WCEL > Issues > Urban Growth and Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part 6 > Use Site Resources Wisely > Conservation Covenants

Smart Bylaws Guide – Use Site Resources Wisely – Conservation Covenants

Under section 219 of the Land Titles Act a covenant may be registered against the title to land, in favour of a municipality or a conservation body (usually a non-profit organization), to protect land or a feature of the land such as important trees.  The purpose is to ensure that the land or specified amenity remains in its natural state.

Typical covenant restrictions include:

The District of Highlands has required conservation covenants on all projects involving clustering and amenity zoning or density bonusing. The covenants generally protect 65 to 70 percent of the lot from alteration. The municipality holds over 60 conservation covenants. Similarly, the District of North Vancouver has over 3000 covenants dealing with the protection of the environment, and the Resort Municipality of Whistler requires tree preservation covenants as part of most rezoning applications.

The District of Saanich makes extensive use of covenants to protect natural features. Saanich uses three different types of covenants to secure additional setbacks in subdivision (no build zones), the preservation of trees, and the preservation of natural areas. The covenants describe what the landowner shall and shall not do on the restricted area of land, and details penalty clauses, such as the ability of the municipality to order restoration or to carry out restoration at the expense of the landowner. The District may impose a $5000 penalty for cutting a tree in contravention of the terms of a covenant.  For more information, contact Adriane Pollard, Manager Environmental Services, District of Saanich, Tel: (250) 475-5494, ext. 3556, pollarda@saanich.ca

A study assessing the effectiveness of conservation covenants in the City of Surrey found that landowners were not complying with terms of covenants designed to protect habitat. Some municipalities are addressing this problem by integrating both conservation organizations, such as land trusts, and public education into the covenant process. Land trusts are organizations that purchase and hold land for the purpose of stewardship. They also monitor and enforce the terms of conservation covenants as third party organizations. The District of Highlands has involved The Land Conservancy land trust in subdivision applications as an independent organization that monitors the covenants attached to the newly subdivided land.

For More Information

Publications

Greening Your Title: A Guide to Best Practices for Conservation Covenants, 2nd Ed. (Ann Hillyer & Judy Atkins 2005)

An Introduction to Conservation Covenants: A Guide for Developers and Planning Departments (Land Trust Alliance of BC 2004)

Guidelines for Conservation Covenants in the ALR

Baseline Inventory Checklist

Checklist for Covenant Monitoring

Linnea Farm (Quadra Island) Conservation Covenant

Sample Covenant Restrictions

Organizations

The Land Conservancy is a province-wide land trust that holds covenants for municipalities and non-profit organizations, as well as purchases environmentally significant land. 

The Land Trust Alliance of BC is the umbrella organization for land trusts in British Columbia.  It offers member services and information on land trusts and conserving land.