OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT 2015/01 AND REZONING APPLICATION 2015/03 – 2427 Chilco Road
Staff report recommending an OCP amendment and rezoning for 2427 Chilco Road to adjust park and path boundaries.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL
Planning & Development Report
TO: Committee of the Whole DATE: September 2, 2015 FROM: Jeff Chow, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner MEETING: September 8, 2015 FILE NOs: 3440-20-2015/01, 3360-20-2015/03
OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT 2015/01 AND REZONING APPLICATION 2015/03 - 2427 Chilco Road – Rem. Lot 29 Plan 748 (Thetis Vale Phase 7)
RECOMMENDATION:
That the September 2, 2015 report from the Senior Planner titled "Official Community Plan Amendment 2015/01 and Rezoning Application 2015/03 – 2427 Chilco Road – Rem. Lot 29 Plan 748 (Thetis Vale Phase 7)" be received;
AND THAT early and ongoing consultation of the Official Community Plan amendment not be conducted given the minor nature of the proposal;
AND FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to notify BC Hydro, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Transit, Canada Post, Capital Regional District, Esquimalt First Nation, FortisBC, School District No.61, Shaw Cable, Songhees First Nation, and Telus of the public hearing for the Official Community Plan amendment bylaw.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER'S COMMENTS:
I concur with the recommendation.
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES' COMMENTS:
I concur with the recommendation.
PURPOSE
This report introduces an application to amend the Official Community Plan and rezone the subject property. The proposal is to modify the boundaries between the land use designations and the CD-16 and P-3 zones within the property.
BACKGROUND
The subject property is one of two large forested land holdings on the east slope of Mill Hill between Chilco Road and Trans-Canada Highway. The original lot was subdivided to create the subject property and a 0.795 parcel on which an existing dwelling is located. The parcel was rezoned in 2014 to facilitate a proposed 36–lot subdivision with 1.6 ha of park land in the northwest half of the site and 0.38ha park in the southeast corner of the site as shown in Attachment 3.
The subject property is designated in the Official Community Plan as “Residential” and “Parks, Open Space, Recreation”. The parcel is zoned CD-16: Mill Hill Residential Comprehensive Development, P-3: Park and Recreation Use, and A-1: Rural.
It should be noted that the subject property is sharing the civic address of 2427 Chilco Road with the existing dwelling at Lot 1, Plan EPP45786 because the revised address scheme for Chilco/Cheam/Lund Road right-of-way has not been finalized. The subject property will be given a new civic address at that time.
PROPOSAL:
Almost 2ha of the 3.9 ha parcel was designated “Parks, Open Space, Recreation” and zoned P-3: Park and Recreation Use in anticipation of park dedication at the time of subdivision. In the ongoing detailed design work, better path locations for park access were found that would be less steep and not require as many retaining walls or stairs. The proposal is to amend Official Community Plan land use designations and rezone to reflect the final location of the paths and park boundaries.
DISCUSSION
Key issues include the following:
- Policy considerations
- Environmental impacts
- Budget implications of changes to park accesses
- Next steps
1. Policy Considerations
There are no significant policy implications as the proposal is minor modification to the approved development concept.
Section 879 of the Local Government Act requires a local government to consider whether early and ongoing notice should be provided to organizations that it considers may be affected by an amendment to the Official Community Plan, in addition to public hearing notification. Early and ongoing consultation typically consists of a formal referral period that usually is at least one to two months. Such a process would be appropriate for a major amendment with broad implications, but would be disproportionate for the small scale and minor nature of this proposal; therefore it is recommended that Council direct staff to notify BC Hydro, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Transit, Canada Post, Capital Regional District, Esquimalt First Nation, FortisBC, School District No.61, Shaw Cable, Songhees First Nation, and Telus of the public hearing for the Official Community Plan amendment bylaw. These are organizations that are commonly notified by the Town.
2. Environmental Impacts
There are no environmental impacts as there would be no difference in the amount of land to be cleared.
3. Budget Implications
The access to the future 1.6 ha park in the north end of the site would be shifted from the south side of Proposed Lot 24 to the north side. The benefit would be that only one retaining wall would be required to support stairs in this location, instead of two as currently approved. One issue is that this path does not connect directly to the park: it would rely on future access through the abutting vacant parcel to the north. It is anticipated that the access may be acquired through park dedication in the undetermined future. In the interim, staff could work with the applicant on the potential park access to the south that would be west of the driveway to the existing dwelling. It would be reasonable to secure this work as a condition of rezoning because the access is necessary for maintenance purposes. Both accesses may need to be gated until a plan has been developed for the parkland to address public safety.
The access to the Chilco Trails network in the southeast corner of the site would be relocated from between Proposed Lots 11 and 12 to between Lots 9 and 10. The relocated access would be less direct but the advantage would be that the existing topography can be followed and stairs would not be required (as currently approved).
The relocated accesses can be supported because they would be in areas that are not as steep and would provide a better access than originally proposed. The reduction in the amount of stairs and retaining walls would likely lower the maintenance costs for the Town in the long term.
4. Next Steps
If no further information is requested by the Committee of the Whole, Official Community Plan amendment and rezoning bylaws would be prepared for Council consideration.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the September 2, 2015 report from the Senior Planner titled "Official Community Plan Amendment 2015/01 and Rezoning Application 2015/03 – 2427 Chilco Road – Rem. Lot 29 Plan 748 (Thetis Vale Phase 7)" be received;
AND THAT early and ongoing consultation of the Official Community Plan amendment not be conducted given the minor nature of the proposal;
AND FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to notify BC Hydro, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Transit, Canada Post, Capital Regional District, Esquimalt First Nation, FortisBC, School District No.61, Shaw Cable, Songhees First Nation, and Telus of the public hearing for the Official Community Plan amendment bylaw.
SUBMITTED BY: Jeff Chow, MCIP, RPP Senior Planner
REVIEWED BY: Lindsay Chase, MCIP, RPP Director of Development Services
ATTACHMENTS
- Location plan
- Letter from Applicant – OCP Amendment Application - June 26, 2014 (1 page)
- OCP Land Use Designations, Zoning and Proposed Subdivision Layout – As Approved
- OCP Land Use Designations, Zoning and Proposed Subdivision Layout – As Proposed
Attachment 1. Location Plan
Document Images
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