Public Hearing

Good evening, everyone.

Welcome.

It's nice to see some faces in here.

It's the most we've first time, I think, in two years that we've actually had more people in the in the front than we have members of council.

So welcome.

Um, we're starting tonight with a public hearing, and then we're going into the council meeting.

So I would like to begin by acknowledging our friends and neighbors, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nation, and that their historic connections to these lands continues to this day.

So for the public hearing.

So obviously, people in the room will be able to comment in public hearing and also will be able to comment online.

Um, when that time comes for the public hearing, you're going to be dialing 778-402-9227.

And when prompted, enter conference ID 348-113-524 pound.

And at the appropriate time, I will announce the last four digits of your phone number.

I'll ask you to mute the live webcast to avoid feedback.

I'll ask you to not use speaker phone to ensure sound quality and ask that you unmute yourself by pressing star six.

And if you can give us your name and address for the record, please.

Be able to provide comments or ask questions through that.

And if you could again provide your name and address there, please.

And with that, I suppose we should call the public hearing to order.

And so I just need a motion to approve the agenda.

Second.

Okay.

Thank you.

All in favor, opposed.

That's carried.

So now I need to figure out where to um read the public statement hearing because I sort of just did half of it.

So the pre the prime purpose of tonight is to hear from the public.

So members of council may, if they so wish, ask questions.

However, the main function of council members this evening is to listen to the views of the public.

It is not the function of council at this public hearing to debate the merits of the proposed bylaw with individual citizens.

During the course of a public hearing, people sometimes may become enthusiastic or emotional.

Regardless of how you favor or oppose any particular argument, please keep your phone on mute so everyone may like clearly hear the person who has the four.

Like all public hearings, this meeting will be recorded to aid in accuracy of minute taking.

By participating in this webcast, you are consenting to being recorded, and the recording will be available on the town's website for future access.

After this public hearing is concluded, the council may, without further notice, give whatever effect council believes proper to the representations made at this public hearing.

The public is reminded that after the public hearing, council cannot hear any new information until a decision about the application is made.

Staff.

Thank you, worship.

Jeff Chow, Senior Planner.

The notice that advertised this public hearing was posted on the notice board of the town hall on May 4th.

It was advertised on the town website on May 4th as well.

It was mailed to 309 owners and residents of properties within a 400-meter radius of the subject property.

And it was also advertised in two consecutive issues of the Times Colonist on May 11th and Thursday, May 12th.

Thank you.

And with that, we'll move right into the staff report for 4.1A for 10 Erskine Lane.

Thank you, we're ship to slow up the presentation.

Sorry, a little technical difficulty here.

Try again.

Print gets smaller and smaller.

Okay.

Uh the purpose the purpose of this presentation is to summarize information for the rezoning application in support of the zoning bylaw, amendment bylaw 109322, and it's for 10 Erskine Lane.

The purpose of the rezoning is to rezone the property to uh to predict permitted additional 13 units.

30 units are already permitted.

The outline of the presentation will cover some background, the proposed zone, the development concept, official community plan policies, transportation impact servicing, community amenities, uh a covenant that would uh be registered in concert with the fourth reading, and advisory community review and community engagement.

The subject property was rezoned uh in 2008, and it was two single-family lots uh that have been consolidated, and as part of that, it was rezoned to mint 30 units of apartment uh housing.

And as part of that, the community amenities uh we do at the time included um sidewalk connections to um Watkiss Way and also to the other end towards the uh the galloping goose access.

It would also include a uh a widening of the trail.

Um, that's okay.

So the proposed zone uh would basically just be to add 13 additional units, and it would be for a five-story building.

The zoning is for was originally for three-story buildings, but a development permit was approved in 2008 for four stories.

The unit mix is comprised of five uh studio units, 18 one-bedroom units and two uh sorry 20 two-bedroom units.

Uh the applicant has divide provided a development concept, and the purpose of this development concept is it is to illustrate a potential proposal for the site, and the actual form and character of it will be considered at the development permit stage.

But their concept uh is for a building that would have surface parking at the rear and underbuilding parking.

And um, and originally they had proposed a building where the upper floors, uh the fifth floor would step back, and uh through the rezoning process, the design has changed a little bit in response to some uh issues about the setback to Digien's process of property to also step back the fourth story.

So the zoning uh would accommodate the uh the step back to ensure that the transition to the townhouses next door would be uh go from five stories down to three stories before uh before the you have a two story building next door.

Uh this illustration here shows the uh development permit that was approved in 2008, and that was for a four story building, um seven and a half meters away from the adjacent townhouses.

And uh the new building would be a little bit closer, but but it would only be the three-story section that is um 5.4 meters from the property line.

