Part 1: Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review, Agricultural Lot Sizes, Winery & Agritourism Rules, and Rural Severances - 04/02/2025
- PECConnect
- Apr 2, 2025
- 4 min read
The Special Planning and Development Committee meeting was convened at Shire Hall and livestreamed for public access. The meeting followed statutory requirements under the Planning Act and included both a statutory public meeting portion and items for committee consideration. No decisions were made during the statutory public meeting portion, as required by legislation, but the meeting served as a critical forum for public input, clarification, and discussion.
The agenda was confirmed, no pecuniary interests were declared, and the Chair outlined how public participation would occur, emphasizing that comments would form part of the public record and could affect appeal rights.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes.
Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review
The primary and most extensive portion of the meeting focused on the County’s Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review. This review is intended to replace the existing zoning by-law approved in 2006 and bring zoning regulations into conformity with the County’s Official Plan adopted in 2021. The review is also required to align with provincial planning legislation and policies.
The consultant team presented the February 2025 final draft of the proposed zoning by-law. The presentation explained that the document is the result of extensive community, stakeholder, and Indigenous engagement over more than two years. It was emphasized that the draft remains open for public comment and refinement before being brought back to committee with a staff recommendation for adoption by Council.
Key goals of the new zoning by-law include improving readability and usability, modernizing definitions, consolidating zones, and better reflecting current agricultural, tourism, and economic realities in Prince Edward County.
Agricultural and Rural Zoning Changes
One of the most significant changes discussed was the introduction of a new Agricultural zone. This zone is intended to protect prime agricultural lands in accordance with provincial policy and the County Official Plan. The new Agricultural zone establishes a minimum lot size of 40 hectares, while existing rural zones are consolidated into a single Rural zone with a minimum lot size of 10 hectares.
The presentation clarified that existing lots smaller than the new minimums would be considered legally non-complying but could continue existing uses. The intent is to prevent further fragmentation of prime agricultural land while recognizing historical development patterns.
On-Farm Diversified Uses and Wineries
Substantial discussion focused on on-farm diversified uses, agritourism, and winery operations. The draft zoning by-law expands and clarifies permitted agricultural-related uses and on-farm diversified uses, including restaurants, event spaces, tasting rooms, and limited retail, subject to size and operational limits.
The draft introduces restrictions such as a maximum area for on-farm diversified uses, a 25 metre separation requirement between related buildings, and site plan control requirements. These provisions were explained as tools to manage impacts on neighboring properties, infrastructure, and public safety.
The draft also updates winery provisions by consolidating previous winery definitions, permitting wineries as of right in agricultural and rural zones, and allowing the use of products sourced outside the County while remaining classified as an agricultural-related use.
Public Input and Sector Concerns
Multiple members of the public, representing wineries, farms, and agricultural organizations, spoke during the statutory public meeting. Their comments highlighted concerns that certain proposed regulations could unintentionally undermine farm viability, agritourism, and economic sustainability.
Common themes included concerns about mandatory site plan control for small-scale activities, limits on retail and tasting room sizes, building separation rules that do not reflect farm layouts, and the impact of minimum lot sizes on specialized agriculture such as vineyards.
Environmental organizations also provided input, advocating for stronger protections related to wetlands, woodlands, wildlife habitat, and environmental impact study standards.
Additional Planning Applications
Following the zoning by-law discussion, the committee considered other planning matters, including rural severances and rezoning applications and an urban consent and rezoning application in Wellington. These items involved technical studies related to water supply, septic servicing, minimum distance separation from agricultural uses, environmental constraints, and infrastructure capacity.
Concerns were raised about water availability, long-term agricultural compatibility, and servicing limitations, particularly in areas with constrained municipal infrastructure.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 3:03:06. Due to the length of the meeting, our team was not able to independently review the full recording in its entirety. As a result, we relied on software-generated transcription, automated summarization, and automated recognition of speakers and participants, which may not be entirely accurate. All transcriptions, summaries, and related content are prepared by our team in good faith and on a reasonable best-efforts basis. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to support public understanding of the topics discussed. While reasonable efforts have been made to present the information accurately, automated processes may result in errors, omissions, or unintended misinterpretations. This article does not constitute an official, certified, or verbatim record of the meeting, and it should not be relied upon as such. Readers are encouraged to consult original source materials, official minutes, or recordings where available for confirmation or clarification. Questions, requests for clarification, or suggested corrections may be submitted to hello@pecconnect.ca for review and consideration.
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