Land Title Act – Subdivision

 

“Subdivision” refers to taking one large property and breaking it into several smaller properties, which can then be sold off individually to new owners.  Subdivision raises a number of issues for watershed protection advocates:

 

·          Much of the larger parcels that are divided up for development are undeveloped land – often important watershed habitat. 

·          For most local governments in the province, subdivision at the edge of existing built areas accounts for most new development and expansion.  Subdivision is also known as sprawl, and accounts for significant environmental harm. 

·          However, subdivision can occur in ways that protect the “green infrastructure” and functioning ecosystems of communities. 

·          It can also be used to create more dense development in existing neighbourhoods (building up not out) and decrease the pressure to expand at the urban edge.

The Local Government Act, Land Title Act and Strata Property Act regulate the subdivision of land.

 

Approving Officers under the Land Title Act

 

In order to subdivide a property, so that smaller parcels of land can be sold off separately (and get separate registration under the Land Title Act), a property owner must apply to an Approving Officer, under the Land Title Act.  The approving officer is usually the municipal engineer, chief planning officer or other municipal employee appointed by a local government.  In rural areas, approving officers are usually Ministry of Transportation and Highways employees, although this function is being transferred to regional district employees in some areas.

 

The Approving Officer, while often an employee of a local government, has his or her own powers under the Land Title Act.  While the local government does have some powers to restrict how subdivisions may occur (under the Local Government Act), a municipal council cannot require an Approving Officer to approve a subdivision.  Nor does the Approving officer have to approve a subdivision simply because all municipal requirements are met.  See the Guide Page on Local Governments – Subdivision for more information on the power of local governments to control subdivision. 

 

The approving officer may reject a proposed subdivision under a range of circumstances, including that:

·          the land is subject, or could reasonably be expected to be subject, to flooding, erosion, land slip or avalanche;

·          the anticipated development of the subdivision would adversely affect the natural environment or the conservation of heritage property to an unacceptable level;

·          the subdivision is unsuited to the configuration of the land being subdivided or to the use intended;

·          the subdivision does not conform with all applicable municipal, regional district and improvement district bylaws regulating the subdivision of land and zonings, or

·          the subdivision is against the public interest.

The “public interest” includes aesthetic and environmental concerns, and OCP policies may be used to help determine what is the public interest. In several cases, an OCP policy has been cited as the justification for refusal of an application that otherwise meets the applicable zoning regulations.

 

Related Guide Pages:

·          Land Title Act

·          Local Government – Subdivisions

 

For more information about Subdivisions:

·          West Coast Environmental Law, Smart Growth Guide to Local Government Law and Advocacy.