Attachment 22. Parking Variance for Lakeside Village Mixed Use Development

PARKING REQUIREMENTS REVIEW FOR PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF LAKESIDE VILLAGE TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL

Prepared For: Foresite Developments Inc. Prepared By: Bunt & Associates Engineering Ltd. File: 5839.01 Date: February 26, 2008

1.0 BACKGROUND:

The proposed Lakeside Village development, as illustrated in Exhibit 1: Site Plan and described in Exhibit 2: Project Information, consists of two residential buildings with 24 units in each and a separate retail / commercial area of 1,533 m2 (16,500 ft2) to the north of the residential buildings.

Each of the three story residential buildings consists of 24 units averaging 93 m2 with underground parking provided for 35 vehicles. The two buildings are separated by a courtyard that connects the surrounding streets and sidewalks with the pedestrian network of the adjacent park and nearby Galloping Goose regional trail.

The proposed land uses for the commercial space include general retail, community market, offices and a café in four structures with a central courtyard as indicated in Exhibit 1. The lower level of the commercial buildings adjacent to Six Mile Road is accessible from the residential buildings courtyard via steps and landscaped paths. It is also accessible directly from the sidewalk along Six Mile Road via paths and small bridges. The upper level of the commercial buildings to the east of the public courtyard, are directly accessible from the parking area as well as stairs from the courtyard.

2.0 PROJECT SCOPE / METHODOLOGY

The intent of the project was to recommend an appropriate parking requirement for both the residential and commercial components of the proposed development in view of the type of development and its location.

There were two aspects to this approach. The first task is to review the Town of View Royal’s Land Use Bylaw (No. 35 Consolidated to November 2007) as well as research what other jurisdictions have incorporated into their respective bylaws for parking requirements for equivalent land uses. From this research, a recommended bylaw parking requirement will be calculated.

The second task is to then consider this requirement in the context of where the development is located. This includes such factors as types and locations of adjacent land uses, proximity of similar land uses, functional classification of adjacent roads, parking requirements for existing land uses in the area and so on.

3.0 ANALYSIS

3.1 Commercial Land Uses:

The land use near Lakeside Village is zoned as CD-9 (Comprehensive Development) in the Town of View Royal. The existing bylaws for the Town of View Royal do not specifically address the parking requirements for this and similar projects. For comparison to other municipalities, the Land Use Bylaws of the City of Colwood, City of Langford, City of Parksville, District of Saanich and Town of Sidney were reviewed and the results are illustrated in Exhibit 3: Comparison of Parking Requirements.

For the commercial component, there is a range in the requirements between a low of 40 spaces required by the Town of Sidney and a high of 98 spaces required by the District of Saanich. The average value of 69 spaces is comparable to the requirements of the Town of View Royal and the City of Langford.

When considering the context or location of this proposed development, it should be noted that there are no other similar commercial land uses near the Lakeside Village. While Six Mile Road is a major transportation corridor within the Town, and under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation, this part of the Town is becoming increasing residential in nature with current developments adjacent to Six Mile Road and the continued development in the Thetis Vale area. This continuing development in this area has led to the introduction of the a new BC Transit route in this area – Route 53 Atkins Road.

Six Mile Road is also the route connecting the community and the region to the Thetis Lake Regional Park which has a significant seasonal impact on this area in terms of vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. This demand has translated into a seasonal transit route to serve Thetis Lake Park. Specifics of the routing and schedule are not available at this time but it is scheduled to be introduced later this year.

The proposed parking requirements in Exhibit 4: Proposed Parking Requirements indicate that 59 spaces would be required. For the above reasons, a reduction of 10% is warranted recognizing the higher percentage of alternative modes of transportation that would be used to access this commercial area. This would bring the proposed overall parking requirement for the commercial space to 53 spaces.

At this time, the Ministry of Transportation has indicated that they would not approve any on-street parking along the commercial frontage on Six Mile Road.

3.2 Residential Land Use

The parking for the residential component varies as well although not as widely as the commercial parking requirements. The range again is bounded by the lowest requirement by the Town of Sidney at 60 spaces and the largest requirement by the District of Saanich at 96 spaces. The average rate is closest to the requirements of the City of Parksville and then the Town of View Royal and City of Colwood.

4.0 CONCLUSIONS

It is proposed that the commercial component of this project be considered a ‘Neighbourhood Commercial Zone’ (NCZ) or ‘Mixed Use Residential Commercial Zone’ (MU1) in the Town of View Royal, with the exception of the Community Market and Office land uses. This project, as described, is quite similar to the description in the City of Langford Zoning Bylaw No. 300 (under the heading II Commercial, 3. General) which describes a NCZ as a special land use including restaurant, video, convenience store, neighbourhood pub, bakery, hair salon, financial institution and general office. In Part 1 (Interpretations) of this bylaw and under the heading Section 1.01