In person
at City Hall, 1102 Fourth Street

By mail
1102 Fourth Street
Estevan, SK S4A 0W7

By email
bclerk@estevan.ca

Fees and Payment Methods

Fees are dependent on business type. If you apply for your licence in person, you can pay for your business licence by

• Cash
• Cheque or money order (made payable to the City of Estevan)
• Debit card
• Credit card (Visa, MasterCard)

If you do not apply in person, we will send you an invoice for the licence fee. Your business licence will be processed after we receive payment for the licence fees.

You might require other approvals before your business licence is approved:

Zoning approval

Depending on the zoning of your proposed business location, your business may or may not be permitted. Or your business may only be permitted after a Development Permit is obtained.

Your business and your location: Before you purchase or sign a lease for your business location, check with Land Development Services first to make sure that you will be able to conduct your type of business on those premises.

There are different requirements under the Zoning & Development Bylaw and the Building Bylaw for different uses. Each space in a building has its own specified approved use and sometimes the use of that space cannot be changed without an approval or a permit, or both.

Licence approvals

Before your business licence is issued, you may require other approvals from the Police, Fire, or Health Departments.

• Environmental Health: Any food-related businesses must have an inspection completed
• Fire: Some business licence categories will require certificates from the Estevan Fire Rescue Services
• Police: If police approval is required, you will need to go directly to the Estevan Police Department.

Home-based businesses (including offices) are essentially commercial and/or business activities which are being conducted from within a principle residential dwelling or accessory building located in a residential zone.

Under the City of Estevan Zoning bylaw, residents are afforded an opportunity to use their principle place of residence for limited commercial business activities, in recognition of the need to provide or supplement personal or family income.

Home-based businesses may include an occupation, trade, profession, or craft, where all services are performed on the premises, or it may include an ‘office’ which is used to carry out the administrative or clerical duties of a business that performs it’s services off the residential premises. In either case, the City regulates such activities for two principle reasons;

• To ensure the activities are both compatible and incidental to the use of the building for residential purposes, and are not the type of activities that will undermine the integrity of the surrounding residential area or cause adverse impacts such as noise, parking congestion, unsightliness (due to outdoor storage), and/or increased utility demands (water, sewer, waste disposal).
• To ensure such activities do not adversely undermine the integrity of the City’s commercial sector by allowing such activities to unfairly compete with similar activities located in commercial districts

REGULATIONS

The City of Estevan Zoning bylaw sets forth a number of regulations that Home-based businesses are required to comply with and abide by. In general terms, if a proposed home-based business is unable to be conducted in accordance with the associated regulatory requirements, than the activity is considered unsuited as a home based business and should be located in a more appropriate commercial or industrial district. The regulatory provisions from the Zoning Bylaw are listed under the zoning bylaw.

Inspections

Upon approving a home-based business application, the City may conduct an inspection to ensure compliance with the regulations. Subsequent inspections may be conducted in reaction to any complaints.

FEES/APPEALS

There are presently no fees associated with obtaining a home-occupation permit; however, an approved applicant must obtain a business license and pay the associated license fee. An Applicant, who is denied a home occupation permit, may appeal the decision to the City of Estevan Development Appeals Board in accordance with the provisions of the Planning and Development Act.