Update: Second Draft (Rural) Zoning By-Law

The Municipality has released the second draft of its proposed new Zoning By-law focused on rural Clarington. This second draft was prepared to respond to Council direction specifically on the issue of environmental protection in rural areas. Council will consider a staff report at a Special Planning and Development Committee meeting on November 30, 2021, at 7 p.m. The report provides context and information and asks Council to direct staff on how to proceed with zoning for the rural portion of Zone Clarington. If Council directs Staff to move forward with the recommendations in the staff report, staff will continue to refine the content of the proposed Zoning By-law and proceed with comprehensive public consultation, seeking input from the public to help inform the proposed new By-law. The staff report also outlines a robust plan for public consultation that goes beyond the legal minimum requirements and provides a summary of the comments we have received to date.

It’s important to note that the Zone Clarington project is a multi-year initiative to review, update and consolidate Clarington’s existing zoning regulations, which outline how land can be used, and create regulations for things such as land use permitted in each zone, building heights and setbacks. There will be plenty of opportunities throughout the process to gather public input and insight into the project and hold the necessary public meetings to obtain approval and enact a new Zoning By-law in Clarington that conforms to the Municipality’s Official Plan.

• Read the full notice of the upcoming Zone Clarington Staff Report to learn how to view or participate in the meeting. 
• Zoning By-Law Review Community Engagement Summary Report #1 (PDF)
  • Appendix #1 (PDF)

What’s in the second draft of the Zoning By-law?

The second draft of the Zoning By-law specifically addresses Council’s direction regarding environmental protection in the rural areas. Council directed staff to maintain the existing environmental protection zoning that is in place today and include additional environmental information and mapping on land use regulations set out by other agencies, explaining how the Municipality must follow these regulations mandated by the Region of Durham, the Province, the Conservation Authorities, and others.

The second draft of the Zoning By-law for rural areas attempts to balance Council direction, landowner concerns regarding the protection of environmental features, and Clarington’s legal obligation to follow provincial policy. Since the current environmental protection mapping is based on historical data and is not up to date, the second draft combines the existing mapping and added regulations to ensure that these natural features and hazards are protected whether they are depicted on a map or not.

Why do we need to protect the environment?

Ontario has a wealth of natural heritage resources, including water, ecological, mineral, and archaeological resources that provide “important environmental, economic and social benefits,” as outlined in the Provincial Policy Statement. In protecting the environment, we are protecting human health and overall community well-being and are building community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

How is land use regulated, and why?

Various levels of government work in coordination to protect the environment and ensure that community growth, development and construction are managed properly. These regulations strive to balance green space, the protection of our agricultural land, and foster community and economic growth. With all that in mind, Clarington Council directed staff to include maps and regulations from other agencies that reflect their land use controls as they apply to development in rural areas. In some cases, this type of mapping does not exist (e.g. Regional Woodland By-law areas). The maps that staff have provided only show a snapshot of the natural features that exist in Clarington and need to be protected. The new draft Zoning By-law hopes to provide a visual and written guide to those trying to understand the zoning and requirements for developing or altering properties in rural areas where environmental features may be on or adjacent to those properties.

What does this mean for landowners?

The mapping in the second draft of the Zoning By-law reflects environmental protection provisions currently in place in Clarington’s existing zoning by-law. However, not all Provincially protected natural features are included in the mapping. As a result, the Draft Zoning By-law proposes regulations to limit buildings and structures from being built within natural hazards or within or near natural features.

If a proposed development on a property is not within a natural hazard or within or near a natural feature, it can proceed with the site alteration and building permit process. However, the proposed development would still need to comply with all other regulations listed within the Zoning By-law.

If a proposed development appears to be within a natural hazard or within or near a natural feature, a technical study may be needed to ensure these features aren’t negatively impacted, and Site Plan Control approval may be triggered. The Site Plan Control approval process would include a review of the natural features on the property to identify and set the limits of the natural feature or hazard and protect these features from the proposed development. This process is consistent with the Site Plan Control and approval requirements in place since 2005 across the Oak Ridges Moraine area in Clarington.

We recognize that in some cases, a proposed development may not have a negative impact on a natural feature. In these cases, where a technical study is not necessary to support the proposed development, the development proposal would be exempt from the Site Plan Control and approval process.

What are the next steps?

• Staff will ask Council for approval to initiate the Planning Act process to move forward with a Zoning By-law amendment to develop a new by-law focused on the rural portion using this second draft as a proposed starting point.
• Staff will ask Council for approval to develop a new corresponding Site Plan Control By-law that works in tangent with the Zoning By-law and provides a mechanism to obtain a technical study of the potential impact of any proposed development on natural hazards and natural features, where necessary.
• If Council provides direction for Clarington to move forward with the rural portion of the Zoning By-law, the official legal process of public consultation will begin. So far, the Municipality has been communicating with residents and asking for public input through a process designed to add to and go beyond the minimum statutory public consultation process mandated in the Planning Act.
• Staff will continue to develop the urban portion of the Zoning By-law for future approval. In the meantime, lessons learned from the development of the rural zoning will assist in preparing the urban portion.
• Once Council decides on the above recommendations, the Municipality will inform residents of the direction given and the next steps.
• Staff will continue to update the Zone Clarington project page and social media. Stay tuned for more updates.