As part of the process of subdivision approval the Ministry sends referrals to a number of regulating agencies for comment, including the Regional District.  The Regional District will review a subdivision referral for compliance with the applicable Electoral Area Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw, Zoning Bylaws and Subdivision Servicing Bylaw. This includes, amongst other things, the following:

The RDOS also requires the following fees as part of the assessment of a subdivision referral (NOTE: these fees are separate to any application fees that may be paid to MoTI.):

In order to facilitate the review of a subdivision referral from MoTI, the RDOS requires the following:

• a detailed plan of subdivision prepared by a British Columbia Land Surveyor (BCLS);
• the certificate of title and any charges (i.e. covenants or right-of-ways); and
• a digital file of the proposed subdivision plan prepared by a BC Land Surveyor in the form of a “shape”, “.dwg” or similar Computer-Aided Design (CAD) format.

Additional information regarding referral requirements and the steps Regional District staff will following when processing a referral from the Ministry can be found at Schedule '10' of the RDOS Development Procedures Bylaw No. 2500, 2011.

As many lands in the Regional District are within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), approval from the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to subdivide may be required.  If ALC approval is required, an owner of land wishing to subdivide will be required to submit an application for subdivision approval to the ALC. Click here for a link to the ALC website. 

It is recommended that a property owner considering subdivision contact the Regional District’s Planning Department to discuss their plans prior to submitting a subdivision application to the Ministry.  Staff can provide advice and inform property owners of any requirements the Regional District has for subdivision. 

For more general information, view our Subdivision Application Brochure.

Under Section 510 of the Local Government Act, an owner of land being subdivided to create three (3) or more parcels less than 2.0 ha in area must, at the owner's option:

a)     provide, without compensation, park land of an amount and in a location acceptable to the local government, or

b)     pay to the municipality or regional district an amount that equals the market value of the land that may be required for park land purposes ...

Importantly, when an Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaw contains policies and designations respecting the location and type of future parks, the local government may determine whether the owner must provide land or money. 

At present, the Electoral Area "A", "C", "D", "E", "F", "H" & "I" OCP Bylaws contain policies respecting the location and type of future parks, thereby allowing the Regional District Board the option to decide in favour of a land, cash or a combination of land and cash not exceeding 5% of the land being subdivided.

To facilitate the preparation and submission of a Park Land Dedication Proposal, proponents are required to complete and submit the following form to the Regional District (along with the required information):
Park Land Dedication Proposal Form.

Schedule 11 of the Regional District's Development Procedures Bylaw No. 2500, 2011, outlines the processing procedures for a Park Land Dedication proposal,  which includes consideration by the applicable Parks and Recreation Commission or Advisory Planning Commission (APC) following by Regional District Board consideration.

For further information regarding the Regional District's priorities for Park Land Dedication, reference should be made to the applicable Electoral Area OCP Bylaw as well as the Regional District Board Park Land Dedication Policy (2019), which outlines the requirements for a "Full Narative Appraisal" to be submitted in support of a "cash in-lieu" contribution.

NOTE: Section 510(6) of the Local Government Act requires that the value of the cash in-lieu be based on a calculation completed within 90 days of the final approval of the subdivision.