at least 20 hectares (art. 4.8).

Fees and enforcement

Fees are set by the town's fee bylaw in force (art. 3.3). The current schedule, Bylaw 39-2026, has no line that names a PAE. Its line 62 charges $2,000 before the study of any request to amend a planning bylaw, with $1,000 refunded if council refuses the request. It does not say whether that fee covers a PAE.

Bylaw 153-2023 creates no offence and sets no fines. Designated officers (the autorité compétente) apply it with the powers in permits bylaw 151-2023. The owner, occupant or applicant must give them site access and get every permit or certificate required in connection with the PAE before starting work (art. 2.4, 2.5).

What this means for residents

A request to change the planning bylaws for zones RO-1, RO-3, RO-4, RFD-1 or RFD-5 must come with a PAE prepared by an urban planner and the owner's written commitments, including land or money for parks (art. 1.2, 1.3, 3.2). Council grants or refuses the PAE by resolution, and any rezoning that follows is done by a separate amending bylaw (art. 3.8, 3.9).