Uh to help minimize the impact on privacy, there would be a privacy screen to help provide screening between both the residents and the neighbors.

And the other thing I is that Erskine Lane is substandard in width.

So this rezoning would involve a road dedication as well to meet the current standards.

Road dedication was also taken on the other side of the street with the other development that happened at 7 Erskine Lane and 9 Erskine nursing lane.

Um, so staff notes that this development concept um would uh reduce the massing by stepping back the upper floor.

It would also add visual interest to the roof line of the building.

And uh and the other point to make is that the building and parking are cited to preserve a stand of trees at the south end of the property, which is adjacent to the Galloping Goose.

In terms of the official community plan context, it's in the mixed residential land use designation and uh and on the edge of the hospital neighborhood center.

Uh the proposal is in keeping with the official community plan policies by making some streetscape improvements.

Uh the ground floor units would would be street-oriented with with uh units having a direct connection, and the building form makes sufficient use of of uh the very limited land on this site.

And it's in a location with multimodal transportation opportunities.

So in terms of environment, uh it's not in an environmental development permit area, uh, but the proposal is to um preserve the mature fur fir trees at the rear of the property that create a buffer to the galloping goose.

Um trees along the west property line would be removed.

However, um the original proposal was for a hedge, but it looks like there might be some potential to actually plant trees.

That would be investigated with the adjacent to the townhouses, but that'll be investigated further in the uh development permit stage.

Transportation impacts are minimal for additional 13 units.

BC Transit supports the application because it would increase density in the local transit network corridor, and the other point to make is that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would have to approve the rezoning before fourth weeding can be passed because of the location adjacent to the to a controlled access intersection of the controlled access highway.

And that stormwater quality must be managed.

The 2019 sanitary sewer master plans anticipates the increased density in this area and modeling is not required for additional 13 units.

Stormwater drainage indicates no uh downstream upgrades are needed.

Um again, that would be confirmed at the development permit stage, and the road dedication is required because the width is substandard.

The community managed contribution would be to formalize the uh community management contributions from 2008 for the sidewalk extensions uh for the additional 13 units.

Uh, there would be a cash amenity of four thousand dollars per unit, which is uh in accordance with the town's policy.

And um, and off and to note uh the policy uh is for 10 percent of the contributions received to be provided to the regional housing trust trying to supplement the town's annual contribution the covenant that will be registered um in in concert with the uh rezoning would be for uh to secure the the amenities and also to secure the road dedication prior to uh building permit issuance the joint advisory committee reviewed the application in in january and just discussed a number of items but in general uh the the joint advisory committees uh supported the rezoning proposal.

In terms of community engagement, the applicant held two online public information meetings, one in November and second at the end of March uh they provided a number of comments, and as a result of that, that's where the current development proposal has been has been arrived at.

So the recommendation is to receive the report, and uh the applicant will also make a presentation.

Thank you, Steph.

Questions for staff?

Councillor Matson?

Thank you.

Uh just I just wanted the clarification on a couple things.

The 2008 development permit that that's gone off the table.

It's expired.

Yes, so correct.

For the purposes of that comparison, it's uh I'm just wondering how relevant it is.

On page 10, you showed what was approved in 2008 versus so that's all gone.

Yeah, no, I I understand that.

Yes, and the intent of providing that is to show some some of the history.

I I just want clarification because um if this doesn't go through, then we have to go through the a new development process or the development permit process for what's currently approved in terms of the zoning.

So the three stories, I I wasn't here then, so I'm not sure how we it was zoning, was three, and now the picture was for four, but council would have to make the decision on how whether or not we wanted anything other than three stories.

Additional stories can be addressed through a variance.

Okay, thank you.

So that's probably the clarification I needed.

Just I just wanted to make sure that I was correct in my thinking that the old DP is gone, and if we don't approve this, we have to go back and through the development permit process again.

So thank you very much.

Yeah, the old the old DP is gone, but the zoning is in place for the 30 units regardless.

Yeah, no, I'm I'm fully aware of that.

Just one clarification.

Councillor Rogers.

Yeah, thank you, Steph.

Um the um just a point of clarification and a little bit of lateral thinking um last minute.

Uh on the third page of your presentation, there was the um aerial view.

I think there, yes.

So um uh I'm just wondering, um, you see if on on the uh where there's the cul-de-sac and uh the line for lot 10.

Um and I'm assuming that the on the other side of lot 10 is the road, Erskine Lane, the cul-de-sac.

Um, and uh I know that uh the fire chief is here, maybe he'll want to weigh in too.

