PERMITS & APPLICATIONS
Development & Building Permits
A development permit is a way for the RM to support your building or land use plans by making sure they fit well with the surrounding area and future growth goals. It helps us work together to build a safe, thoughtful, and thriving community.
A building permit is approval from the RM that ensures your construction plans meet safety standards set by the building code.
What is the difference between a development permit and a building permit?
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A development permit looks at how your project fits into the surrounding area—things like land use, location, and zoning.
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A building permit focuses on the construction itself—making sure it’s safe, structurally sound, and up to code.
Think of it like this:
Development permits guide where and what you can build and building permit guides how you build it.
Zoning Bylaw Amendments & Rezoning
Worksheets for Development
These worksheets are used to assist ratepayers with smaller developments and help us gather required construction details for building permits. Each one ensures compliance with local building codes and helps assess site layout, structural design, and safety features. The forms are for:
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Attached & Detached Garages: Cover roof, walls, foundation, finishes, and site placement.
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Decks: Include height, materials, guardrails, stairs, and spacing.
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Mobile Homes: Record foundation type, anchoring, grading, and interior safety features.
Energy Compliance
There was a province-wide shift back to Tier 1 energy efficiency requirements to support affordable housing.
These documents help show that new buildings or additions meet energy efficiency requirements under the 2020 National Building Code (NBC) or National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB). Depending on the project, compliance can be demonstrated in one of three ways:
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Prescriptive Path – follow set insulation and efficiency values
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Performance Path – use energy modeling to meet targets
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Trade-Off Path – balance lower performance in one area with higher performance in another
Choosing an Energy Compliance Path:
Download the Quick-Reference Compliance Path Guide. It summarizes which energy code options (Prescriptive, Performance, Tiered, NECB) apply to different types of buildings and additions. Helps determine which compliance method is required based on use and size.
Airtightness Certificate
Completed after construction to confirm that the building meets required airtightness levels, especially for performance path and some prescriptive options. Certifies that testing was done according to national standards.