113. The council of a municipality may adopt a zoning by-law for its whole territory or any part thereof.
A zoning by-law may include provisions regarding one or more of the following objects:
(1) for the purposes of regulation, to classify structures and uses and, in accordance with a plan forming an integral part of the by-law, to divide the territory of the municipality into zones;
(2) to divide each zone into sectors so that each of such sectors may be a territorial unit for the purposes of the provisions of subdivisions 1 to 2.1 of Division V that relate to approval by way of referendum and so that in each of such sectors the land use standards authorized in the zone may be prescribed in a supplementary by-law of the council, provided, however, that the standards respecting the uses permitted are uniform in all the sectors of the same zone;
(3) to specify, for each zone, the structures and uses that are authorized and those that are prohibited, including public uses and buildings;
(3.1) for every zone in which the only partially or totally residential buildings permitted are those comprising a specific number of dwellings, hereinafter referred to as “principal” dwellings, to provide that in such a building, one additional dwelling per principal dwelling may be built to be occupied by persons belonging to a class established under this subparagraph; to provide that only such persons, their spouse and their dependants, other than the owner or occupant of the principal dwelling, may occupy the additional dwelling; to establish classes of buildings from among the buildings to which this subparagraph applies and classes of persons from among the persons who are or were related by blood or allied, including through a de facto spouse, to the owner or occupier of the principal dwelling; to provide that the right to build an additional dwelling applies to one or more classes of buildings; to prescribe the conditions to which the building or occupation of an additional dwelling are subject, which conditions may vary from one class of building to another;
(3.2) to prescribe, for each zone, where the carrying on of an enterprise is permitted inside a residence, the maximum number of persons not resident therein who may work in the residence because of the carrying on of that enterprise;
(4) to specify, by zones, the open space that must be left between structures and the different uses, between structures or between the different uses, whether the structures or uses are grouped together or not, and whether they are situated in the same zone or in contiguous zones, and to prescribe, where applicable, the use and development of such open space;
(4.1) without restricting the generality of the other subparagraphs, to specify, for each zone or group of contiguous zones, the maximum number of places that may be used for identical or similar uses, including those in the same immovable, the minimum distance required between such places or the maximum floor or land area allowed for such uses; however, a rule so provided may only apply, as regards agricultural activities within the meaning of the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities (chapter P‐41.1) in an agricultural zone established under that Act, to hog farms;
(5) to specify, for each zone or sector of a zone, the land occupation densities, the dimensions, volumes, floor areas and ground areas of structures; the total floor area of a building in relation with the total area of the lot; the length, width and area of the open space to be left between structures on the same landsite, and the use and development of such open space; the open space to be left between structures and the street and land boundaries; the distance back from the street of buildings in relation to their height;
(5.1) to regulate, by zone or sector of a zone, the architecture, symmetry and exterior aspect of structures, the location of a group of structures on a single site and the exterior materials of structures;
(6) to specify, for each zone, the proportion of a landsite which may be occupied by a structure or use;
(7) in the case of a municipality whose territory is situated near the boundary line between Québec and the United States of America, to prohibit the construction of buildings within a distance of three metres from that boundary line;
(8) to determine the level of a landsite in relation to a thoroughfare;
(9) to determine and regulate the place where vehicles may have access to a landsite;
(10) to prescribe, for each zone, use or combination of uses, the space which, on the lots, must be reserved and arranged for parking, loading or unloading vehicles or for parking vehicles used by handicapped persons within the meaning of the Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration (chapter E-20.1) using wheel‐chairs, and the manner of arranging such space; to establish parking restrictions inside or outside buildings;
(10.1) to provide that the council may exempt every person who applies therefor from the obligation to provide and to maintain parking units, on the payment of a sum determined in accordance with rules of computation that may vary according to classes of units or uses, and provide that the proceeds of the payment be used only to finance capital expenditures intended to improve the supply of public parking or of active or shared transportation;
(11) to regulate or restrict, by zone, the division or subdivision of a dwelling;
(12) to regulate or restrict, by zone, the excavation of the ground, the removal of humus, the planting and felling of trees and all works of clearing and filling; to compel any owner to put grass, shrubs or trees on his landsite;
(12.1) to regulate or restrict the planting or felling of trees to ensure protection of the forest cover and promote sustainable development of private forest;
(13) to regulate or restrict, by zone, the moving, use, repair or demolition of a structure; to require, where a structure is moved, the deposit, as security, of an amount considered provisionally sufficient to ensure compensation of the damage that might be incurred by the municipality by reason of that moving;