But um do we need all that um cul-de-sac, or was would there have been any opportunity to um shall we say move the property, move the boundary uh so that we would have greater space between um number 14 Erskine and the townhouses and the building itself?

At uh at nineerskin, Niners going directly across the street, or actually Kitty Corner, involved an expansion to the end of the cul-de-sac to to provide some parking islands in the middle.

Okay.

So I don't know the exact dimensions because the the uh the final design has not been made, but but um some of that land is necessary for uh for the the parking that would be displaced from the road.

Uh so not so some of that land uh may or may not be available.

Okay, thank yeah, thank you for reminding me.

And and I am aware of turning start turning radiators for fire trucks.

Thank you.

My left.

Any questions?

Okay, the applicant, do you like to speak?

Come on out.

Welcome.

Is this on?

I think so.

Yeah.

Okay.

I'll just uh I'll just introduce myself while we get the presentation up.

Um I've been here before, but my name is Elainey Gibson.

Um I'm with Wiser Projects, and we're the development consultants for 10 Erskine Lane, and we're working with Parsi Development, who is the landowner and the developer for the project.

Uh next slide, please.

So um before I go too much further, I just want to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

Um, and the site that we're speaking about today is also on those territories.

Um, this is a quick overview of what I'm gonna go through today.

I'm gonna try not spend too long on the pieces that were covered in the staff presentation, but get a little bit more into the benefits that we see coming from this project, as well as a little bit about the history to understand how we got here today.

Next slide, please.

So folks might have seen this before at past council meetings, but I'll just introduce the team again.

So the developer is Parsi Development, which is a local group.

It's a husband and wife team.

And they've worked on several regional projects, such as the Piano and Casa Bella, which are both in Langford.

Those are two of their completed projects, and they've got several others on the go at various stages in development around the region.

I'm with Wiser Projects and we're consultants, we're mostly planners, and we work on both market and non-market housing projects around the region and up and down Vancouver Island.

Next slide, please.

So as was mentioned earlier, the site was rezoned previously.

Currently there are two single-family homes on the site.

It was rezoned in 2008, and the DP was approved in 2010.

However, at that time, uh there were still the impacts of the recession and the financial crisis, so it wasn't feasible to develop at that time, leading to the lapse of the development permit.

Then Parsi through the 2010s was working on the other projects that they've now completed, so now they've had the capacity to come back to this project.

But today is a different time than 10 years ago.

As we all know, construction costs have increased substantially over the last two years, and they continue to be extremely volatile.

And so what we've done when we've come back to this project, it's an update to that 2010 design that was approved, but we've added some density to it to help offset some of those costs and that cost escalation that we're seeing these days.

Next slide, please.

So this is mostly a repeat of the staff presentation, so I won't linger too long here.

I will just note a couple things of interest.

The parking requirements are all being met, both vehicle and bicycle parking requirements.

The transportation impact assessment concluded that there was no substantial impacts from the 13 additional units being proposed.

And I've also spoken with the developer, and we are looking into the possibility of having several e-bikes, shared e-bikes for residents, which would help further reduce the need for cars on site, and hopefully over time folks will be encouraged to reduce car ownership.

So we're hoping there won't be too many parking pressures from this project.

And as was mentioned, we're just seeking five stories and 43 units total.

However, as we learned at the first reading, that was not secured permanently on title, so that benefit has now lapsed.

Next slide, please.

So the OCP land use designation is mixed residential, and the proposal fits to sort of the objectives of that land use designation.

Although we're not currently applying for a development permit, we have considered the form and character requirements for this DPA.

So we're we're trying to fit with those requirements.

And besides that, the the project does meet quite a few OCP objectives.

In large part the sustainable development pattern by providing an infill project in a very walkable and well connected neighborhood.

It's encouraging sustainable transportation and supporting alternative transportation by adding density right on a cycling network and not far from extensive transit networks.

We're increasing the supply of housing.

Again, it's not a huge increase in density, but it is 13 additional units, which contributes to the diversity of housing in View Royal and just the housing stock that's so badly needed in the town and in the region.

And of course, it's it's also contributing to an inclusive community by providing that diversity of housing options beyond just single family homes, which in the whole region is the dominant form of housing.

These units will hopefully be more attainable for folks, especially if we get that extra density.

It helps keep the costs down and helps open these units up for a wider range of people to move into in the future.

Next slide, please.

And just building off of that, I think it's important to acknowledge the housing needs that exist in View Royal and in the region right now.

The median income in View Royal is just shy of $84,000 a year, and that is not enough to be able to afford owning a single family home right now.

And so these this typology of multifamily housing is more attainable.

The smaller unit size and the economies of scale that we can achieve hopefully make it more attainable for those median incomes.

