Staff Report to the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee - Bylaw 2082 (Omnibus 60)

Staff Report to the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee

DATE: Monday, June 13, 2022
DEPARTMENT: Planning
APPLICATION NO.: Bylaw 2082 - Zoning Amendment No 679, Omnibus 60
SUBJECT: Various Housekeeping Items

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to outline various proposed housekeeping amendments to Zoning Bylaw No. 300, which are proposed to fulfill previous Council resolutions as well as address issues that have been brought to staff’s attention.

COMMENTARY

Given the comprehensive nature of the Zoning Bylaw, it is common practice to identify housekeeping amendments in response to administrative or design issues, and to ensure the bylaw is functioning as intended. All proposed changes have been consolidated into the table below, including a brief rationale for each amendment.

Proposed Changes and Rationale

1. Proposed Change
   • Appendix H (General Multi-Family Residential Development) of Zoning Bylaw No. 300 would be amended by adding the following as section 9(f):
     1. Developments containing Townhouse units with a 2-car tandem garage shall be limited to a maximum of 30% of the development.

Rationale

• There are two arrangements of tandem parking (i.e., a unit with 2-car tandem garage; or a unit with 1- car garage and a tandem parking space on the driveway.
• Tandem parking featuring a fully enclosed 2-car garage can be problematic due to one of the tandem spaces being used as storage, resulting in one of the vehicles parking on street.

2. Proposed Change
   • Section 4, Parking Regulations, would be amended by adding the following as section 4.01.02 (2) to Zoning Bylaw No. 300
     2. The minimum dimensions for attached garages is 3m x 6m for a single wide, single car garage, 3m x 12m for a single-wide, double car garage (i.e. tandem) and 6m x 6m for a double wide, double car garage, measured from finished interior surface

Rationale

• The proposed amendment would establish a minimum internal clear space requirement. Staff are proposing this amendment to ensure parking spaces are suitable for parking of vehicles and not resulting in the spaces being used for storage while the owners occupy on-street parking spaces. This proposal is based on standard car sizes and the safe clearance required from the internal garage walls.

3. Proposed Change
   • Section 6.91(1)(a) – Comprehensive Development 2 – Hull’s Field (CD2) Zone is amended by adding the following as a permitted use:
     3. Accessory Dormitories which may include a kitchenette.

Rationale

• This proposed change is designed to capture the short-term dormitories located at the Boxing BC facility.

4. Proposed Change
   • Section 6.58.01(1) – City Centre Pedestrian CCP Zone would be amended by allowing the following as a permitted use
     4. Apartments on the ground floor and/or second floor of a building, when located on a corner lot and facing on a secondary street, which may not include Peatt Rd, Claude Rd, Goldstream Ave, Bryn Maur, Veterans Memorial Parkway, or Jacklin Rd;

Rationale

• A corner lot faces two intersecting streets, with each side of a building facing one of the streets. Allowing additional residential uses along one side of the building would promote walk-up townhouse units with entrances at grade while still supporting commercial activity on adjacent commercial/pedestrian corridors.

5. Proposed Change
   • Section 6.57 – City Centre 1 Zone would be amended by deleting the requirement for a 3.0 m landscape strip within Section 6.57.08(3) – Parking – as below:
     5. Surface parking stalls may be located adjacent to an interior side or rear lot line when screened by a fence no less than 1.8m (5.9 ft.) in height and a landscaping strip of no less than 1m (3.3 ft) in width

Rationale

• The 3 m landscape strip is generally not visible from the fronting street, right-of-way or adjacent properties. Removing this landscape requirement from the interior and rear lot lines would allow that landscaping to be placed in a more suitable location elsewhere on site (e.g., amenity space, pedestrian pathway, etc), and would be more consistent with the landscaping requirements of other mixed-use zones.

6. Proposed Change
   • Section 3.26.02 would be amended by adding Table 1 as section 3.26.02(9) and renumbering remaining sections accordingly
     6. Refer to Bylaw 2082 for details.

Rationale

• The purpose of this amendment is to consolidate all daycare capacity exemptions from each zone into the same section of the Bylaw.

7. Proposed Change
   • Section 6.22.03 – One-and Two-Family Residential (R2) Zone would be amended as follows:
     7. The lot area for a two-family dwelling use may be less than 600 m2, but not less than 500 m2, provided that the lot width is not less than 17m.

Rationale

• This proposed amendment is expected to have minimal impact on the perceived character and scale of R2 neighbourhoods, particularly with the increased lot width, and may provide a lower-cost option for home ownership in lower density neighbourhoods. This would be an alternate option to the current two-family lot dimension requirements of 600 m2 with 15m lot width.

8. Proposed Change
   • Section 3.02 - Prohibited Uses – the following would be prohibited in all zones
     8. A landscape retaining wall visible from neighbouring properties or municipal roads, that is constructed of smooth concrete blocks and/or are of a natural concrete colour, ranging from white to grey.

Rationale

• The purpose of this amendment is to promote retaining walls with more attractive materials (e.g. stone masonry, bricks or sand-blasted concrete with interesting patterns or other suitable finish).

9. Proposed Change
   • Section 1.01 – Definitions - would be amended by adding the following definition:
     9. Landscape Retaining Wall - means a wall that retains any earthy material that prevents it from sliding, eroding, or moving. This wall shall not be constructed of any smooth concrete blocks nor be of any natural concrete colour, ranging from white to grey.

Rationale

• There are currently no retaining wall guidelines or definitions within Zoning Bylaw 300. This definition is required in order to distinguish retaining walls from other “structures”, which would trigger setback requirements.

10. Proposed Change
    • Section 4.01.07 – Accessible Parking – would be amended to update accessible parking requirements: Accessible Parking: where more than 50 parking spaces are provided in a development, parking stalls for persons with disabilities shall be provided at a ratio of 1 for every 100 units or part thereof.

Where accessible dwelling units are provided, one parking stall for persons with disabilities shall be provided for each sleeping unit required.

Rationale - Bylaw 300 currently does not have a ratio for accessible parking in residential developments, as the BC Building Code (“BCBC”) used to address this requirement. Staff are proposing to add the previous BCBC requirements to the Zoning Bylaw.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications for the proposed amendments.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal implications for the proposed amendments.

OPTIONS

Option 1
THAT the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee recommend that Council provide First Reading to Bylaw 2082, as drafted.

OR Option 2
THAT the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee do not recommend Council provide First Reading to Bylaw 2082.

SUBMITTED BY

David Sametz, MCIP, RPP, Long-Range Planner II