STAFF REPORT: DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES BYLAW NO. 730, 2009 – DEVELOPMENT NOTIFICATIONS
A report from the Senior Planner comparing View Royal's development notification procedures to neighboring municipalities.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL Council Report
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: J. Chow, Senior Planner
DATE: March 5, 2019
MEETING: March 19, 2019
FILE NO.: 3900-02 Development Procedures Bylaw
DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES BYLAW NO. 730, 2009 – DEVELOPMENT NOTIFICATIONS
RECOMMENDATION:
That the March 5, 2019 report from the Senior Planner titled “Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009 – Development Notifications” 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:
To provide information on the Town’s development notification procedures in response to Council Motion C-04-18 on modifying the notification process for development applications.
DISCUSSION:
The Local Government Act (LGA) requires public notification for the following types of land use applications:
- Official Community Plan bylaw amendments
- Zoning bylaw amendments (rezonings)
- Temporary use permits
- Variances associated with a development permit (form & character, environment, etc.)
- Development variance permits
- Board of Variance appeals
The LGA has specific requirements for newspaper notices of public hearings for OCP amendments and rezoning bylaws. Notices for the above noted development applications (except Board of Variance appeals) must also be mailed a minimum of ten days before a Council decision; however, each municipality must set their own notification radius (distance from a subject property). The Town’s requirements are in Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009 (Attachment 1).
Neighbouring municipalities
Attachment 2 compares the Town’s standards to adjacent municipalities plus City of Victoria.
Observations: a. The Town’s 400m public hearing mail notification radius for OCP amendments and rezonings for residential, commercial, or industrial uses is large in comparison to adjacent municipalities, which range from 60-100m. The Town’s notification radius is 100m for institutional, transportation, and park uses. b. For both development permits with variances and development variance permits, the Town’s notification radius is 100m compared to 50-75m in adjacent municipalities. c. For Board of Variance appeals, the Town has a large notification radius of 100m while other municipalities follow the LGA requirement to notify only the adjacent property owners and occupiers. d. It was found that Colwood, Langford, and Esquimalt have delegated all development permits to staff for evaluation for development guidelines. The respective Councils do consider bylaw variances through development variance permit applications. In Victoria, development permits for heritage (and in some areas form & character) are delegated to staff. Like View Royal, environmental development permits with no variances are delegated to staff in Highlands and Saanich. “Minor” amendments for form and character are also delegated to staff in Saanich.
Other forms of notification
The Town provides additional notification as follows: a. Notices of upcoming development applications are displayed outside the Town Hall. b. The public can sign up to receive e-mail notices (RSS feeds). c. On-site sign posting for rezoning and OCP applications and website notices.
There is no restriction on going beyond minimum requirements, but it does increase time, cost, and staff resources to the development process and may not result in more public engagement. Staff has found that the most effective practice is to encourage developers proposing land use applications to hold neighbourhood meetings in early in the development process and to work with neighbours so that the applicant can address community input and any concerns there may be early in the process.
CONCLUSION:
The minimum timing of development notification is prescribed by the Local Government Act, but municipalities can set the mailing notification radius. The Town exceeds Local Government Act requirements and keeps residents engaged and informed about proposed development by notifying significantly larger areas than adjacent municipalities do.
If Council wishes to revisit the notification radii or investigate other ways to increase public awareness of development applications, staff can report back with further information to the Committee of the Whole.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the March 5, 2019 report from the Senior Planner titled “Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009 - Development Notifications” be received for information.
SUBMITTED BY:
Jeff Chow, MCIP, RPP
Senior Planner
REVIEWED BY:
Lindsay Chase, MCIP, RPP
Director of Development Services
Y:\Administration\0550 Council - Meetings\04 Reports\2019\2019 03 19 Development Procedures Bylaw - Development Notifications.doc
ATTACHMENTS
- Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009
- Development Notification Requirements for View Royal and adjacent municipalities
Document Images
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