Families in particular are struggling to afford housing right now.

And while these units are a mix of studio one and two bedroom units, two bedrooms could be the perfect starting home for a young family.

And we've looked at the design, and it may be possible to squeeze one or two three bedrooms in.

We'll have to look at that during the more detailed design phase, but it's something we're interested in for sure.

And this is housing that's going into a really prime location.

It's desirable for a whole range of folks.

It's well connected to transit, to cycling infrastructure, and to services.

And if you go to the next slide, so this is what's walkable within roughly 15 minutes, give or take.

So we've got the Eagle Creek Village, which has a full service grocery store and other commercial amenities.

It's immediately adjacent to the Galloping Goose Trail with access basically off of the property.

It's near the Vancouver General Hospital Victoria General Hospital, which provides obviously medical services and is a large employment hub for the region, so healthcare workers may want to live in close proximity to this.

Eagle View Elementary is also a short walk away within walking distance for elementary school children.

And as I mentioned previously, there's bus stops nearby and a transit exchange at the hospital.

Next slide, please.

So we've come before council several times now, and staff touched on this, but the we've done a couple things since the committee of the whole meeting in January, such as reach out to the community again and have an additional community engagement meeting.

That led to some changes in our proposal in the design of the building.

And we've also finalized with staff the community amenity contributions, which I'll touch on in a second.

Next slide, please.

So the community engagement, the main takeaway that we heard both times was just comments and concerns about the scale of change in the neighborhood due to the large developments that are happening across the street.

And we offered to support neighbors in any way we can in general advocacy to the town of U Royal for how to sort of make sure that development that's happening is working for the community.

But specific to this project, the concerns that we heard were largely concerns about community amenities funneling directly to the neighborhood and to the immediate area, and then concerns about privacy between the two buildings.

So, in terms of community amenities, we brought this up with staff, and staff uh also I think brought these forward um the amenities that would be secured through this.

So, the one is the sidewalk uh from the property to Watkiss Way, which would be built to current standards, which is two meters wide.

My understanding is uh during the original rezoning in DP, this was a big desire of the community.

So, this project uh with the rezoning would be able to deliver that.

And then the other primary amenity would be improvements to the connector to the Galloping Goose Trail, which we heard at the first community engagement session was a specific um request that we heard from a couple people, something that would be desired by the community.

Um, it's a bit substandard, it's quite narrow right now, so those improvements would help access to the trail.

And then, in terms of increased privacy, we heard it mostly at the second meeting.

We heard concerns about that, not so much at the first one.

But we took those into account and considered some design options to help mitigate that.

So if you go to the next slide, the first thing we proposed after the original meeting was privacy screens.

So on the balconies facing 14 Erskine, which are the neighboring townhouses, we would install privacy screens.

And the idea would be for light to filter through so that residents can enjoy their balconies.

But generally you can't see too much detail when you're looking in or out of them.

And that in addition with the landscaping that we have planned would provide a decent amount of privacy.

Next slide, please.

And the second uh thing that we did after the that last March 30th meeting was to revisit um sort of the scale of the building and the massing of it.

So to be clear, the the bottom image there was our original proposal where only the fifth floor is stepped back.

But because we heard some concerns about the fourth and the fifth floors from neighbors, we reconfigured the building so that both the fifth and the fourth floor are stepped back when they're facing Erskine Lane.

And we managed to do this without losing any units because we could add them to the basically the other side of the building on the fifth floor.

And this means that essentially, if you're sitting in a unit at 14 Erskin Lane, if it'll feel like you're looking at a three-story building because those upper floors are stepped back.

We've also, instead of looking at hedges between the properties, it should be possible to plant full-size trees.

So between the trees, the privacy screening and then the stepping back, we think there'll be a lot of privacy for both the new residents and the existing residents, and the impacts shouldn't be too great for that.

Next slide, please.

So what I'd really like to communicate is the benefits that we see from this project and from the rezoning that we're talking about.

So while any project has an impact on a neighborhood, we don't believe that these impacts will be too overburdening.

And it'll result in an increase in units, which increases the number of housing units that we can deliver, which are greatly needed, but it also helps keep the cost of the project down per unit.

So those units in the end will cost less than they otherwise would.

We've listened to the neighbors and adjusted the design to help mitigate the concerns that we heard by stepping back those top two floors and adjusting the landscaping and the screening on the balconies.

Through the rezoning, we're able to provide some amenities directly to the neighborhood, such as the sidewalk and the connector to the galloping goose.

This is housing in a really walkable, well connected neighborhood.

It's a really desirable place to live and it would really benefit families and folks who want to live there.

