ZONING BYLAW NO. 900, 2014, AMENDMENT BYLAW NO. 1101, 2022 TO REZONE THE GLENTANA VILLAGE LAND USE CONTRACT AREA

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the June 1, 2022 report from the Senior Planner titled “Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1101, 2022 to Rezone the Glentana Village Land Use Contract Area” be received 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

To present information on Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1101, 2022 to apply zoning to land that is subject to the Glentana Village Land Use Contract and has no underlying zoning. If the Town does not adopt zoning for this area before the land use contract terminates in 2024, the land will have no land use controls in effect.

BACKGROUND

When the Town was an unincorporated electoral area of the Capital Regional District, CRD Bylaw 421 (Attachment 1) was adopted in 1978 to enter into a land use contract for development of the following properties shown in Figure 1:

• 1500 Glentana Road
• 1501 Glentana Road (Cameo Housing Co-operative)
• 1507 Glentana Road (Glentana Village Recreation Centre)
• 1512, 1514, 1611, 1615, 1617, 1619 and 1621 Glentana Road
• Residences on Falstaff Place, Ethos Place, Amber Place and Demos Place
• Part of Portage Park

Figure 1. The Glentana Village Land Use Contract area

Land use contracts were an alternative to zoning between 1971 and 1978. They were a hybrid land use regulatory tool that allowed the site-specific development of land under contractual conditions negotiated between a development proponent and a local government. The intent was to allow more flexibility than traditional zoning.

It was generally found across the province that land use contracts were unsatisfactory and the legislation enabling them was repealed in 1978. They have been replaced by development permits, development cost charges, density bonusing, zoning, and phased development agreements.

Land use contracts remain in effect. In 2014, the Local Government Act was changed to terminate all land use contracts by June 30, 2024. The province’s requirements are as follows:

“All land use contracts will be terminated as of June 30, 2024. Local governments are required to have zoning bylaws in place by June 30, 2022 that will apply to the land once the land use contracts are terminated.

If land, a building or other structure is being lawfully used under the land use contract and the use would not apply under the new bylaw, the use may continue as a non-conforming use. Certain conditions may apply so contact your local government for details.”

CRD Bylaw 421 Land Use Contract is the only land use contract within the Town. It is recognized in Zoning Bylaw 900, 2014 and preceding land use bylaws, and there is no underlying zoning for lands within the land use contract area. A Town-initiated zoning is therefore required.

Staff’s intent is to develop zoning for the land use to acknowledge the existing land uses and minimize the creation of lawful nonconformities for uses and structures permitted in the land use contract. Amendments to Official Community Plan and Zoning bylaws initiated by a local government must follow Local Government Act procedures, but do not require the assent of property owners.

This project was introduced at the March 8, 2022 Committee of the Whole meeting. It should be noted that the portion of Portage Park located in the land use contract area is already zoned for park use and is not part of this project. The lands to be zoned are within the Mixed Residential development permit area and would remain so.

PROPOSED BYLAW

First and second readings of the bylaw to create the CD-28: Comprehensive Development (Glentana Village) zone (previously identified as “CD-27”) were passed on May 17, 2022.

Comprehensive development zoning with subzones is proposed because of the different types of development on the lands, which includes the following:

• Detached dwellings (fee simple and bare land strata)
• Detached condominium dwellings
• Townhouses, including stacked townhouses (where units may be located one on top of others and have individual exterior entrances)
• A housing cooperative
• A private amenity recreation centre

The proposed zone will not permit secondary suites given the small lot size for detached dwellings and limited parking availability. There would be a minimum parking requirement of one space per detached dwelling. Each subzone will limit the number of units to what has been built in that subzone. The subzones comprising the zone are illustrated in Figure 1 and are described as follows:

Figure 1. CD-28 subzones

Subzone CD-28A – Townhouses

Addresses of properties withing the proposed subzone:

• 1501 Glentana Road

This zone encompasses the Cameo Co-op property, which is comprised of two-storey townhouses, three-storey stacked townhouses, and an office. There appears to be one or two accessory buildings not shown in the original building permit plans. New accessory buildings and structures will have to comply with Zoning Bylaw requirements that are standard throughout the Town.

The property will be subject to the guidelines of Mixed Residential development permit area for things such as the alteration of land, buildings and landscaping once the land use contract terminates.

Subzone CD-28B – Recreation Centre

Addresses of properties within the proposed subzone:

• 1507 Glentana Road

This property is the Glentana Village Recreation Centre, which is owned primarily by owners of land within the land use contract area. It is like a clubhouse or other common amenity found in large strata developments, but unusual in that it is located on a fee simple property. The ownership structure is complex (involving building schemes, covenants, and fractional ownership). The proposed zone would acknowledge the use as an assembly hall and recreation center, including the outdoor sport courts. Daycare is a new use that staff considers to be appropriate to this site, should the owners wish to consider such a use in the future.

Subzone CD-28C – Detached Dwellings

Addresses of properties withing the proposed subzone:

• 1611, 1615, 1617, 1619 and 1621 Glentana Road

These are existing fee simple, detached dwelling lots.

