Summary

Keywords

Municipal law — Bylaws — Zoning — Lawful non-conforming use — Does the legal description of the lots in a progressive land development following subdivision delimit the extent of an owner’s rights under the doctrine of lawful non-conforming use?

Summary

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In 2021, the respondent, District of Ucluelet, adopted bylaws that downzoned land owned by the applicant, Onni Wyndansea Holdings Ltd. The bylaws, which revered the land to a rural zoning, impeded the applicant from carrying out a proposed subdivision development project. The applicant filed a petition in the British Columbia Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the bylaws. Alternatively, the applicant sought a declaration that its proposed use of the land is a lawful non-conforming use within the meaning of s. 528 of the Local Government Act, R.S.B.C. 2015, c. 1, and therefore protected from the effect of the rezoning. The chambers judge declined to grant either form of relief, and dismissed the petition. The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. It concluded that the chambers judge made no error in her factual conclusion that the bylaws were not enacted in bad faith or for an improper purpose. The chambers judge also did not err in law or fact in concluding that the applicant did not establish a lawful non-confirming use.

Lower Court Rulings