Michelle Creek animal keeping bylaw advances
New zone would legalize limited agriculture on leasehold residential sites
Sparwood council advanced a zoning amendment Tuesday night that would legalize limited agriculture along Michelle Creek Road, following a short public hearing and a staff presentation outlining the proposed changes.
The public hearing convened to consider a zoning amendment described as changing residential properties along Michelle Creek Road from R1 to a new low density residential agriculture zone (Rag) and adding pasture and range as a permitted use in the M2 and M3 zones.
Planning and Development Director Patrick Sorfleet told council the area has historically been zoned R1, but farm animals have been kept there “in contravention of the zoning bylaw” and enforcement has been limited. He said the proposed amendment would create “a legal avenue for keeping of farm animals along Michelle Creek.”
Sorfleet said the new zone would allow limited agriculture, including horses, donkeys, cattle, bees, rabbits and chickens, with animal limits tied to parcel size using animal unit calculations.
During the public hearing, a resident asked why the bylaw would need to go to the Minis-try of Highways. The chair said it is because the area is within 800 metres of a designated highway.
Resident Sharon Fraser, identified during the hearing as living on Lilac Terrace, asked whether people who have kept animals for years would face hardship or be required to remove animals. The chair said the bylaw’s intent was to legitimize existing practices and provide clearer limits, describing it as “legitimising something that probably should have been done 60 years ago.”
A question submitted by Amanda Stone at 68 Juniper Court asked whether animal limits are “stackable or limited.” Shortley deferred to staff, and explained the limit is in aggregate, meaning the total number of animal units is combined across animal types rather than per category.
The hearing closed and council later considered the bylaw during the regular meeting. Sorfleet repeated that the amendment would create the Rag zone for Michelle Creek Road residential sites, with changes including replacing lot with site terminology due to leasehold interests and adjusting minimum parcel and width requirements to better reflect existing site patterns.
He also said the bylaw would add pasture and range to the M2 and M3 zones, which he described as mine properties, and list pasture and range in the A1 zone to ensure it is permitted where intended.
Council gave the zoning amendment third reading. Sorfleet said if council proceeds, the bylaw must go to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit for approval before it can return to council for adoption because it affects land within 800 metres of a controlled access highway.
Residents with questions about how the new zone would apply to their property can contact the district’s planning and development department and follow the bylaw’s next steps as it moves through provincial review.