MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS

The Comité consultatif d’urbanisme (CCU, or Urban Planning Advisory Committee) is a body mandated by the Municipal Council to provide opinions on the applications submitted to it in matters of land use planning and development.

The CCU is a committee composed of residents appointed by the Municipal Council and at least one member of the Municipal Council to orient, guide and support actions in urban planning.

The CCU’s recommendations and opinions allow the Municipal Council the benefit of input from elected representatives and citizens, who can contribute their life experience in the municipality and express their special concerns regarding planning within the territory. The creation of a CCU thus brings citizens closer to urban planning issues.

and for any other questions and applications specific to urban planning at the Municipal Council’s request.

The CCU has been mandated to safeguard the heritage and character of the Municipalité du Canton de Shefford. Its primary objective is to allow harmonious development while preserving a superior quality of life.

Sources : Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions.
Reference : Règlement constituant le comité consultatif d’urbanisme numéro 2006-433 (Bylaw constituting the Urban Planning Advisory Committee No. 2006-433).

For more information on the role of the CCU within the municipality, visit the website of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et Régions (MAMR)..

The CCU has been mandated to safeguard the heritage and character of the Municipalité du Canton de Shefford. Its primary objective is to allow harmonious development while preserving a superior quality of life.

A minor exemption is an exceptional procedure established under the bylaw, whereby the council may authorize the performance of projected work or the regularization of work in progress or completed work when the work does not satisfy all the provisions of the zoning or subdivision bylaws.

The bylaw on minor exemptions assures some flexibility of regulatory application provided that a “minor” exemption is involved. A minor exemption is mainly useful in providing solutions to practical problems that cannot be predicted in advance by a planning bylaw.

A minor exemption is NOT intended as:

1. a means of responding to an applicant’s request “at his convenience”;
2. a means of avoiding an amendment to the planning bylaws;
3. an incentive for non-compliance with the bylaws;
4. a means of legalizing a construction error;
5. a means of getting around the planning program and the planning bylaws.

Before formulating recommendations, the CCU must analyze every application for an exemption in the light of the four criteria imposed by the Act respecting land use planning and development. Thus, an exemption may be granted only:

1. if the application of the zoning and subdivision bylaw causes serious prejudice to the applicant;
2. if it does not hinder the owners of neighbouring properties in the enjoyment of their right of ownership;
3. if it respects the aims of the planning program;
4. if the work in progress or already performed was authorized by a building permit and carried out in good faith.

How to file an application for a minor exemption:

1. Read the bylaw on minor exemptions, No 2006-430, to find out the procedures and fees associated with the application;
2. Complete the minor exemption application form and pay the fees associated with the application;
3. Attach relevant documents, such as the certificate of location, occupancy, photos, plans, etc. and documents that help to understand the project;
4. File complementary documents with the Urban Planning and Environment Department (see schedule below for the filing deadline).

Routing of an application for a minor exemption:

1. Filing of the documents at the Urban Planning and Environment Department;
2. Analysis of your application by the Urban Planning and Environment Department;
3. Publication of a public notice in the local newspaper fifteen days before the council meeting;
4. Analysis of your application by the CCU;
5. CCU recommendation to the Municipal Council;
6. Decision of the Municipal Council (by resolution).

Sources : Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions.
Reference : Le règlement sur les dérogations mineures numéro 2006-430 (Bylaw on minor exemptions No. 2006-430).

For more information on minor exemptions, you can visit the website of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et Régions.

Here is the schedule of monthly meetings of the CCU (Urban Planning Advisory Committee) of the Municipalité du Canton de Shefford.

Note: You must be a member of the committee to be able to attend the CCU meetings and the dates may vary slightly (for filing of documents and CCU meetings).

The bylaw respecting site planning and architectural integration programs (PIIA) identifies certain territories or certain classes of projects that are the object of a qualitative assessment at the time of an application for a permit or a certificate. This allows the municipality to assure the quality of site planning and architectural integration while accounting for the special conditions of each situation.

This more flexible approach to assessing projects based on criteria instead of standards favours the search for innovative solutions in an open exchange between the municipality and the developers. The approach is particularly appropriate when controlling development and construction in the territory’s sensitive zones, whether in dense settings where architectural or urban planning interests prevail, or in sectors still characterized by their natural environment.

It is well suited to projects of a certain size for which the municipality wants to ensure some unity and harmony (a new neighbourhood, for example) or projects found in special interest zones (a wooded area, for example). Thus, in a natural setting, the municipality may seek site planning that is more respectful of the site, the vegetation and the topography.

Sources : Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions.

Projects subject to PIIA:

• To come

How to submit an application for a PIIA:

• To come

Routing of a permit application subject to a PIIA :

• Filing of the documents with the Urban Planning and Environment Department;
• Analysis of your documents by the Urban Planning and Environment Department;
• Analysis of your file by the CCU;
• CCU recommendation to the Municipal Council;
• Decision of the Municipal Council (resolution);
• Permit issued according to the resolution.