On August 6 of 2024, staff presented a report to Council identifying various areas of modernization in the Zoning By-law. These areas would assist in providing greater clarity and flexibility for development proposals and better align it with the Town’s current objectives.
Council directed staff to prepare proposed Zoning By-law Amendments and to proceed with public consultation on amendments in the following themes:
- Accessible Parking Guidelines
- Accessory Farm Employee Accommodations
- Height for Accessory Dwellings in Residential Zones
- Residential Permissions in the Agricultural "A" Zone
- Residential Permissions in the Marsh Agricultural "AM" Zone
Read below for detailed information regarding the specific themes that are listed above.
Join us for a public meeting to discuss the proposed Zoning By-law amendment, gather input, and answer any questions.
When: Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Zima Room of the BWG Library & Cultural Centre, 425 Holland Street West
Accessible Parking Guidelines
The BWG Accessible Parking By-law 2019-22 was passed by Council in 2019 under the Municipal Act, to regulate accessible parking spaces, control the parking of vehicles in Town, meet the requirements of the Integrated Accessibility Standards, Ontario Regulation 191/11, or “IASR” and to ensure that parking facilities are built to meet the needs of residents with disabilities.
In accordance with Provincial legislation, that By-law contains standards in areas that may also be regulated by the Town’s Zoning By-law, such as the different types of accessible parking spaces, dimensions, and the minimum number of parking spaces in relation to varying parking area sizes. The Town’s accessible parking requirements differ from the IASR, and the goal is to align the Town’s Zoning By-law with Accessible Parking By-law and the IASR recommendations.
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Accessory Farm Employee Accommodation
The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury has a history linked to agriculture, with many parcels of land being predominantly, primarily or solely used for agricultural production, with operators requiring the human resources to support the cultivation of those lands.
In consideration of that need and recognizing that the accommodation of farm employees is essential to the agricultural use of land, the flexible provision of accommodations for farm employees is necessary. The purpose of the proposed amendment to the Zoning By-law could provide farm operators with greater flexibility around where to accommodate farm employees.
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Height for Accessory Dwellings in Residential Zones
Based on a cursory overview of neighboring municipalities, Bradford West Gwillimbury has the lowest permitted height for accessory buildings in Residential Zones. Staff wish to pursue an amendment that would increase the permitted height of an accessory building in the Residential One, Residential Two and Residential Three zones only. This will provide greater flexibility in accommodating the needs of residents, and will bring the Town’s provisions closer in line with our neighbouring municipalities.
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Regulated Agricultural and Marshland Zoned Residential Dwellings
In the Agricultural “A” Zone, Detached Dwellings are permitted for use in principle, however, a 1967 restriction exists that prevents a property owner from building a detached dwelling on those Agricultural zoned lots with an area between 4.04 hectares (10.0 acres) and 10.1 hectares (25.0 acres).
In the Marsh Agricultural “AM” Zone, Detached Dwellings are also permitted for use in principle, provided that the lot existed as of the date the Greenbelt Plan came into effect, and the zoning in effect at that time permitted such residential development. However, a restriction was placed to prevent a property owner from building a detached dwelling on all Marsh Agricultural zoned lots with an area greater than 4.00 hectares (9.9 acres).
These restrictions were effectively carried forward from the former Township of West Gwillimbury Zoning By-law that put the restrictions in place in 1967 due to a relaxed lot creation framework that existed at the time. It is understood that the intent of the restriction was to deter the fragmentation of agricultural land for potential residential development, which could result in the long-term loss of productive agricultural land. Today, lot creation policies at the local, County and Provincial level exist to preserve agricultural lands, and prevent their fragmentation.
Today, these restrictions in the Town’s Zoning By-law affect approximately 100 properties. These restrictions have not previously been the subject of site-specific request for relief; however, removing or relaxing these provisions may provide an opportunity to increase the supply of lots on which residential dwellings may be constructed, in a manner that is supported or not precluded by upper-tier or Provincial policy.
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Providing Comments
Please view the draft amended portion of the by-law, then provide your comments by filling out this form by Friday, May 16, 2025. This form also provides an opportunity to subscribe or unsubscribe for future communications.
For questions regarding this review, email correspondence can be sent to tdysart@townofbwg.com or plan@townofbwg.com
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