Section 1-2: Riparian Areas Protection Regulation Assessment Report

Section 1. Description of Fisheries Resources Values and a Description of the Development Proposal

Introduction

The site is located west of Millstream in the southwest corner of the Town of View Royal, near the borders with Langford (to the west) and Colwood (to the south), within the Capital Regional District (CRD) (). The proposed development is to subdivide 221 Atkins Road (“the site”) into three single family home lots (). Unloading of the ravine top of bank is required to create enough developable area on site to support subdivision of the lot (). There is one stream (Millstream) located on site and one ditch adjacent to the site, which were assessed using the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation (RAPR) detailed assessment methods. A description of these watercourses is included in the following sections. Streamside Protection and Enhancement Areas (SPEA) and measures to protect the SPEA are included below.

Site Description

The 3503 m² site is currently zoned R-1 (Detached residential – large lot) and includes an existing single-family home, including a section of open foundation north of the house, a large gravel driveway and some sections of post and rail with wire fences. The majority of the site is forested with a ravine containing Millstream. The natural boundary of Millstream wanders in the ravine and is frequently confined. An area of low gradient slope is present between the toe of ravine bank and the natural boundary.

The existing ravine top of bank has been modified (unloaded) adjacent to the existing house footprint, to allow for a walk out basement (). The ravine top of bank wanders through the rest of the site almost extending to Atkins Road on the adject lot to the north, within just 5 meters of the site’s property line. The ravine top of bank appears to have been unloaded on the neighbouring property to the south, based on the mapped contour lines for ravine top of bank cutting through the house as shown on .

The site is encumbered by several zoning bylaws under R-1 Zoning and natural restrictions:

• Zoning Bylaw 900.2014 Section 3.8.2 – “No building, mobile home, recreational vehicle, or fence, retaining wall or other structure, nor any part thereof, can be constructed, moved, extended or located 30 m from the natural boundary of any lake, pond, marsh or stream, subject to the Provincial Riparian Area Regulations”
• Front lot line setback – 7.5 m minimum
• Rear lot line setback – 7.5 m minimum
• Side lot line setback – 2 m minimum
• Flanking lot line setback – 7.5 m minimum

Proposed Development

The proposed subdivision would divide the site, currently a single lot, into three lots. Each lot would include an Atkins Road access and ravine backlot. The designs and plans for tree protection and grading are primarily to support the site servicing and subdivision applications. Additional review and detailed design in support of individual home construction to protect the SPEA will be completed at a future date by a QEP.

In order to create enough developable area above the ravine top of bank to support this subdivision while protecting the SPEA, the geotechnical engineer’s report (Ryzuk Geotechnical Engineering and Material Testing, Geotechnical Field Review and Site Instruction, November 24, 2020) incorporates the “limit of disturbance” line to protect trees (Tree Management Plan for sub-division and Site Servicing, Gye and Associates, October 13, 2020) and the calculated SPEA for Millstream as determined by this report into its revised plan for unloading the ravine top of bank within Lot 1 and Lot 3 by 3.5 m to 2.0 m bellow existing lot grades. The “limit of disturbance” line is intended as the boundary beyond which no ground disturbance, grading or soil removal can occur so as to protect the Millstream SPEA and the protected trees located within the SPEA. A geotechnical setback of 6.0 m for all structures is then applied for the new unloaded ravine top of bank in Lots 1 and 3 and the existing ravine top of bank in Lot 2 (See Section 4 – Slope Stability) (). The geotechnical report includes a geotechnical setback line along the small side ravine on the north side of Lot 1 along the “limit of disturbance” line to protect the off site trees and the steep slopes associated with this area ().

The proposed geotechnical setback of 6.0 m is based on utilizing conventional shallow spread foundations and other options (e.g. deep foundations) that could allow for construction within the 6.0 m setback provided further review (Ryzuk, 2020).

An update of the Tree Management Plan for Sub-division and Site Servicing (Gye and Associates Draft Tree Plan dated December 18, 2020) for the construction phase with ongoing arborist oversight of the design and implementation will be required as the “limit of disturbance” does include small portions of tree root protection zones for protected trees. Detailed design and review of tree protection fencing, and excavation will likely be required for the construction phase.

