Planning & Development Report - COUNCILLOR ENQUIRIES
Staff responses to enquiries made by Councillor Mattson regarding development permits, design panels, and housing policies.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL Planning & Development Report
TO: Committee of the Whole
DATE: April 4, 2018
FROM: L.Chase Director of Development Services
MEETING DATE: April 10, 2018
FILE NO.:
COUNCILLOR ENQUIRIES
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the report from the Director of Development Services titled “Councilor Enquiries” be received.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:
I concur with the recommendation.
PURPOSE OF REPORT:
The purpose of this report is to respond to four enquiries made by Councilor Mattson.
BACKGROUND:
On March 12, 2018 Councilor Mattson made enquiries about the following to the CAO with a request that staff provide a response:
- Link between rezoning and form and character Development Permits.
- Bring back the Advisory Design Panel
- look at putting in a policy in View Royal that formalizes an ask for an amenity contribution from the developer upon rezoning.
- Requiring multifamily projects to allocate a percentage of units for low income housing --- rather than giving a grant to the housing trust fund.
Brief responses and possible next steps are identified below.
ANALYSIS:
Rezoning Land and Form and Character Development Permits
The scope of zoning power does not include regulation of the appearance of buildings and structures. The authority for zoning (land use) and form and character development permits (design) comes from different sections of the Local Government Act and must be considered separately as they are different powers that are subject to different processes and considerations.
| Rezoning Land | Form and Character Development Permits | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory power | The use of land, including: density (floor space, number of residential units etc. relative to lot size), and the height and siting of buildings and structures | General form and character of commercial, multifamily, and industrial development (but not institutional). |
| Approval process | Bylaw | Resolution |
| Lifespan of decision | Permanent (can be changed by a new bylaw) | Expires if construction has not started within two years |
| Considerations for decision making | Official Community Plan policies | Development Permit Area Guidelines |
| Obligations for decision making | Discretionary, i.e. not obligated to approve even if consistent with Official Community Plan policies | Can only decline if not in general accordance with guidelines; must provide reasons. |
Current process
During the rezoning process development concepts such as building plans and renderings are often presented as part of a rezoning application to illustrate an applicant’s intent for a site; however they are informal and are not binding. Form and character considerations should not cloud a land use decision.
Once a rezoning bylaw is passed to set the parameters for development, site design can be evaluated through the development permit process. An applicant’s development concept could continue to evolve for many reasons, such as new information on site characteristics, changes in market conditions, changes in ownership, etc. The potential use, density and building size provisions of a rezoning bylaw should therefore be considered carefully.
The current procedure:
- keeps the two regulatory powers separate as they have different obligations to consider in decision making
- provides Council an opportunity to provide some general comments on proposed form and character for an applicant to consider as a starting point
Reconsidering Form and Character Development Permit Area Guidelines
If there is a desire to reconsider the form and character development permit area guidelines, an Official Community Plan amendment would be required. A comprehensive public consultation process would be conducted to ensure that any proposed new guidelines reflect the wishes of the greater community. It should be noted that the authority granted by Development Permit areas is to consider the general form and character of development, and not the specifics of aspects such as the size, shape, colour of buildings.
Advisory Design Panel
Advisory Design Panels (ADP) can be a useful tool in the design review process as they are populated by design professionals with significant training and expertise in the broad field of design (architects, landscape architects, urban designers). Finding professionals to volunteer their time to sit on Advisory Design Panels can be a challenge.
Similar to Council’s other Advisory groups (CDAC and PREAC), the Design Panel provides advice to Council. However, unlike other advisory committees, an ADP has very specialized and unique qualifications and effectively acts as a panel of peers with respect to the review of project designs. It is not the role of an ADP to re-design a project and there are limitations with respect to the depth of comments provided.
Should Council wish to re-instate a design panel, the next steps would be a more detailed report from staff with information about how this might fit into the development process; develop terms of reference for Council approval; and finally to issue a call for members.
Amenity Contributions and Housing Policy
The Official Community Plan identifies both an amenity policy and a housing policy as items that should be completed as part of the implementation of the Official Community Plan.
Both are topics that will require specialized expertise to develop relevant and effective policy, and it is expected that broad consultation with the community and the development industry would form part of the work plan for both projects. Staff notes that amenity and housing policies are complex, and that there are frequently unintended consequences. There is also the potential to link the two, where housing becomes an amenity associated with redevelopment.
Understanding the range of housing options and tools that are available to local government facilitates the best choices being identified. It is also critical to understand the impacts of this type of policy on a local market that is embedded within a larger regional context.
Our current practice with respect to amenity contributions is somewhat ad hoc and relies on external expertise (as demonstrated with the Christie Point application). A formalized approach and a consistent value for amenity contributions may or may not be the best approach for View Royal, and further study is recommended.
Next steps for these two topics would be to identify terms of reference and develop draft project summaries for the 2019 budget process.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the report from the Director of Development Services titled “Councilor Enquiries” be received.
SUBMITTED BY:
Lindsay Chase, MCIP, RPP, Director of Development Services
REVIEWED BY:
Kim Anema, CGA, Chief Administrative Officer
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