Land Use Contracts

In 1978, the Province amended the legislation to prohibit municipalities from entering into further LUCs with landowners and developers. Landowners, with LUCs in place prior to this change, still had to comply with the LUC unless it was removed from the property's title.

In 2014, the Province amended the legislation again, giving property owners up to 10 years to complete any development allowed by their LUC and not yet completed. On June 30, 2024, this legislation will automatically terminate all LUCs within British Columbia.

The Local Government Act requires municipalities to have "underlying zoning" in place, by June 30, 2022, for those properties currently governed by an LUC. The term “underlying zone” is used to refer to the zone assigned to a property that is regulated by an LUC.

All properties with the City of Vernon have been assigned an underlying zone from Zoning Bylaw #5000, including those properties that are governed by an LUC. Although all properties regulated by an LUC have an underlying zone, this zone has no effect on the land uses, density or building siting until the LUC is terminated or discharged. If a property sits within the boundaries of an LUC, all land use regulations are set out in the LUC. Once the LUC has been discharged or terminated, the underlying zoning for the property automatically comes into effect.

For the last several years, the City has been working with applicants on a case‑by‑case basis to discharge land use contracts when a property comes forward for redevelopment.

A land owner, subject to an LUC, can apply at any time to amend or discharge an LUC by agreement with the municipal Council. Site-specific amendments to LUCs, not affecting permitted density or uses, may be made through a Development Variance Permit application. However, if a land owner proposes to discharge a LUC from their Title or to change the permitted use or density of their property, an LUC Discharge/Modification application is required. These application forms can be found online under Permits & Applications.

The Local Government Act requires municipalities, by June 30, 2022, to notify all affected landowners of the approaching termination on June 30, 2024. Staff prepared a report for the December 13, 2021 Council Meeting, advising Council of the impacts of the Province terminating all LUCs, including examples of residential and commercial properties. At that meeting, Council passed the following resolution:

THAT Council direct Administration to give notice of termination by June 30, 2022 to each owner, whose land is subject to a land use contract that will be terminated, stating where and the times and dates when zoning regulations that will apply to the land are available for public inspection;

AND FUTHER, THAT Council direct Administration to provide each owner, whose land is subject to a land use contract that will be terminated, with supplemental information to include the underlying Official Community Plan Designation and Zoning; to advise each owner to assess compliance of their land use with the permitted uses of Official Community Plan Bylaw #5470 and Zoning Bylaw #5000; and, if the use does not comply, to contact Administration for direction and initiate an Official Community Plan and rezoning process if necessary, as outlined in the report titled "Impacts of Provincial Termination of all Land Use Contracts", dated November 25, 2021 and respectfully submitted by the Current Planner.

The City will proceed with notification in accordance with Council's resolution above.

For some properties, the replacement zoning assigned to the property may not correspond well with the former LUC. For example, the uses allowed to take place on the property under the zoning may be different from those allowed under the LUC.  This may affect your future developments plans.

For other properties, the underlying replacement zoning will correspond well with the former LUC and owners may not be impacted at all.

Your LUC will remain in effect until June 30, 2024. On this date, the LUC will be terminated and the underlying zoning will take effect. You can continue to use your property as you have been until June 30, 2024 and potentially for the foreseeable future.

If you are using your property legally, according to your LUC, the Provincial legislation allows you to continue to use it in this way indefinitely, unless you propose significant changes. 

If you wish to change how the property is used, to construct a building or to add onto an existing building, you may need to apply to rezone your property to a zone that fits your proposal.

Please take some time to review your LUC and underlying zoning in an effort to understand the current and future land use regulations applicable to your property. You can obtain a copy of your Certificate of Title and LUC through the Land Title Survey Authority (LTSA). The following links provide instructions on how to do so: how can I search for a title and how can I order a document. LTSA also explains how to find information on a Certificate of Title. Landowners can also visit the City's online mapping (North Okanagan Map) ahead of time, search for their address and view the underlying zoning code that will replace the LUC and apply to their property as of June 30, 2024. They can also access the City's Zoning Bylaw anytime to review the specific zone and general regulations that will apply to the use and development of their property.