Zoning & Official Plan
Zoning By-law
A Zoning By-law regulates the use of land within municipal limits. It dictates the permitted uses of the land and establishes standards with respect to the location of buildings, height, setbacks, lot sizes, parking requirements, etc.
The zoning standards and associated mapping separate lands into distinct classifications or zones such as residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, rural, etc. Within each zone, details can be found with respect to permitted uses, appropriate lot sizes, distances between buildings, etc.
The Municipality of Mattice – Val Côté adopted its most recent Zoning By-law on November 26th, 2019.
Zoning By-law amendment
To use or develop a property in a way that is not allowed by the zoning by-law, an application to amend the by-law must be completed and submitted to the Municipality, along with the required fees. The process to deal with a zoning by-law amendment is the same as for a zoning by-law: including public notice, public meeting, waiting periods, etc. If the zoning amendment is denied by Municipal Council, the decision can be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Zoning variance
If the anticipated use of the property is allowed by the zoning by-law but it is impossible to abide by one of the set standards, a minor variance application can be completed and filed with the Municipality, along with the required fee. Municipal Council will then appoint, by by-law, a Committee of Adjustment to address the issue. Its members will then consider the criteria or tests established for this purpose. If the committee allows the variance, the zoning by-law remains intact. The applicant simply gets an exemption with respect to one of its requirements.
Official Plan
The Ontario Planning Act provides the basis for preparing official plans.
The official plan describes the policies on how land should be used on a defined territory in order to ensure that future planning and development will meet the specific needs of a community. It addresses issues such as: where new housing, industry and shops will be located; what services like roads, watermains, sewers, parks and schools will be needed; community improvement initiatives, and more.
The Hearst Planning Board is the authority that develops and applies the Official Plan of the Hearst Planning Area. The current official plan, along with the Mattice secondary plan, received approval from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in October 2017.
Official Plan Amendment
To use or develop property in a way that conflicts with the official plan, an official plan amendment application must be completed and presented to the Hearst Planning Board, along with the required fees.
Other Applications
The Hearst Planning Board will also consider land severance applications and requests to approve plans of subdivisions.
A land severance is the authorized separation of a piece of land to form a new lot or a new parcel of land, commonly known as consent. A registered plan of subdivision creates new, separate parcels of land which can be legally used for the sale of lots.
Lakeshore Capacity Assessment for Shallow Lake
Paragraph 3.22 of our Zoning By-law provides that approvals for development, redevelopment and residential intensification within 300 metres of Shallow Lake shall only be given once confirmed, through a Lakeshore Capacity Assessment, that there is sufficient capacity available on the lake to accommodate the same.
In 2024, municipal Council decided to proceed with such an assessment. The methods used and the conclusions reached can be found in the report below, prepared by Hutchinson Environmental Sciences Ltd.
Conclusion: Whether assessed based on water quality or recreational density, there is NO capacity for additional development on Shallow Lake.
Some of the recommendations outlined in the report will immediately be addressed, while others will require amendments to the Official Plan and to our Zoning By-law.