Subdividing land is often a part of retirement or estate planning, farm succession planning, or an opportunity for new development. Subdividing a parcel requires provincial and municipal approval and may require rezoning. Subdivision and rezoning both require approval from the Community Planning Branch,  the provincial planning authority.

One of the most common types of applications is subdividing one or two acreages from a quarter section. Information specific to this type of subdivision has been compiled in the Single Parcel Country Residential Subdivision Fact Sheet.

Subdivision Process

1. Contact the RM Planning Department. Planning staff can help identify any constraints or requirements that the applicant should address before applying to the province.

Some requirements RM staff may highlight include:

• What is your long-term plan for the parcel(s)?
• What is your proposed timeline for development?
• How do you plan to access the parcel(s)? Is the roadway constructed to a standard that provides access year round?
• How do you plan to access potable water?
• How do you plan to deal with wastewater?

2. Contact a surveyor to create a Plan of Proposed Subdivision. The Plan of Proposed Subdivision must meet specific guidelines as outlined in the Zoning Bylaw, such as minimum and maximum site sizes.

3. Submit an Application to Subdivide Land to the province's Community Planning branch, or have the surveyor submit one on your behalf.

4. After applying to Community Planning, they will refer the application back to the RM for review. They may also send the application to other agencies.

5. Once the RM receives the application from the province, RM staff will begin working on the rezoning and service agreement process (see below for more information about servicing agreements). The Planning Department may ask to meet with you and your surveyor to discuss other required forms, reports, studies, and documents.

6. If Municipal Reserve is required, the RM will determine if it will be met through a land dedication or cash in lieu of land. See below for more information about municipal reserve.

7. Once the applicant has signed the servicing agreement and paid all servicing and advertising fees and, if rezoning was required, it has been approved by Council, an RM Planner will present your application to Council for subdivision approval.

8. If Council grants subdivision approval, an RM planner will submit the subdivision approval to Community Planning for review. 

9. If the subdivision receives approval from the province, they will contact your surveyor with a Certificate of Approval. At that point, your surveyor will contact ISC (Information Services Corporation) to create separate certificates of title for each new parcel.

What is a Servicing Agreement?

A Servicing Agreement is a legal document between the applicant and the municipality. It outlines the rights and responsibilities of the applicant regarding development and the municipality regarding parcel servicing. As part of a Servicing Agreement, the applicant may also be responsible for paying servicing fees, including:

• Road and Construction
• Bridges and Drainage
• Public Works Facilities
• General Governance
• Parks, Recreation, and Pathways
• Planning and Development/Administration
• Municipal Reserve (see below)

What is Municipal Reserve?

Provincial legislation requires that Municipal Reserve be provided at the time of subdivision. The Municipal Reserve requirement can be satisfied either through land dedication or cash-in-lieu. For residential subdivisions, land dedication is equal to 10% of the total subdivided land area. For commercial or industrial subdivisions, land dedication is equal to 5% of the total subdivided land area.

In many cases, especially for rural and single-parcel subdivisions, the Municipality will take a monetary cash-in-lieu payment instead of land dedication. The following payments shall be required in lieu of land dedication:

• For Single-Parcel Country Residential Developments outside the Development Overlay Area: payment is $6,500 per acre of land required for land dedication (10% for residential and 5% for commercial and industrial).
  
  
• For All Developments within the Development Overlay Area and All non-Single-Parcel Country Residential Developments outside the Development Overlay Area: payment is equal to 10% for residential (or 5% for commercial/industrial) of the land value as determined by an appraisal undertaken by the RM.

The RM’s municipal appraiser is a third-party consultant who calculates the land value using fixed appraisal tools at no cost to the subdivision applicant. If the applicant is unsatisfied with the assessment provided by the Municipality, they may hire an appraiser at their own expense.

Municipal Reserve cash-in-lieu payments are due at the time of signing the Servicing Agreement.

To learn more about Municipal Reserve and cash-in-lieu, please review the Municipal Reserve - Cash-in-lieu Policy (May 2023). 

Rezoning Process

1. Submit a Rezoning Application to the RM Office. The rezoning application fee is $500 for the first parcel and $50 for each additional parcel.

2. An RM Planner will present your application to Council for first reading. A bylaw requires three readings to be approved.

3. If the bylaw is given first reading, a public hearing will be scheduled where any interested individual may speak for or against the rezoning bylaw. The public hearing must be advertised in the Quad Town Forum for a minimum of 2 weeks. A letter must also be sent to all property owners within a certain distance of your parcel. You will be responsible for paying all advertising costs - the Quad Town costs between $400 and $600, and letters are sent out at $1.50 per letter. The location of your parcel determines the distance requiring letters:

4. After the public hearing, Council may give the bylaw second and third readings.  

5. If the bylaw is given second and third reading and all relevant costs have been paid, an RM planner will submit the bylaw amendment to Community Planning for review. The rezoning is only in effect once it has been approved by Community Planning.