Two bylaw variances are proposed to the R-1 zoning as part of the proposed development, subject to approval by the Township of View Royal:

• Lot 1: Relaxation of the front yard setback from 7.5 m to 2.0 m.
• Lot 2: Relaxation of the front yard setback from 7.5 m to 5.0 m.

Undue Hardship

To meet the riparian protection standard the subdivided lots must have a developable area greater than the 30% allowable area of each lot (RAPR, Section 10[4]) since this is a greenfield site (less than 70 % human disturbance). A summary of the developable area is provided in the table below:

¹ Developable area is the area outside the SPEA and all naturally and legally restricted areas.
² Site Area (Unrestricted) is the area of the site excluding legally and naturally restricted areas.
³ Undue hardship is ‘No’ as Developable Areas is greater than Allowable Footprint.

The allowable area of these lots does not exceed the developable area of these lots, so the proposed lots area not subject to undue hardship, meeting the requirements of section 10[4] of the RAPR.

Site Visit

Stantec biologists completed a detailed assessment of the site on October 25, 2019 during partly cloudy conditions. No rainfall was recorded at the Victoria International Airport weather station¹ on the day of the site visit and the last rainfall of note occurred four days prior to the site visit on October 21, 2019 (18.7 mm).

Millstream

Millstream is the primary drainage of the Millstream watershed, which originates in the District of Highlands and flows generally south and south east to Atkins Ave, where Millstream turns to the northeast until discharging into Esquimalt harbour. Much of the lower 5 km of Millstream and its associated ravine, including a portion of the site, are designated as a sensitive ecosystem (#2936) on the CRD mapping. The Millstream centerline is the eastern property line of the site.

Millstream is known to be a fish bearing stream (Habitat Wizard, 2019) with coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) presence downstream of a known barrier (culvert) located at Atkins Ave² and coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkia) presence throughout including above the culvert barrier. Other species recorded within Millstream include rainbow trout/steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), prickly sculpin (Cottus asper), brown catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus, exotic), pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus, exotic), and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu, exotic). During the site visit, three adult coho salmon (spawning) were observed downstream of transect 1 ().

Millstream was measured at 11 transects over 110 meters beginning downstream of the site to capture the 75 meters of Millstream within the site. Millstream within the survey area has an average channel width of 8.4 m and an average gradient of 1.0 %. The channel morphology is riffle-pool and with a sinuous pattern. The dominant substrate of the channel is gravel and the subdominant substrate is sand. Pockets of fines, cobble and boulder were found at transects 3 and 4. Substrate composition was influenced by the presence or absence of log and debris jams. the height of both right and left channel banks varied within the survey area from low (<0.5 m) to areas of 1.5-3.0 m high banks with undercutting, erosion and bank scour. The undercut banks were suitable for fish cover (transect 4). Overhanging and instream cover were present throughout the channel in the form of large log and debris jams, individual fallen trees, small woody debris buildup, and overhanging branches and shrubs. A log jam that spanned the channel was present instream between transect 4 and transect 5; it is providing excellent instream fish cover and a deep scour pool ().

The site is located within the Coastal Douglas-fir moist maritime (CDFmm) biogeoclimatic zone which is typically defined by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) with accompanying Western redcedar (Thuja plicata), grand fir (Abies grandis), arbutus (Arbutus menziesii), Garry oak (Quercus garryana), and red alder (Alnus rubra) often depending on soil moisture levels³. Millstream within the survey area has tree cover primarily consisting of red alder, western red cedar, and big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). Some western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Douglas-fir and Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) were also present. Average crown closure over Millstream was 35%. The shrub layer primarily consists of sword fern (Polystichum munitum) and salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis). Some thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) and pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) was also present. The herb layer primarily consists of trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) and various unidentified grasses. The survey area also had starflower (Trientalis borealis), giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia), slough sedge (Carex obnupta), and various mosses.

The invasive species present in abundance within the survey area were policeman’s helmet (Impatiens glandulifera), daphne (Daphne laureola.), and English ivy (Hedera helix). Other invasive species found in lower concentrations were morning glory (Ipomoea sp.), periwinkle (Vinca sp.), English holly (Ilex aquifolium), Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba) and creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens). A single Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), a provincially listed noxious weed, was present.

