(UPDATE) PRRD mulls zoning feedback following public engagement

Update, March 31st, 10 a.m.: This story was amended to correct a quote attribution error. Energeticcity.ca is happy to set the record straight.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The regional district could be pushing back the timeline for its zoning bylaw to accommodate feedback from residents. 

On March 19th, the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) reviewed a presentation from staff about its ongoing work on the Regional Zoning Bylaw. 

Work on the bylaw began in 2025, with the first draft released for public input on October 1st. The PRRD held 15 open houses across the region, receiving hundreds of responses from October to December. 

Devin Croin, a planner with the district, explained round two of engagement on the bylaw focused on several key topics:

• Accessory building regulations
• Home-based business regulations
• Proposed zones
• Residential density
• Suites

Regarding attached garages, accessory buildings, greenhouses and shipping containers, 79.5 per cent of respondents did not want the size of attached garages to be regulated, 66 per cent didn’t want the size of accessory buildings to be regulated and 88.1 per cent were in favour of allowing “any size of greenhouse,” provided it has a soil base. 

Approximately 75.3 per cent of respondents didn’t think one shipping container or temporary storage structure was enough for a residential property. 

Therefore, Croin noted staff had updated the policy to dictate one shipping container and one temporary storage structure were permitted on residential properties. The bylaw will also say shipping containers used in the construction of an accessory building are exempt from this maximum. 

A majority of respondents supported the inclusion of detached suites and caretaker suites, and stated the proposed maximum floor area of 90 square metres for detached suites was not large enough. Croin stated staff proposed to keep this maximum, to “align with the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) Act and regulations.”

Reid Graham, director of Electoral Area B, questioned this decision and noted staff adjusted other parts of the bylaw according to respondent feedback. 

“At first it was one shipping container, 75.3 [per cent] opposed it, so we made a change, but when you go back to something like attached garages and accessory buildings, 79.5 [per cent] oppose it, but we’re not making a change,” Graham said. 

“We’re kind of cherry picking what we feel we want to change, and not listening to the people there, so that concerns me quite a bit. You can’t choose this and not that, because what legitimacy is there in that?”

Staff acknowledged Graham’s concerns, stating there would be room to investigate the possibility of grandfathering properties into the new bylaw when it is finalized, and that no changes were being made for the first reading but changes could be made for the second reading of the bylaw. 

The regional district staff noted 68.6 per cent of respondents were not in favour of regulating the maximum space of a home-based business, to which staff proposed a change in the new bylaw from a maximum floor area of 25 square metres to 50 per cent of the floor area of the dwelling. 

Other changes to the bylaw since its first reading, according to Croin, include:

• An enhanced definition for ‘airstrip’ and newly implemented definitions for ‘aircraft maintenance’ and ‘jet engine test cell’ to give landowners clarity.
• Zoning for all unsurveyed Crown land that may not have zoning associated with it.
• Updated definitions where necessary to “provide greater clarity for residents.”
• Minor changes to some regulations in the bylaw based on feedback to ensure it is “easy to understand.” 

When asked by the board, staff explained second reading could be delayed so the directors could consider further adjustments, which Brad Sperling, board chair and Electoral Area C director, agreed with.

“This is our bylaw, it’s taken quite a while, it’s a ton of work that staff have put into it and residents [have] responded [to], but sometimes you need to get it right instead of quick,” Sperling said. 

Following the presentation, the directors voted to request reports from staff on increased options for caretaker suites and detached suites regarding floor size and maximum floor area if the board was to go outside of the ALC Act and regulations.

To view the full presentation, see below.