Land use considerations for a potential rural event venue that determine the scale and intensity of use as well as impact on adjacent landowners and County infrastructure include, but are not limited to:

• size of event venue buildings;
• frequency of events and hours of operation;
• provision of adequate on-site parking;
• provision of adequate servicing;
• number of patrons attending and the impacts including noise, light, or other nuisance impacts, particularly from any outdoor components of the events;
• increase in traffic;
• accessory uses such as overnight accommodation for event guests; and
• how it is directly associated with agri-tourism or nature-based tourism.

Agri-tourism means tourism with direct involvement between the tourist/consumer and the agricultural community.

Nature-based tourism means any tourism activity/experience directly related to natural attractions or the natural environment whether for relaxation, discovery or adventure. 

In looking at whether a use could be added to the rural zoning districts, the County is guided by the direction and policies of the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) which is the County’s overarching policy document that guides land use.

Although the MDP directs new commercial development to urban areas, it does enable consideration of agri-tourism or nature-based tourism in three rural policy areas: the Agricultural Large Holdings Policy Area (ALHPA), the Agricultural Small Holdings Policy Area (ASHPA), and the Beaver Hills Policy Area (BHPA), as shown on this map.

The primary intent of the Agriculture Large Holdings Policy Area is to support and promote the development of extensive agricultural operations on large un-fragmented lands and to provide for limited commercial and residential uses that support these operations.

The primary intent of the Agriculture Small Holdings Policy Area is to allow for opportunities such as agricultural operations, small scale commercial and associated residential that supports the agricultural viability of the area.

Conservation of the Beaver Hills Moraine is the primary intent of the Beaver Hills Policy Area. The area is also intended to support agricultural operations, recreation, tourism and limited rural residential.

Costs to an applicant that may be necessary to achieve an event venue in the rural area include, but are not limited to:

• Alberta Building Code requirements (designing a building for public/assembly occupancy, provision of fire water, washrooms, etc.);
• provision of adequate on-site parking; 
• site specific improvements to public roadways;
• provision of adequate waste and sewage disposal on site;
• preparation of technical studies (such as, but not limited to, geotechnical studies, Agricultural Impact Assessments, biophysical assessments and traffic impact assessments);
• mitigation of potential nuisance impacts from a venue;
• public engagement; and
• Land Use Bylaw amendment and permitting application fees (including but not limited to the creation of a site-specific Direct Control Zoning District and associated rezoning of the subject property).

In addition to a potential Land Use Bylaw amendment application, development permit and Safety Code permits (building, electrical, plumbing, gas) as required would need to be approved for any proposed event venue. In this regard, it is recommended that proponents discuss their proposal with a County Safety Codes Officer to determine potential costs of meeting the Alberta Building Code for an event venue use in the rural area as these may be significant.

In addition to any amendments to the Land Use Bylaw that would be required to allow for this, existing structures (such as barns, storage buildings, etc.) may require significant improvements to meet applicable building and fire codes to allow for public/assembly occupancy. In some cases, the infrastructure required to support a rural event venue use (water, wastewater, fire water) would not be available and private on-site systems (which may be costly) would have to be constructed to accommodate the use.