And yeah, the improvements to the galloping goose, as well as the, I haven't mentioned previously, but staff did the right of way to expand Erskine Lane to current municipal standards.

Next slide, please.

And so I do just want to acknowledge, as I said before, that any project will have an impact on the neighborhood.

But the way we see it, 13 additional units is not an incredible impact compared to the 30 units that can be built there right now.

So the fourth and fifth stories again are stepped back and will not be very visible from the townhouse units.

And the folks that are going to be in those floors are not going to have a direct sight line into the townhouse units.

The landscape plan is yet to be finalized.

That would be through the development permit process.

But as you can see, we've done some conceptual work and plan on providing trees all along that property boundary between the two properties, which adds sort of greenery and visual appeal, but also privacy to both residents.

And as I mentioned previously, there's minimal or no traffic impacts expected from the additional density of this project.

Next slide, please.

So to wrap it up, these are really the things that we want to make sure are communicated and understood.

So the change in question that we're talking about is ultimately 13 units and two stories.

The rezoning will secure local amenities that otherwise might not be possible.

And these amenities are extremely local and would benefit existing residents on the street.

The additional density will also keep the cost of units down as much as possible in a time when there's a lot of volatility and cost escalation happening in the construction world.

The project meets OCP and other View Royal policy objectives by adding housing to a well-connected, well-serviced area.

And it's just one part of the housing puzzle.

It's not going to solve the housing crisis.

It's not a huge amount of housing, but every unit of housing right now really counts towards addressing this issue.

And being able to add that bit of extra density just helps provide more housing units and hopefully at a more attainable cost to residents.

So that's all I have today.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Do you have questions for the applicant?

No.

Councillor Rogers.

Yes, thank you.

Thanks for the uh presentation.

Uh just point of clarification uh you you mentioned and indeed we appreciate the um the um households usually making about 83 84 000 um so are you saying then that the um uh this would be an affordable as condos or rental so we haven't decided whether these will be um rental apartment units or condo units um that'll come further down the line as there's a bit more certainty in the outcome of this rezoning process um uh the developer is open to either option.

There's definitely a need um all over the region for rental units.

And depending on, you know, there's different financing options available for both.

So and I want to be careful about the word affordable because that means different things to different people.

So to be clear, these are market units, but adding the density will keep keep the cost down as much as possible.

And the developer does have an interest in providing units that benefit the community, which means you know, moderate or moderate earning families in the region.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Nice question.

I think you've addressed the privacy aspects quite nicely in the design and screening and the uh full size trees.

That's great.

Um, but um a little uh help me with the noise.

Um how because these the uh the units across the way, as you know, um number 14, they're only two to four meters away from their property line.

And um, so the noise aspects, um, how do you figure that?

Do you think the screening and uh would be sufficient to mitigate that?

Yeah, I mean uh vegetation screening certainly um does a certain amount of noise, um, like muting that noise between the properties.

Um yeah, that that hasn't some been something that's come up in the past, um, but we can look at the landscaping as we develop that to see uh what we can put in place to help mitigate that.

Um and I don't know that um again, the difference between what we're proposing and what's currently zoned for, there wouldn't be a substantial difference, I don't think, between the noise levels, between the the 43 unit concept and the 30 unit concept.

Thank you.

Okay.

Yeah.

And so uh we've had a couple of um uh projects being developed, and uh for lack of a better term, they've got party decks uh where all the the folks have their built-in amenity on the top of the roof with uh who knows what goes on.

Um so I'm just clarifying, clarifying.

Um, does the roof um the fourth floor, you know, that's got that screening and set back, has that been set back for a party deck?

Uh not as planned, no.

Um so it would be that fourth floor unit, or there's there's two units that would face out onto that deck.

Um, and those so far would be planned to be just private deck space for those units.

Okay, thank you.

When we last talked, you had uh suggested there might be an option for a third uh one of one of the units being a third three-bedroom.

Yeah, so um the architect has looked at it and it might be possible to squeeze it in, um, but nothing has been sort of set in stone at this point.

But we definitely recognize the need for three-bedroom and family-sized units in the region.

Okay, thank you.

That's my question.

Thank you.

Thank you.

On my left?

No, this is a thorough presentation.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thanks.

So next we have the opportunity for the public comments.

So, both those at home, if you would like to call in, this is now the time.

And is there anyone in the room who'd like to speak to this?

No, not seeing anyone in the room.

So, staff, do we have any callers on the line?

Your worship, we have no callers at this time.

Okay, well, thank you.

And we have no correspondence.

And so with that, we just need a motion to terminate.

Okay.

All in favor?

Opposed?

That's carried.

Thank you, everyone.