P-3: Works and Utility

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

None: the zone lists no dwelling

Main uses

Works yard, vehicle and equipment storage yard, solid waste facility with recycling depot, heliport, government services, public utilities, fire and ambulance hall

Smallest lot for a subdivision

None set in the zone

Height limit

10 m

Setbacks

Front 7.5 m, rear and sides 6 m; a solid waste facility 50 m from any home on another lot

Section 4.01 lists the zone as Public Works and Utility.

The zone sets no lot size or lot coverage.

The zone allows vehicle and equipment storage yards, but s. 1.16(4) bans outdoor storage outside the C-1 and M-2 zones; how far a storage yard may store outdoors is unclear, so ask the RDEK.

Outdoor storage is screened by a tight board fence or evergreen hedge of even height, with nothing stored above it (s. 1.16(3)).

Fences and screens up to 1.6 m; no barbed wire or electric fencing (s. 1.16).

An RV or park model trailer can't be used as a home (s. 1.05), and an RV may be placed and lived in only in a zone that allows campgrounds (RES-1) or while a home is being built (s. 1.20).

No vehicle wrecking or outdoor repair, and no derelict vehicles (s. 1.17).

New lots also need at least 475 m² of usable land: one contiguous piece averaging 15% slope or less, with no land slip, avalanche, rock fall, flooding or high water table hazard, and at an elevation of at least 750.11 m (ss. 2.02, 3.03).

A new lot needs both a community water system and a community sewer system, unless it is for a park, public utility, solid waste facility, parking lot or access route (s. 2.01(3), (4)). In a bare land strata, the zone's minimum lot size is the minimum average lot size (s. 2.01(A)).

Heights are measured from finished grade to halfway between the eaves and the ridge of the main roof (s. 3.03); chimneys, antennas, solar collectors, spires and the like are exempt (s. 1.12(2)).

Every zone also allows parks, public utilities, highways and strata access routes, heritage and archaeological sites, and conservation, recreation and ecological reserves (s. 1.04). Salvage yards and third-party advertising are banned everywhere, and intensive agriculture outside the ALR (s. 1.05). Buildings stay 22 m from a controlled access highway unless the lot is on a frontage road (s. 1.07).

Floodplain (Schedule B): the underside of the floor of any space for living, business or goods that flood water would damage sits above 751.0 m beside Lake Koocanusa, and 1.5 m above the high water mark of any other watercourse; such buildings stay upland of the 750.11 m contour of the reservoir; fill and supports stay 10 m from the lake's natural boundary (mapped on Schedule B1) and 15 m from other watercourses. Renovations, small additions, carports, garages and entrance foyers are among the exemptions (Schedule B2).

Basements are allowed only upland of the basement suitability line on Schedule B1, with the underside of the floor no lower than 751.0 m (Schedule B, s. 1.02(3)); the bylaw's definition of a basement also says none below the basement suitability elevation of 753.5 m (s. 3.03). How the two levels fit together is unclear, so ask the RDEK.

Geotechnical hazard (Schedule C, mapped on Schedule C1): on land rated Zone B, a subdivision or building permit needs a qualified professional's report that the land is safe for the use; on Zone C, no habitable buildings.

Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property, and development permit areas, the ALR and building rules apply on top. Confirm with the RDEK's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: SweetWater Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2127, 2009 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of East Kootenay.