Council Introduces New Sooke Zoning Bylaw

Sooke, BC – October 27, 2011

The new 2011 Sooke Zoning Bylaw will be introduced at the Regular Council meeting on Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers. The public will be given an opportunity to provide comments at a Public Hearing proposed for November 7, 2011.

“On behalf of Council, I am pleased to invite the public to review the latest version of the new Sooke Zoning Bylaw,” said Mayor Janet Evans, “The Zoning Bylaw is one of the most important tools our municipality has for implementing our many plans and policies, primarily the innovative OCP and Town Centre Plan.”

With the adoption of the new Official Community Plan (OCP) in 2010, it was necessary for the District of Sooke to undertake a review of its 2006 Zoning Bylaw. A new Zoning Bylaw ensures that Sooke is equipped with an important regulatory tool that will aid in implementing the OCP and other policy documents. To that end the following elements have been incorporated into a new Sooke Zoning Bylaw:

  • New zones for the technical business park industry, rural residential, and town centre, consistent with the OCP;
  • Elimination of redundant zones and/or consolidation of zones where there were marginal differences;
  • General update of the bylaw’s general provisions and incorporation of new ones consistent with the OCP (e.g. vehicle and bicycle parking); and
  • More user friendly layout and mapping

The consulting team, Island Planning Services Consortium, worked extensively with District of Sooke Council and Staff, as well as the Council-appointed Technical Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, to identify those features of the existing Sooke Zoning Bylaw that are effective and should carry over into the new Zoning Bylaw, and those areas which need improvement. In the Spring of 2011, the Technical Review Committee recommended to Council that the draft Sooke Zoning Bylaw be presented to the public for review and consultation. Public consultation followed and as a result of the public sessions that took place, the online survey and the questionnaires submitted, the public comments were compiled with responses from the Consultants. A draft of the Zoning Bylaw was presented to Committee of the Whole in July for review and comments.

For more information, contact:
District of Sooke - www.sooke.ca
Tel: 250-642-1634
Fax: 250-642-0541