Roadside Drainage Ditch

There is a constructed stormwater drainage ditch along both sides of Atkins Road (). The drainage ditch flows adjacent to the site for approximately 15 m. The ditch is a catchment area and conveyance structure as it runs adjacent to the road. There are no storm catch basins or municipal storm drainage along this portion of Atkins Road. The ditch was dry and full of leaf litter and showed no signs of recent flow or scour. There is a 0.36 m diameter culvert in the ditch at the driveway to 221 Atkins road.

Based on the catchment area, biological indicators, channel characteristics and five years of historical street view images⁴, there is no indication that this ditch contains regular flow. Flow is likely restricted to during and following rainfall events. Any surface flow within the ditch adjacent to the site would flow to the north, cross under Atkins Road approximately 10 m north of the site to the west side of Atkins Road, prior to Myra Place. Flow would then continue north along the west side of Atkins Road though the culvert under Myra Place where it would join with the flows discharging from the culvert along the north side of Myra Place. The short section of ditch (12 m) north of Myra Place and west of Atkins Road was flowing during the site visit and appears to be wet often, based on the density of instream vegetation and channel scour. This flow then enters a culvert which continues under Atkins Road to the north in a storm sewer into 199 Atkins Road, where it is assumed to discharge into Millstream through this recent development’s stormwater infrastructure.

Based on the isolation of the ditch, lack of flow, and lack of historical flow, it is assumed that the ditch section adjacent to the site is non-fish bearing but may convey flow and nutrients to fish habitat under certain conditions.

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¹ https://climate.weather.gc.ca/ Accessed January 2020.
² Millstream Fishway Project. Peninsula Stream Society. September 2017. http://peninsulastreams.ca/millstream-fishway-project. Accessed April 2020.
³ Nuszdorfer, F.C., Klinka, K., and Demarchi, D.A. Chapter 5: Coastal Douglas-fir Zone. https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/srs/Srs06/chap5.pdf. Accessed April 2020.
⁴ Google Street view historical imagery. www.google.ca/maps. Years reviewed: 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017. Accessed April 2020.

Section 2. Results of Riparian Assessment (SPEA width)

Results of Detailed Riparian Assessment

Date: October 25, 2019
Description of Water bodies involved (number, type): 2, Millstream and Ditch

Channel width and slope and Channel Type (Millstream)

(use only if water body is a stream or a ditch, and only provide widths if a ditch)

Channel Type: R/P [X]

Certification: I, Tim Adam, hereby certify that: a) I am a qualified environmental professional, as defined in the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation made under the Riparian Areas Protection Act; b) I am qualified to carry out this part of the assessment of the development proposal made by the developer David McAllister; c) I have carried out an assessment of the development proposal and my assessment is set out in this Assessment Report; and d) In carrying out my assessment of the development proposal, I have followed the technical manual to the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation.

Site Potential Vegetation Type (SPVT)

SPVT Polygons: No [X]

Zone of Sensitivity (ZOS) and resultant SPEA (Millstream)

Segment No: 1

SPEA maximum: 25.14

Comments: Survey was conducted on October 30, 2019. Stream was assessed starting from the downstream extent, Transect 1.

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Results of Detailed Riparian Assessment (Ditch)

Reach #: 1

Channel width and slope and Channel Type (Ditch)

(use only if water body is a stream or a ditch, and only provide widths if a ditch)

Channel Type: X [X]

Site Potential Vegetation Type (SPVT) - Ditch

SPVT Polygons: No [X]

Zone of Sensitivity (ZOS) and resultant SPEA (Ditch)

Segment No: 1

Ditch Justification description for classifying as a ditch: Manmade, seasonal flow, built adjacent to road precisely parallel with road, no significant headwaters or springs, seasonal flow.

Ditch Fish Bearing: No [X] If non-fish bearing insert no fish bearing status report: No flow, no historical flow. See fisheries resource values.

SPEA maximum: 2 (For ditch use table 3-7)

Comments: The ditch was measured at three locations adjacent to the site. No flow or sign of recent flow was noted. Leaf litter was built up in the ditch.