Zoning
The Municipality of South Bruce’s Zoning By-law regulates land use and building for each property in the community. You should always review the zoning requirements for your property before you begin a building or planning project.
Maps
Visit Bruce County to view interactive zoning maps for all properties located in the County. You can also explore our community zoning maps to find out about the zoning requirements for your property.
Request a zoning compliance letter
Compliance letters provide information regarding open or closed building permits, septic files, non-compliance or non-conformance, by-law infractions, etc. Contact the Building Department to request a zoning compliance letter.
Zoning amendments
If your building or planning proposal doesn’t align with the Zoning By-law, you can request Zoning By-law Amendment.
Every property within the Municipality of South Bruce is subject to requirements of the Zoning By-law. A zoning by-law is a legal document passed under Section 34 of the Planning Act. It is the primary implementation tool for the Municipality and County Official Plans and is intended to reduce conflict between incompatible land uses. The Zoning By-law is considered “applicable law” under the Ontario Building Code Act.
A zoning by-law contains provisions to control:
- What a property can be used for;
- Where buildings can be placed;
- How tall, what size, and how many buildings can be built; and
- How many parking spaces are needed, and where the parking spaces can be located.
The by-law includes maps to show what zone each property is and the permitted uses for each zone.
Click here to view the in-effect Zoning By-law for the Municipality of South Bruce.
Visit Bruce County’s website to view interactive zoning maps for all properties located in the County.
Why would the Municipality update its Zoning By-law?
The Planning Act mandates that Municipalities update their Zoning By-laws within three years of updating their Official Plans to ensure alignment between the two documents. The Municipality’s Official Plan was last updated in 2018, and the Zoning By-law is due for an update. Since the Zoning By-law determines what land uses are and are not permitted on property, it’s important to regularly update these permissions to address the changing needs of society. Updating the Zoning By-law will result in a set of land use regulations that more effectively, efficiently, and fairly address the needs of our community.
For further information on the Planning Act, the Provincial Policy Statement, Citizen’s Guide to Land Use Planning, Bruce County Official Plan, and Municipality of South Bruce Official Plan please visit:
Scope of a Zoning By-law Review
A comprehensive review of the Zoning By-law will include:
- A review of zoning of all lands within the Municipality of South Bruce
- A review of the existing Zoning By-law as compared to the Official Plan for the County of Bruce and the Official Plan for the Municipality of South Bruce
- An analysis of zoning trends
- A discussion of planning issues that can be addressed through changes to the zoning by-law
- A first draft and final draft of the new zoning by-law, which includes an opportunity for your input and comment
- A review of public and stakeholder feedback on how the in-effect Zoning By-law could improve
The comprehensive review of the zoning by-law will not explore matters that are not appropriately resolved through zoning nor deal with requests to change zoning on specific properties, which are more appropriately dealt with through private development applications.
Please visit the County of Bruce’s website for more information on municipal planning applications.