The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) is a planning tool with the purpose of regulating development in a manner that is specifically enabled by the provisions contained in the Municipal Government Act (MGA) of Alberta. The bylaw relies heavily on guiding plans to inform it, including the Airdrie City Plan, Area Structure Plans, Redevelopment Plans, and Inter-Municipal Development Plans. The LUB is also expected to be consistent with any regional plans that are administered by the Province.
Specific control over land use is provided through the LUB. It divides the city in land use / zoning districts and establishes regulations and standards governing land use and development in each district. Within each district there are established permitted, discretionary and prohibited uses. Each district also includes "development standards" that govern the manner in which development is to take place. The LUB dictates and governs land use compatibility through the land use districting / zoning application process; density and lot sizing through the subdivision application process; and use of land through the development application process.
Airdrie’s 2016 Land Use BylaW (PDF) is written for today's growth pressures and contains clearly written regulations leaving less room for misinterpretation. Below are the current Land Use Bylaw regulations under Bylaw B-01/2016, as amended and consolidated from time to time.
In addition, you can try our Interactive City address and Land Use Search
Upcoming Land Use Bylaw amendments are brought forward during public hearings at Council meetings.
The Planning & Development Department manages and guides development in the City of Airdrie. This includes responsibility for all land use, policy, and development planning activities. The department works with the public and stakeholders in municipal land use. We are here to answer any questions you have about:
The Land Use Bylaw regulates activity on properties in Airdrie, and regulates items such as: lot size, building placement, building height, parking, landscaping, sign placement, fences and architectural appearance of proposed developments.
The term ‘Land Use Bylaw’ is used in place of zoning due to the unique history Alberta has with both zoning and development control models. The term has its origins in the Planning Act, 1977 which introduced the concept of a hybrid regulatory system in which both zoning and development control were permitted in a single bylaw through the use of conventional zoning districts and direct control (DC) districts.
Zoning is a method of organizing a city into districts. That is, each district will have a designated zoning regulation attached to it. This means that only certain types of buildings or land uses will be allowed on specified parcels and areas within the city. Zoning codes are city specific, they are not standard across the province.
If a parcel of land is not currently zoned for a certain use or could not be subdivided under the current land use district, a landowner may choose to apply for rezoning the parcel to another district that may allow the proposed land use or to allow subdivision of the parcel. Depending on the proposed future use, an Area Structure Plan or an Neighbourhood Structure plan may be required. You can contact the Planning Department for more information.
In order for Council to approve a rezoning, the proposed land use must comply with the Airdrie City Plan.
As part of the rezoning process, all applications are forwarded to a Public Hearing in order to provide all interested parties the opportunity to address Council.