Subzone CD-28D – Bare Land Strata

Addresses of properties withing the proposed subzone:

• 2-52 Demos Place

This is a bare land strata subdivision with lots ranging from 278m² to 830m² and an average lot size of 407m² (lot size averaging is permitted in bare land strata subdivisions). An uncommon feature of this subdivision is that some neighbouring buildings are attached at the property line, mostly carports, which can be seen in Figure 2. The sub-zone would allow these to be rebuilt.

Figure 2. Building Footprints for Demos Place (not survey accurate). Source: CRD

The lots are generally narrow, and buildings are sited very close to side lot lines. The proposed subzone would allow zero side lot line buildings to allow existing buildings to be rebuilt, but it would also specify a minimum 1.5m metre side yard on one side to ensure future buildings and additions will not occupy the full width of a lot to allow exterior access to rear yards. A few of the existing dwellings have virtually no side yard and the only way to access the rear yard is through the house.

The guidelines of Mixed Residential development permit area would not apply to this bare land strata subdivision because it is not a multifamily development.

Subzone CD-28E

Addresses of properties within the proposed subzone:

• 12-20 Amber Place
• 2-12 Ethos Place
• 2-66 Falstaff Place
• 1502, 1504A&B, 1506A&B, 1508, 1510, 1512, and 1514 Glentana Road

This zone encompasses three condominium strata plans. While it is common for townhouses to have private patios, in this case the condominium strata units are detached dwellings with large private yard areas as shown in Figure 3. Regulations such as Zoning Bylaw setbacks and BC Building Code limiting distance requirements for fire separation do not apply to the dividing line between private yards because they are not lot lines. There are also three duplexes with similar private yard configurations.

Figure 3. Condominium strata with private yards

A BC Financial Services Authority study found a province-wide average 40% increase to condominium strata insurance premiums in 2020 alone. The dramatic increase has prompted several condominium strata corporations comprised of detached dwellings with private yards to make enquiries about becoming bare land stratas. This would involve the risks of dissolving a strata by merging individual ownership and mortgages into one large fee simple property before going through the bare land strata subdivision process. The process is complex for built developments because it includes addressing requirements such as zoning (e.g. land use, floor space ratio, setbacks), Building Code (e.g., fire separations can restrict the number & size of doors and windows based on distance to lot lines), and 5% park dedication/cash-in-lieu.

In light of these challenges, staff have drafted a zone that would allow these properties (except for the duplexes) to be become a bare land strata subdivision in the future, subject to meeting all the regulatory requirements in effect at that time. In the meantime, the current uses and configuration will remain and issues such as setbacks and land use are addressed in the draft zone.

These are multifamily complexes and would be subject to the guidelines of Mixed Residential development permit area for things such as the alteration of land, buildings and landscaping once the land use contract terminates.

Subzone CD-28F - Townhouses

Addresses of properties withing the proposed subzone:

• 1-15 1500 Glentana Road

This a 15-unit townhouse complex. The property will be subject to the guidelines of Mixed Residential development permit area for things such as the alteration of land, buildings and landscaping once the land use contract terminates. The draft subzone is consistent with what is currently in existence on this site.

DISCUSSION

The proposed zone would be consistent with the current Official Community Plan Mixed Residential land use designation, which calls for the following:

• detached homes on small lots, townhouses and low-rise apartments
• up to three storeys and a maximum Floor Space Ratio of 1.25 for townhouses; up to four storeys and a maximum Floor Space Ratio of 1.5 for apartments.

Staff received an enquiry about whether the zoning would open the lands up to redevelopment and greater density. The proposed zoning designation was developed by reviewing building permits and strata plans to establish regulations that acknowledge the existing land uses and buildings with minimal need for setback variances if rebuilding. The proposed zone does not include apartments as a permitted use and each subzone limits the number of units to what currently exists. Any future rezoning applications would need to be consistent with the Official Community Plan in place at the time, or also request a concurrent OCP amendment.

The zoning would come into effect once the land use contract terminates June 30, 2024. As with any properties that are subject to zoning, property owners in this area would have access to the development variance permit process and the Board of Variance to address any situations where complying with zoning is challenging or results in unforeseen consequences. Staff have made effort to make zoning consistent with the current uses, siting heights and more. However, there are some additional considerations that result in a few inconsistences, particularly around side lot line setbacks. Significant changes to the BC Building Code since Glentana Village developed have resulted in stricter requirements for separations between buildings, and the connections between buildings where there are shared walls.

Owners and residents of land within the land use contract area were provided early notification by mail and a project webpage was developed to provide further information. The draft bylaw presented in this report has been presented on the project web page. To date, there have not been a significant number of enquiries.

As the Province’s 1970s experiment with land use contracts concludes, planning legislation has evolved and the proposed zone in concert with the existing Mixed Residential development permit area designation will provide a clearer land use regulation framework to support Glentana Village into the future.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the June 1, 2022 report from the Senior Planner titled “Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1101, 2022 to Rezone the Glentana Village Land Use Contract Area” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY: J. Chow, MCIP RPP, Senior Planner

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

ATTACHMENTS:

1. CRD Bylaw 421 (Land Use Contract) (52 pages)