Staff Report — Bylaw Nos. 2155 & 2160 (Transit-Oriented Areas)

Staff Report — Bylaw No. 2155 and 2160 (Transit-Oriented Areas)

t 250.478.7882
e administration@langford.ca
2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue
Langford, BC V9B 2X8

DATE: Monday, June 3, 2024
DEPARTMENT: Planning
APPLICATION NO.: Z23-0029
SUBJECT: Bylaw No. 2155 and 2160 – Transit-Oriented Areas

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Province of British Columbia has made amendments to the Local Government Act to enable transit-supportive densities adjacent to specified transit stations. These areas are referred to as Transit-Oriented Areas (TOAs) in the new legislation, and are intended to be areas of higher density, mixed-use development in the proximity of transit stations in order to promote mode shift and the creation of complete communities.

Through this legislation, the Provincial Government designated a list of transit stations, including Langford Bus Exchange on Station Avenue, along with minimum prescribed densities and heights within certain distances of the station. Local governments are required to designate all TOAs for the specified transit stations by bylaw and amend their Zoning Bylaw to eliminate minimum residential off-street parking requirements for these TOAs on or before June 30, 2024.

Bylaw Nos. 2155 and 2160 as drafted establish the Transit-Oriented Area (TOA) and amend the Zoning Bylaw to eliminate the off-street residential parking requirement for lands rezoned after December 7 2023, as directed by Council at the May 9th, 2024 Special Council meeting.

COMMENTARY

In December 2023, the Province of British Columbia made amendments to the Local Government Act (LGA) that enables the Province to require local governments to adopt bylaws that:

• designate residentially zoned lands within certain distances of specified transit stations as Transit-Oriented Areas (TOAs);
• establish the minimum prescribed height and density set out by the TOA Regulation for lands within the TOA; and
• eliminate minimum residential off-street parking requirements for new residential development in the TOA.

The Transit-Oriented Areas Regulation (the Regulation) establishes the distances that must be utilized to define the TOA associated with different types of transit stations (i.e. bus exchanges, Sky Train stations and West Coast Express stations) as well as the different minimum height and density regulations that apply within the TOA.

The Province has identified the City’s TOA as the area within a 400 metre radius (approximately a 5-minute walk) of a specified coordinate within the Langford Bus Exchange on Station Avenue. This TOA is then broken into two tiers, which establish the location of the applicable minimum densities. Pursuant to the Regulation, the City’s TOA is subject to Tiers 4 and 5, with the requirements of Tier 4 applicable within 200m of the coordinates, and Tier 5 applicable 200-400m from the coordinates.

In addition, the legislation prohibits local governments from requiring off-street residential parking spaces within TOAs (with the exception of accessible parking) and, as with the TOA Bylaw, requires the local governments to update their Zoning Bylaw to reflect this by June 30, 2024. The legislation does not preclude a developer from including residential parking in the building if they so choose and allows local governments to apply design standards (such as minimum parking space dimensions, EV charging, etc.) should developers choose to include off-street residential parking in their proposals. Local governments may still apply requirements for off-street commercial parking, loading/unloading, car-share, and bicycle parking.

Local governments are required to adopt the TOA bylaw on or before June 30, 2024.

On May 9th, 2024, Council passed the following resolution with respect to the Establishing a Transit-Oriented Area presented by Staff:

THAT Council:

1. Proceed with consideration of Bylaw No. 2160 as drafted; AND

2. Direct staff to draft Bylaw No. 2155 to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 300 to eliminate off-street residential parking within the Transit-Oriented Area on properties rezoned after December 7, 2023, in accordance with the Transit-Oriented Areas Provincial legislation.

AND

THAT Council direct staff to review loading and unloading implications in residential zones pursuant to the current draft of the bylaw amendment with respect to Transit Oriented Areas and bring back any options to address concerns identified at the next Council meeting that the Transit Oriented Areas are considered.

Staff have prepared Bylaws No. 2155 and No. 2160 in accordance with items 1 and 2 of Council’s above-noted resolution.

Off-street loading and unloading review

Staff can confirm that the City of Langford does not currently have a requirement for multi-family residential developments to provide off-street loading and unloading spaces. As directed by Council through the above-noted resolution, staff have conducted a high-level assessment of off-street loading and unloading spaces by reviewing the parking bylaws of six municipalities (Nanaimo, North Cowichan, Kelowna, Port Coquitlam, Victoria and Colwood). Table 1 below outlines the required number of loading/unloading spaces for multi-family residential zones for each of these municipalities.

Table 1: Off-Street Loading Space Requirement

Of note, Council has directed staff, through the resolution of the Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) report presented to Council on May 6th, 2024, to expand Strategic Plan Initiative 1i to include a full review of the Zoning Bylaw off-street parking requirements. A more detailed assessment of the loading space requirements can be included in this fulsome review.

Should Council wish to implement an interim loading space requirement, they may choose to direct staff to prepare a bylaw to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 300 to require one (1) off-street loading space for multi-family residential buildings until the off-street parking review has been completed. As the TOA bylaw does not rezone land Council can still have the opportunity to assess loading stall considerations as part of the rezoning process.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no known financial implications associated with this report.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Notifications of Council’s intent to consider Bylaw Nos. 2155 and 2160 have been placed in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act.

Should local governments not comply with the legislative requirements by the deadline of June 30, 2024, the Province may introduce regulations that designate the TOAs in their municipality.

STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVES

1o – Update the zoning bylaw to reflect the new small-scale, multi-unit housing and transit-oriented development legislation.

OPTIONS

Option 1
THAT Council give First, Second and Third Readings to Bylaws No. 2155 and Bylaw No. 2160.

OR Option 2
THAT Council give First, Second and Third Readings to Bylaws No. 2155 and Bylaw No. 2160;

AND

THAT Council direct staff to prepare a bylaw to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 300 to require one off-street loading space for multi-family residential buildings.

OR Option 3
THAT Council take no action at this time with respect to Bylaws No. 2155 and Bylaw No. 2160.

SUBMITTED BY

Matt Notley, Planner II, Community Planning and Climate Change