Most property development, alterations, or repairs will require a permit (home repairs, fences, roofs, siding, etc.). Please see the below list for application forms, which correspond to common work.

In most cases, a processing fee will be required at time of application with the completed form. Permits are valid for one year. If the work is started but not completed within one year, the permit must be renewed for an additional year. If the work has not started within one year, a new application is required.

All development and permit fees can be found in the Town’s schedule of rates and fees.

Please visit Policies and Regulations.

In any use classification under the Town’s Development regulations, for each zone there are permitted uses and discretionary uses.

Permitted Uses are those which, as long as the applicant meets the minimum standards of the development regulations, may be approved. 

Discretionary Uses are those whose use, though complimentary to the zoning of a given area, may be of a sensitive nature to abutting uses. Therefore, a discretionary use application is subject to public notification per Section 4.14 of the Town’s Development Regulations, comment and consideration by Planning Committee. This ensures appropriate development occurs in a given area balancing the objectives of an applicant with the greater public good.

If your application is determined to be a Discretionary Use for your zone, then payment of the Discretionary Use fee is required (in lieu of processing fee, see most recent Schedule of Rates and Fees) to initiate the 14-day public notice period. The Town will send notice to property owners within 100 metre radius of the property, as well as post notice in the local paper and on its website for two weeks, to allow the public to submit comments.

At the close of the notice period, staff and Council will consider all responses as part of the review of the application. If no representations are received, Council has provided directive to the Planning Department to approve the use at their discretion. The application may be refused, approved, or approved with conditions. The applicant will be sent a letter outlining Council’s decision. If approved, the file will return to normal processing queue, and any further standard requirements, fees and securities will apply.

(Such as keeping backyard poultry, etc.)

Building Permit and Development Application

As the Town has grown, Council has worked hard to balance the needs of a community with a mix of urban and rural uses. Currently, the Town does not have explicit policies relating to urban or home-based agriculture, such as the keeping and boarding of backyard chickens. However, the Town is working continuously with stakeholders and residents to formulate policy to best serve the residents of Conception Bay South.

Most property development in the Town will require a permit, including agricultural uses. Agriculture is defined by the Town’s Development Regulations, as:

“2.6 Agriculture means horticulture, fruit growing, grain growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the keeping, breeding or rearing of livestock, including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins, or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, market gardens and nursery grounds and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for any other purpose. For the purposes of these regulations, agriculture also includes the keeping or boarding of horses.”

In some residential Zones (R-1, R-2, REL), Agriculture is permitted as a Discretionary Use.  To start the process, submit the Development Application form with a property survey or plot plan outlining your proposed use. If your property is zoned where agricultural uses are Discretionary, then the application will follow the Discretionary Use process. At the end of this process, the applicant will be sent a letter outlining Council’s decision (refusal, approval, approval with conditions, deferral) and the application will return to the normal processing queue.

Any further standard fees, securities, and requirements, such as for construction of accessory buildings (barn, coop), fences, etc., will apply. It is recommended that you have a conversation with the Development Control Coordinator regarding any proposed development you are considering.

The permitted height of a fence can be found by reading the Town’s fence regulations.

The maximum permissible size of an accessory building depends on the area of the lot. The regulations regarding accessory building size can be found on the back of the accessory building application.

Submit the Building Permit and Development Application and include a plot plan or property survey outlining your proposed development. Please learn more at Residential Construction.

No. The fence regulations require that you fence in the area of the lot in which the pool is located with a 1.8 meter high fence. The fence must be separated from the pool by 1.8 meters.

Any person may appeal a development decision of the Town to the Appeal Officer c/o Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs within 14 days from the time that the applicant is notified of the decision. Learn more.

The provincial Department of Environment and Conservation’s Water Resources Management Division must be consulted, and a permit is required as noted in the correspondence here.