WP-1: Watershed Protection

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house, plus a secondary suite

Main uses

House; timber harvesting and silviculture, Christmas trees, wildland use (with cabins); farming only on the part inside the ALR

Smallest lot for a subdivision

125 ha

Lot coverage

10%

Height limit

10 m

Setbacks

30 m from every lot line; every building except utilities 100 m from any lake, stream or watercourse

This zone protects drinking water. No herbicides, pesticides or fuel stored within 200 m of a lake or stream; fuel tanks are diked to 1.5 times their size, none below ground, fuel hoses shut off automatically, and waste oil leaves the watershed.

No clearing of live trees within 60 m of a lake or 25 m of a stream, except fallen or hazardous trees and utility work. New power lines and pipelines use existing utility corridors, and towers and poles stay 50 m from any lake or stream.

Wildland use needs at least 16 ha; its cabins are at most 90 m² and 5 m tall, with no kitchen (s. 4.21).

Secondary suite (s. 4.16): one per lot, at most 49% of the house's living space, or above the first storey of a detached garage (70 m² on lots under 0.4 ha, 90 m² on 0.4 ha or more; the garage up to 7.5 m tall, 7.5 m from the front, 3 m from the rear and 1.5 m from the sides, 4.5 m beside a road). On approved sewage disposal, never strata-titled, and not in a manufactured home; no garage suite on a lot with a duplex or another extra dwelling.

The bylaw doesn't list vacation or short-term rental, or home occupation (which includes bed and breakfasts), as a use in this zone. Ask the RDEK before renting a home short term.

While a new house is being built under a building permit, one extra dwelling or an RV may be lived in on the lot; it goes once the house is occupied (s. 4.04A). Otherwise an RV or park model trailer can't be used as a home (s. 4.04).

No vehicle wrecking or repair; at most one derelict vehicle, out of the front yard and 100 m from any lake or stream.

Every zone also allows public utilities, parks, roads and conservation areas (s. 4.03).

Inside the ALR, farm uses the Agricultural Land Commission allows are permitted, and the Commission's rules also apply to suites (ss. 4.14 and 4.16).

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: Elk Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 829, 1990 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of East Kootenay.