Crown Land Tenure Application

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Crown land is land (or land covered by water like rivers or lakes) that is owned by the provincial government. This type of land is available to the public for many different purposes – from industry to recreation and research.

Tips for a Successful Application:

• Review this page to learn what information and documents are required for your application
• Before applying, check for land closures or conflicts on the land base. 
• Make sure you are eligible to apply.
• Use a Basic, Personal or Business BCeID for your application. A BCeID is easy to obtain and allows you to save your application, reopen it, and check the status of your application online.
• Find a mapping tool to create your maps.
• Complete your Management Plan.
• You are encouraged to consult with First Nations about your project as soon as you can in this process - Contacts for First Nation Consulation Areas.
• If you are acting on behalf of the applicant, a Letter of Agency is required.

 

Contents:

• Overview
• Costs and Responsibilities
• What you need to apply
• What happens after you apply
• Links
• Tips for a successful application

Overview

This application is to request permission for use of provincial Crown land in British Columbia.

Crown land is available for a wide range of purposes to provide opportunities for sustainable economic development. Applications may be submitted for a variety of uses.

The electronic application covers the following program areas for NEW tenure applications and major changes for an existing tenures for which a new application is required to be submitted.

Prior to starting your application, please carefully review the applicable program area webpage to fully understand the application requirements, including but not limited to mapping requirements, management plan content, required documents, etc.

• Adventure Tourism
• Aggregate
• Agriculture - Extensive
• Agriculture - Intensive
• All Seasons Resorts/ alpine skiing
• Commercial General
• Communication Site
• Community Institutional
• Film
• Golf Courses
• Industrial General
• Log Handling
• Marina
• Mining
• Ocean Energy
• Private Moorage
• Residential
• Roads
• Utilities
• Waterpower
• Wind Power

For all other program areas or for all applications that are not for a new tenure please check the Crown Land Uses website.

Costs and Responsibilities

Application Fees

Crown land application fees vary by purpose.

The fees will be automatically calculated as you complete the electronic application.

Fees can be paid online at the time of application, or at a FrontCounter BC location. See Payment Guidelines for more information.

NOTE: Please review the requirements carefully and submit a complete application. Some or all of the application fees are non-refundable in accordance with the refund policy. 

Crown Land Fees Procedure specifies how applications for multiple sites are handled. Please review this procedure closely to see how it impacts your proposal, particularly the information on how distance between your sites will impact your fees. Consult your local FrontCounter BC office if you have any questions about how this will be applied.

Rental Fees

Each program area has a different rental fee structure. You can find the rental fees listed under the column heading "pricing" on Appendix 1 of the policy pertaining to each program area.

Responsibilities

An applicant must make reasonable efforts to ensure land being requested is available for application. This can be done by contacting FrontCounter BC, or by utilizing online mapping programs to identify conflicts on the land base. Suggestions are: Explore by Location Tool, FrontCounter BC Discovery Tool; Integrated Land & Resource Registry (ILRR) and iMapBC.

The submission of an application does NOT allow you any rights to the Crown land. A Crown land tenure, if issued, would grant this authority.

A tenure-holder is responsible for abiding by the conditions of the tenure document provided.

What you need to apply

Who can apply for Crown land?

• Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are at least 19 years of age;
• Corporations which are incorporated or registered in British Columbia. Corporations also include registered partnerships, cooperatives, and non-profit societies which are formed under the relevant Provincial statutes;
• First Nations can apply through Band corporations or Indian Band and Tribal Councils. Band or Tribal Councils require a Band Council Resolution a) authorizing the council to enter into the tenure arrangement, and b) giving the signatories of the tenure document the ability to sign on behalf of the Band. For tenures which are to be registered in the Land Title Office, First Nations must apply through either a Band corporation or trustees. Band members can elect 1 or more trustees to hold a tenure on behalf of the Band. Verification of election must be by way of a letter signed by the Chief and councilors of the Band giving the full names of the trustees and stating that they were elected at a properly convened meeting of the Band. A Band Council Resolution is not required;
• In the case of aquatic land, non-Canadians can apply for Land Act tenure if they own the adjacent upland (companies must still be incorporated or registered in B.C.).

You will need the following information and documents to fill out the application:

Information needed

The information required for the application depends on which program area(s) you are applying for. Please consult the information for each applicable program area on the Crown Land Uses website.

Documents needed

The documents required for the application depend on which program area(s) you are applying for. Please consult the information for each applicable program area on the Crown Land Uses website.

If an agent is acting on behalf of the applicant a Letter of Agency is required.

Consulting First Nations

• The Province is committed to reconciliation as part of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act.
• The Province is responsible for ensuring adequate and appropriate consultation and accommodation, it may involve the proponent in the procedural aspects of consultation.

Proponents are encouraged to engage with First Nations as early as possible in the planning stages to build relationships and for information sharing purposes. To get more information about the guidelines and procedure manuals that are designed to assist government officials and proponents with meeting consultation obligations, please visit the Consulting with First Nations web page.

What happens after you apply

There are a number of steps which will take place before a decision will be made on your application.

1. Receiving the application
   When Natural Resource applications are submitted, it is expected that they meet the posted application requirements for that application type, both in quality and completeness, so that the proposal is ready to move towards a decision in a timely manner. The application requirements can be found under the applicable Crown land Uses website.
   
   Poor quality or incomplete applications can result in substantial delays and create significant workload impacts to ministry staff. In order to improve application turnaround times, applicants are required to provide missing information or respond to FrontCounter BC staff requests within 2 weeks.
   
   If applicants are not able to meet the requested timeframe, they should inform the requesting staff member as early as possible. Applications not meeting application requirements within the requested timeframes may be rejected. The applicant may be entitled to a partial refund of the application fee, however, in many circumstances, no refund will be provided. For further information, please refer to the Fee Refunds Policy.
   
   If the application is returned or not accepted, applicants can expect a detailed explanation of application deficiencies. If an application is rejected due to deficiencies, applicants may re apply at their convenience


2. Consultations & Referrals
   Consultation & Referrals may occur if the application impacts the interests of Ministries, Agencies, First Nations, other water users, community groups or other parties.


3. Adjudication of the Application (Crown lands Authorizations)
   A technical review of the application is completed by Crown Lands Authorizations once all of the comments and/or objections are received from the consultation and referrals process. If additional information is required from the applicant, this information will be requested by the Authorizations staff and the applicant will have 30 days to respond. (This deadline may be longer depending on the nature of the request). Once all of the information has been received and reviewed, a recommendation is made.


4. Decision (Crown lands Decision Maker)
   The Decision will be made weighing all information provided in the recommendation and the applicant will be informed of the decision.

Links

Link	Description
Crown Land and Water Use	Information on Crown land uses and applications
Eligibility and Restrictions	A PDF detailing Eligibility and Restrictions

Tips for a successful application

There are a few easy tips you can follow which will make a big difference:

1. Review this guide and to learn what information and documents are needed for the application. Collect all the information and documents before you start.
2. Utilize online mapping programs to identify conflicts on the land base. Suggestions are: FrontCounter BC Discovery Tool; Integrated Land & Resource Registry (ILRR) and IMapBC.
3. Use a Basic, Personal or Business BCeID for your application. A BCeID is easy to obtain and allows you to save your application, reopen it, and check the status of your application online. Applications will automatically time-out after a certain period of inactivity if not saved.
4. Contact FrontCounter BC for assistance with your natural resource application if required.