CARSTAIRS – Following a public consolation process and a public hearing, the Town of Carstairs' council has approved the municipality’s updated land use bylaw (LUB), which includes new definitions for home-based businesses and secondary suites.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
Also known as the zoning bylaw, the land use bylaw guides day-to-day development activities in town.
The town’s land use bylaw was last comprehensively updated in 2027, with the 2025 updates made to bring the municipality into line with best practices and changes in regulations.
The update also allowed the town to incorporate additional flexibility into regulations to response to evolving development trends, said chief administrative officer Rick Blair.
Regarding parking, the updated bylaw outlines requirements vis-a-vis commercial, industry, public and residential properties.
The change includes the minimum number of parking stalls per gross floor area (GFA).
For commercial, the parking stalls for district shopping centres is two stalls per 100 meter square GFA; retail (small) two stalls; retail general 1.5 stalls; retail large two stalls; commercial recreational and entertainment facility two stalls; financial institution 1.5 stalls; office 2.5 stalls; hotel one stall per guest room; medical clinic six stalls; drive-in business five stalls; eating or drinking establishment three stalls; vehicle and equipment sales two stalls.
For industry, manufacturing facility requires one stall per 100 square metes with six minimum; warehousing 0.5 per 100 square metres with four minimum.
For public, care facilities require one stall per four beds and one per two workers; religious institution two stalls per 100 square metres GFA; public and quasi public uses as required by development authority; and school as requested by the respective school board.
For residential, apartments, attached dwellings and multiple housing developments 1.75 per dwelling unit; secondary suite one per suite; adult care residents two per three units of accommodation; bed & breakfast establishment one per guest room; all others two per dwelling unit.
“At least 10 per cent of the required number of parking spaces per site, to a maximum of 10 and a minimum of one, shall be barrier-free parking spaces intended for use by mobility-reduced persons,” the bylaw states.
Those barrier free parking spaces must be located closest to the entrance of the building for which they are intended, must have a firm, slip-resistant and level surface, and have a well-lit, distinguishable, barrier-free path of travel from the parking areas to the building entrance.
The updated bylaw also includes new definitions for home-based business (Class 1) and home-based business (Class 2).
The Class 1 home-based business section states that “a person conducting (such as business) shall not store materials, commodities or finished projects associated with the business outside the dwelling unit or accessory building.”
The Class 2 section states that “the maximum number of clients at any one time shall be at the discretion of the development authority, having regard to the character of the immediate area, proximity to other residences, and the potential impact of traffic.”
The updated LUB also has new definitions for secondary suites, either secondary suites lane or secondary suites garden.
It also includes new sections for solar collector (roof/wall) and solar collector (freestanding).
The bylaw also now includes the following definition for campground: “Campground means land for temporary placement of holiday trailers, motor homes, tents, campers and similar accommodations for short term occupancy, together with such necessary facilities as washroom, laundry and camp shop, to meet the needs of campground users.”
The complete updates land use bylaw is available for viewing on the town’s website.
