Peace River, Electoral Area E

In Area E, a zone limited to detached houses must allow at least one secondary suite or detached accessory home (a garden suite or carriage house) next to a house. A floor of 3 or 4 homes applies on rural land only inside an urban containment boundary drawn in a regional growth strategy, and most rural land is outside one. None of it applies on land in an Islands Trust local trust area or under a rural land use bylaw, and in the Agricultural Land Reserve the Commission's limits come first. How many homes you can build on a lot.

The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Area E (list in force from June 1, 2026), so the provincial rule doesn't limit short-term rentals to the host's home. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry. Short-term rental rules in BC.

Reports for lots in Area E can't name the zone: we have no open zoning map for it (see the places covered).

Ask the Peace River Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.

The federal boundaries put 3 reserves of McLeod Lake, Saulteau First Nations and West Moberly First Nations in or beside Area E. On reserve land the First Nation decides land use, not the local zoning bylaw; a report says when a lot is on reserve land or within 500 m of it. Reserve land in BC, by place.

The Peace River Regional District's building inspection covers part of Area E (Building Bylaw No. 2542, 2024 (Schedule A maps the mandatory permit areas)): around Chetwynd and Moberly Lake. There a building permit is needed and the work is inspected; elsewhere in the area it issues none. Outside the mandatory permit areas no permit is needed, though an owner may ask for one. The BC Building Code applies everywhere all the same. Our reading of the Peace River Regional District's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?

Check one lot: is it in the ALR? · is the soil good for farming? · is it in a community watershed?

Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 9 wells in Area E, 2007 to 2021, among them 4 of the Province's observation wells. The median passed Health Canada's limit for manganese (3 wells) and lead (2 wells). A report names the nearest sampled wells within 10 km of a lot. A neighbouring well isn't your water: test your own. What BC's well water tests for, by place.

Mapped aquifers

24 mapped aquifers lie in Area E, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 595: Sunset Prairie Bedrock Aquiferfractured sedimentary rock95 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 591: East Pine - Groundbirch Bedrock Aquiferfractured sedimentary rock42 wells · moderate productivity
3. 3Aquifer 590: Groundbirch Buried Valleyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)42 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 688: East of Chetwynd; north of Pine Riverfractured sedimentary rock41 wells · moderate productivity
5. 5Aquifer 633: Sweetwater Bedrock Aquiferfractured sedimentary rock39 wells · moderate productivity
6. 6Aquifer 917: Near East Pinefractured sedimentary rock23 wells · low productivity
7. 7Aquifer 627: Chetwynd area; west of Dokie Sidingfractured sedimentary rock21 wells · moderate productivity
8. 8Aquifer 592: Sunset Creek Overburden Aquiferconfined sand and gravel (glacial)20 wells · moderate productivity
9. 9Aquifer 626: North of Pine River; Chetwynd areaconfined sand and gravel (glacial)20 wells · moderate productivity
10. 10Aquifer 630: Jackfish Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)16 wells · moderate productivity

An aquifer is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it, so a sliver of one at the edge can be left out. Wells and productivity are for the whole aquifer, which can reach well beyond Area E. The province maps aquifers mostly in settled valleys, so a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Every mapped aquifer in BC · sampled lakes.

Sampled lakes

6 sampled lakes lie in Area E (2 only partly), largest first.

1. 1Williston Lake1,727 km² · 9% of it heretoo few readings to judge
2. 2Moberly Lake29 km²clarity 1.9 m (2016–2026)
3. 3Gwillim Lake11 km²too few readings to judge
4. 4Moose Lake (Murray River watershed)1 km²too few readings to judge
5. 5Cameron Lakes1 km² · 54% of it heretoo few readings to judge
6. 6Jackfish Lake38.5 hatoo few readings to judge

A lake is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it or 100 ha of it. Clarity is the median summer Secchi depth; the nutrient class is our reading of Carlson's index from phosphorus or chlorophyll, not a provincial rating. Either is given only for a lake with at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012. Most lakes have never been sampled, so a lake missing here may simply have no record. Every sampled lake in BC.

Source: Groundwater wells (GWELLS), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Ground Water Aquifers, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

The BC Energy Regulator maps about 1,067 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area E, permitted to 19 companies, among them Tourmaline Oil Corp., Shell Canada Limited and Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. About 583 km more is on recent permits it lists as new; about 256 km is abandoned or deactivated, often still in the ground. A report lists any pipeline within 200 m of a lot, and flags one within 30 m, where digging needs the permit holder's agreement. Pipelines in BC, by place.

The Province lists 41 active waste discharge authorizations in Area E; the commonest kinds: oil and gas well site or facility (7), oil and gas processing plant (6) and sewage treatment or discharge site (6). Of these, 19 may discharge to air, 18 effluent to water or land and 1 refuse to land. A report lists any within 2 km of a lot, and flags one whose point is on it. Permitted discharges in BC, by place.

The Province maps 11 open gravel pits and quarries in Area E, among them Del Rio Pit, Fabrick Pit and Garbitt; and one open coal mine. A report lists the permits within 2 km of a lot, names an open pit or quarry within 500 m and flags one whose permit area takes in the lot. Gravel pits and mine permits in BC, by place.

On ParcelMap BC, the land in Area E is 6% private, 4% Crown land with a parcel drawn (3% with no title); no parcel is mapped over 90%, likely most of it untitled Crown land, with lakes and road allowances. A report says who owns the land along a lot's line. Crown land next to a property, and every place's land by owner.

The Ministry of Forests maps 74 active Crown range tenures (74 grazing) reaching into Area E, over 65% of its area, licensed for about 39,228 animal unit months of grazing a year in all. Outside a pound district, keeping livestock off a lot is the owner's fence to build. A report lists any tenure within 1 km of a lot. Open range and grazing in BC, by place.

The Province maps 65 registered traplines over nearly all of the area and 15 guide outfitter territories over 97% in Area E. The maps are drawn over titled land too, but traplines are registered on Crown land: on titled land, anyone but the owner or occupier needs their written permission to trap. A report says whether either takes in a lot. Traplines and guiding territories in BC, by place.

Area E lies in wildlife management units 7-31 (31%), 7-21 (24%), 7-22 (24%), 7-32 (19%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 12 parks and protected areas (Bocock Peak Park, a provincial park; East Pine Park, a provincial park; Gwillim Lake Park, a provincial park; Hole-In-The-Wall Park, a provincial park; and 8 more) reaching into Area E, over 18% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 10 sites there. A report names the nearest park and recreation site within 25 km of a lot. Parks and recreation sites in BC, by place.

Check one lot: is there a mineral claim? · power lines nearby? · pipelines nearby? · a gravel pit nearby? · a landfill or plant nearby? · logging planned nearby? · cattle on open range? · is there a trapline? · can I hunt on it? · a park nearby? · Crown land next door?

Source: Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Census figures are from 2021; the next census results start in 2027. Area boundaries are Statistics Canada's census subdivisions, which follow municipal and electoral area lines. The places named at the top are the official place names in the area (BC Geographical Names) with the most 2021 homes nearer them than any other name, on ISED's home points: our reading.

Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence); BC Geographical Names, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).