Key Project Documents

The proposed draft Land Use Bylaw is available online, as well as proposed zoning map. Additionally, the What We Heard Report summarizes all feedback received, as well as how this LUB Refresh may address those comments. Finally, the Land Use Summary Table is a great way to see which uses are allowed in all districts at a glance.

From “Flexibility” to “Certainty”

A key objective of Bylaw 4853 is to complete the shift from a regulatory framework that emphasizes flexibility to one that emphasizes certainty.

The current Land Use Bylaw relies on broad land use districts, generalized use definitions, and discretionary decision making. This approach can result in unclear expectations for residents and developers and can increase the likelihood of development appeals.

While the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) emphasizes clarity and predictability in land use decision making, the existing Land Use Bylaw does not always consistently support these objectives.

Bylaw 4853 introduces:

• More clearly defined land use districts
• Narrower and more precise use definitions
• Increase in use specific development standards
• Improved organization and readability

These structural changes provide a regulatory framework intended to reduce reliance on discretion and better respond to the key land use issues identified through the LUB Refresh, including residential transitions and high impact land uses.

Key Land Use Issues Identified

Public engagement, Council input, and ongoing collaboration with the development industry consistently identified two key land use issues addressed through the LUB Refresh.

Transitions Between Residential Densities

• The City is experiencing increased interest in multi unit housing within established neighbourhoods.
• Residents have expressed concerns related to building scale, compatibility, and neighbourhood character.
• Developers have identified uncertainty and an increased risk of development appeals under the current regulatory structure.
• Although the MDP supports strategic residential intensification and appropriate transitions between densities, the existing Land Use Bylaw relies on a limited residential district structure—providing certainty in low density areas while allowing significant flexibility in medium density areas.
• Regulation of High Impact Land Uses
• Growing social service needs have increased demand for uses such as shelters and transitional housing.
• Residents have raised concerns about potential impacts related to location, scale, and intensity, particularly in residential and mixed use areas.
• The current Community Services District allows a wide range of low and high impact uses, limiting the City’s ability to manage impacts through location and use specific regulation.

How Bylaw 4853 Responds

To address these issues and improve certainty in land use decision making, Bylaw 4853 proposes to:

• Introduce a tiered neighbourhood residential framework that improves predictability and supports more gradual, sensitive transitions between building forms and residential densities.
• Clearly identify high impact land uses and shift decision making authority for those uses to City Council, providing a clearer and more transparent public decision making process.

Public and Stakeholder Engagement

Throughout the multi year LUB Refresh—including the final amendment phase—the City provided numerous opportunities for residents, stakeholders, and organizations to participate, including but not limited to the following.

Opportunities for General Public Feedback

• 4 Shape Your City open houses
• 2 Home & Leisure Trade Show booths
• 2 public surveys

Media and Online Engagement

• LUB Refresh Shape Your City webpage
• Media releases
• Email inquiries

Development Industry and Regional Stakeholders

• Development Advisory Panel – 17 project updates
• BILD Medicine Hat – 7 presentations and updates
• Urban Development Institute (Medicine Hat) – 1 presentation
• Southern Alberta Chamber of Commerce – 3 engagement points
• Town of Redcliff – 2 formal circulations of Bylaw 4853
• Cypress County – 2 formal circulations of Bylaw 4853
• 16 additional community groups – formal circulation of Bylaw 4853

City Reviews and Decision Making Bodies

• City Solicitor – 5 legal reviews
• Technical Coordinating Committee – 3 circulations
• City Council – 5 previous LUB Refresh amending bylaws adopted
• Municipal Planning Commission – 5 recommendations and 1 presentation
• Development and Infrastructure Committee – 1 presentation
• Administrative Committee – 6 presentations and updates

LUB Refresh Survey: What We Heard

The LUB Refresh Survey was designed to collect detailed, long form input from participants in their own words.

Given the volume of responses received, analytical tools were used to identify common themes. The What We Heard Report provides a detailed summary of these themes and explains how they informed the proposed changes included in Bylaw 4853.

What Happens Next?

City Council will consider Bylaw 4853 at an upcoming public hearing.

Members of the public may:

• Attend the public hearing, or
• Submit written comments to City Council in advance of the hearing.

All comments received will be provided to City Council as part of its consideration of the bylaw.

This page will be updated once the public hearing is scheduled and will include the date, time, location, and instructions for submitting written comments.

Why is a refresh being done?

Our current Land Use Bylaw (#4168) was drafted in 2013, with several revisions occurring since then. To better serve the Medicine Hat community of today, a new Land Use Bylaw is being brought forward.