(14) to regulate, by zone, the construction, erection, alteration and maintenance of all bill‐boards and signs already erected or to be erected in the future;
(14.1) to regulate or restrict by zone the installation, maintenance, number and height of telecommunications antennae and other similar devices;
(14.2) to regulate or restrict by zone the construction, installation, alteration, upkeep and continued use of awnings;
(15) to regulate or restrict by zone the location, layout, height and maintenance of fences, walls, hedges, shrubs and trees;
(15.1) to require that a fence be built around a landowner’s property;
(16) to regulate or prohibit all or certain uses, activities, structures or works, taking into account the topography of the landsite, the proximity of wetlands or bodies of water, the danger of flood, rockfall, landslide or other disaster, or any other factor specific to the nature of a place which may be taken into consideration for reasons of public safety or of protection of the environment;
(16.1) to regulate or prohibit all or certain uses, activities, structures or works, taking into account the proximity of a place where the present or planned presence or carrying out of an immovable or an activity results in land occupation being subject to special restrictions for reasons of public safety, public health or general welfare;
(17) to regulate the siting and installation of mobile homes and trailers;
(18) to regulate, by zone or for the whole territory, non‐conforming structures and uses protected by acquired rights,
(a) by requiring that a non‐conforming use protected by acquired rights cease if such use has been abandoned, has ceased or has been interrupted for such period of time as it may define, which must be a reasonable period, taking into account the nature of the use, but must not in any case be shorter than six months;
(b) by stipulating that a non‐conforming use or structure protected by acquired rights shall not be replaced by another non‐conforming use or structure;
(c) by prohibiting the extension or alteration of a non‐conforming use or structure protected by acquired rights, or by establishing conditions under which a non‐conforming use or structure protected by acquired rights may be extended or altered;
(19) to regulate, by zone, the specific conditions of siting or layout applicable to structures and uses on lots not in conformity with the subdivision by‐law which are protected by acquired rights;
(20) to permit, by zone, groups of structures and uses of a determined classification and prescribe the specific rules applicable in such a case;
(21) within certain zones where residential and non residential uses are permitted, to regulate, restrict or prohibit the change from a residential use to a non residential use otherwise permitted in the zone;
(22) to determine, for each zone, the uses permitted in any part of a structure;
(23) to prescribe any other additional measure to distribute the various uses, activities, structures and works across its territory and make them subject to standards; such a measure may not however have the effect of restricting agricultural activities within the meaning of the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities in an agricultural zone established under that Act.
A zoning by‐law may not contain a provision establishing a separation distance pursuant to subparagraph 4 of the second paragraph, where one of the structures or one of the uses to which it applies is in an agricultural zone established under the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities, except for the purpose of ensuring the preservation of a water supply or reducing the inconvenience resulting from the odours caused by agricultural activities. In addition, the by-law may contain a provision establishing a separation distance applying to a structure, a use or a location in an agricultural zone, only if it specifies
(1) the space that, for any purpose other than those mentioned above, must be left between different structures or different uses on adjacent lots in contiguous zones, and the use and layout of that space;
(2) the space that, for any of the purposes mentioned above, must be left between areas on which manure is spread and non-agricultural structures or uses.
For the purposes of subparagraph 12.1 of the second paragraph, the zoning by-law may establish rules that vary according to the parts of the territory it determines.
No by-law concerning signs and bill-boards adopted under subparagraph 14 or under any other general law or special Act applies to prohibit or restrict the use of signs and bill-boards relating to an election or a referendum held under an Act of Québec.
For the purposes of subparagraph 16 or 16.1 of the second paragraph, a zoning by-law may, in particular, divide the territory of the municipality, establish classes of uses, activities, structures or works to be prohibited or regulated and establish classes of immovables, activities or other factors which justify, depending on the subparagraph contemplated, such prohibition or regulation. The by-law may, in that case, order prohibitions and rules varying according to the parts of the territory concerned, the former classes involved, the latter classes involved or any combination of a number of such criteria of distinction. The by-law may, so as to permit the determination of the territory where a prohibition or a rule applies near a source of restrictions, measure the extent of harmful or undesirable effects caused by the source.
For the purposes of subparagraph 18 of the second paragraph, the by-law may establish classes of non-conforming structures and uses protected by acquired rights and contain rules that vary according to the classes.
1979, c. 51, s. 113; 1982, c. 2, s. 75; 1985, c. 27, s. 4; 1987, c. 53, s. 3; 1987, c. 57, s. 672; 1987, c. 102, s. 21; 1993, c. 3, s. 54; 1996, c. 25, s. 54; 1996, c. 26, s. 67; 1997, c. 93, s. 23; 1998, c. 31, s. 4; 1999, c. 90, s. 1; 2002, c. 37, s. 21; 2002, c. 6, s. 82; 2002, c. 77, s. 4; 2004, c. 20, s. 7; 2004, c. 31, s. 71; 2005, c. 6, s. 132; 2006, c. 31, s. 1; 2017, c. 13, s. 6; 2017, c. 14, s. 42; 2021, c. 7, s. 9; 2023, c. 12, s. 56.
