DEVELOPMENT VARIANCE PERMIT – 17A JEDBURGH RD

DEVELOPMENT VARIANCE PERMIT – 17A JEDBURGH RD

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive the report for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

The purpose of this report is to present the application for a Development Variance Permit (DVP) for 17A Jedburgh Rd to permit a seven lot bare land strata subdivision on what is an existing 6152m2 (~1.5 acre) panhandle lot in an R-1B: Detached Residential (Medium Lot) configuration.

BACKGROUND

The site is currently zoned R-1B: Detached Residential (Medium Lot). The site is surrounded by detached residential uses to the east and west, and to the south. The site is bound by the E&N railway and rail trail to the north. The applicant has submitted an application for subdivision.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Proposal

The proposal for the property is to subdivide the existing 6152m2 (~1.5 acre) panhandle lot into 7 bare land strata lots accessed by private road from the north side of Jedburgh Road. The existing detached residence would be removed, and all but six trees on the property will likely require removal.

The proposal, if all eligible lots are provided with suites, has the potential to introduce 7 detached dwelling with 5 suites for a total of 12 dwelling units on the property.

The property is subject to the requirement to obtain a Development Variance Permit (DVP) pursuant to Section 922 of the Local Government Act. This DVP focuses on the consideration of the proposed variance impacting the use and enjoyment of the adjacent properties.

The applicant has submitted the following information in support of their application:

• Draft Plan of Subdivision – Wey Meyenburg Land Surveying Inc.
• Tree Retention Plan – Talbot Mackenzie & Associates

The proposed Development Variance Permit addresses the following aspects:

• A variance to the distance of the common access roadway to the existing side lot line from 9m to 1m.

The identified variance is based on the provision of a 6m road surface within the 9m wide access strip, plus 0.5m as a buffer on each side. Staff does not recommend that the common property road surface be closer than 1m to the property line.

The lot’s subdivision does not require a 10% frontage exemption as the portion of the lot which is the panhandle access is common property. All lots created have sufficient frontage on the common access roadway.

The Bare Land Strata Regulations within the Strata Property Act permit the creation of lots below the minimum lot size permitted in the zone provided that the average of the lot sizes meets the minimum regulation. This has been proposed for this subdivision, in that two of the lots do not meet the minimum lot size requirement of 600m2. The two lots in question are 518m2 and 578m2, respectively.

Issues

The question to be put towards Council is that of the appropriateness of the variance to the common access roadway in relation to the creation of the lots and the issues caused by subdividing the property into seven bare land strata lots.

Access

Technically the property has frontage on both Jedburgh Rd and Bishan Pl, but the Bishan access is hindered by a significant rock outcropping. Staff is of the opinion that the existing Jedburgh access is sufficiently wide as to be the preferred access to the property.

The access is immediately adjacent to another lot panhandle access to the east, and to three detached R-1B residences to the west. The properties on both sides of the access will be impacted by the additional traffic generated by the development.

There is a pedestrian access extension indicated on the plan, intended to provide a connection to the E&N Rail Trail. Staff does not wish to endorse a connection to the E&N Rail Trail at that location and would prefer that the land dedicated to the pedestrian access be removed. Removing the access may make it possible to retain Douglas Fir trees 0880 and 0881, both listed as being in 'fair' condition in the report.

Emergency Vehicle Access

The Fire Department is satisfied with the access and turnaround space provided with the attached plan.

Lot Size Averaging

The R-1B zoning on the property permits one Secondary Suite per lot, provided that the lot is over 600m2. The lot size averaging on the property means that two proposed lots will be too small to permit secondary suites. A reconfiguration of the lots to ensure that all lots are over 600m2 is possible and would maximize the utility of the lots on the property.

Tree Retention

A Tree Retention Report has been submitted with the application. The report outlines the species, health, structure and tolerance of the trees on the site, along with comments recommendations for each. The plan supplied with the report indicates the locations of the six trees which have potential to be retained, and the other trees which will likely or definitely need removing. The report also provides proposed protective fencing design and procedure for minimizing construction impact on retained trees.

Tree Protection Covenant Area

A portion of the property is proposed to be registered as a covenant area to protect retained trees.

Parking

A no-parking covenant will need to be registered against portions of the strata common property for the purpose of maintaining access for Fire and Emergency Medical Services. 6 metres is the minimum acceptable right-of-way for these services, which correlates with much of the width of the common access provided.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive the report for information.

SUBMITTED BY: J. Davison MCIP RPP, Planner

REVIEWED BY: L. Chase MCIP RPP, Director of Development Services