DocumentsStaff ReportSep 6, 2016Pages 55–57
Staff Report - Z16-0012 (Application to amend C1 zone at 2285 Bellamy Road to allow 41 children and dance studio)
Planning staff report evaluating the proposal to increase group day care capacity to 41 children and to add a dance studio use at 2285 Bellamy Road, including parking, VIHA standards, and recommended conditions.
Key facts
- Applicant: Carl-Alexander & Carla Marcoux (Garderie La Vie Inc.)
- Site area: 792.8 m2
- VIHA indoor space requirement: 3.7 m2 per child; outdoor play area 7 m2 per child
- Parking implications: site proposes 10 spaces (4 on-street parallel to be reserved during business hours)
Staff Report - Z16-0012 (Application to amend C1 zone at 2285 Bellamy Road to allow 41 children and dance studio)
Date: July 11, 2016
Department: Planning
Application No.: Z16-0012
Subject: Application to amend the text of the C1 zone at 2285 Bellamy Road to allow for 41 children in a group day care and to allow for a dance studio.
PURPOSE
Carl-Alexander Marcoux and Carla Marcoux have applied to amend the text of the C1 zone at 2285 Bellamy Road to allow for 41 children in a group day care and to allow for a dance studio.
BACKGROUND
PREVIOUS APPLICATIONS
There have been no previous applications for this property.
Table 1: Site Data
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Applicant | Carl-Alexander Marcoux and Carla Marcoux |
| Owner | Garderie La Vie Inc. |
| Civic Address | 2285 Bellamy Road |
| Legal Description | LOT 29 SECTION 1 RANGE 2 WEST HIGHLAND DISTRICT PLAN 13385 |
| Size of Property | 792.8 m2 |
| DP Areas | None |
| Zoning | Existing: C1 Proposed: C1 |
| OCP Designation | Existing: Neighbourhood Proposed: Neighbourhood |
SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA
The subject property is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Bellamy Road and Treanor Avenue. It is located in a predominately residential neighbourhood with many single-family dwellings to the north, east, and south of the property. To the west, Millstream Elementary school is in quite close proximity, along with a number of small lot subdivisions and Millstream Village.
Currently, the property is used as a 4 Cats Art Studio on the western side of the building, with the applicants and their two children living on the eastern side. The property is flat with very little tree cover with the exception of a few trees along the northern interior lot line.
Table 2: Surrounding Land Uses
| Location | Zoning | Use |
|---|---|---|
| North | R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) | Single-family dwellings |
| East | R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) | Single-family dwellings |
| South | R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) | Single-family dwellings |
| West | R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) and P2 (Community Institutional) | Single-family dwellings and Millstream Elementary School |
COUNCIL POLICY
OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN
The subject property is designated as “Neighbourhood” in Langford’s Official Community Plan. This designation supports residential and mixed use commercial intensification of streets that connect centres and that are serviced by transit. It also supports schools, community facilities and other institutional uses. The subject property is located along a BC Transit route with a bus stop located directly to the east of the property. This bus line provides service to centres such as Millstream Village, Goldstream Avenue, and City Centre Park.
DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AREAS
As the subject property is zoned C1, it is subject to a form and character Development Permit for any exterior changes or improvements as outlined in the General Commercial Development Permit Area Guidelines. The subject property is not located in any environmentally sensitive or hazardous Development Permit areas and will therefore not require a Development Permit of that kind.
COMMENTS
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
The applicants are proposing to increase the limit of children in a group daycare from 20 to 41 which is regulated by the Zoning Bylaw No. 300 in Section 3.26.02(4) stating that “A group day care limited to a capacity of 20 children is permitted on lots with areas less than or equal to 1 099 m2 (11 830ft2)”. They are also proposing that a dance studio be allowed as a permitted use in the C1 zone.
The applicants are asking to increase the amount of children permitted to match what is considered acceptable by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). VIHA has the delegated responsibility from the Province to regulate indoor and outdoor space requirements per child. VIHA requires 3.7m2 of usable floor area indoors, and 7m2 of play area outdoors per child as outlined in the Child Care Licensing Regulations of the Community Care and Assisted Living Act. The applicants have calculated that with the amount of space they have proposed, that 41 children could be safely accommodated according to VIHA standards once they install an adequate number of toilets and sinks.
VIHA also limits the group size to 25 children in order to ensure better control of children while playing outside and to maintain the adequate staff/children ratio. This does not limit the quantity that a facility can hold on its license. The applicants are proposing to have two separated groups, one of 25 children, and one of 16 children, each utilizing the outdoor space on a pre-established daily schedule. This schedule will also help to mitigate any increased noise as there will not be more than 25 children outside at once.
The applicants are proposing that a dance studio be permitted in conjunction with their group day care. The dance studio would provide valuable indoor activity space for the children during rainy winter days and would be a part of the regularly scheduled activities. The dance studio would be located where the 4 Cats Art Studio is currently situated on the western side of the building. Since the dance studio would require significant renovations, the applicants intend on also providing dance classes on weekends and evenings, outside of daycare hours.
As the 4 Cats Art Studio has a lease on the western side of the building until March 31, 2017, the applicants are intending to begin renovations in April of 2017 with the hopes of opening both the daycare and the dance studio in September, 2017.
PARKING
In accordance to the Zoning Bylaw No. 300, the dance studio would require an additional three parking spaces off-street as it is roughly 80m2 in floor area, while the group day care is required to have two parking spaces in addition to one space per employee. As the daycare would employ five full-time staff members, the applicants are required to provide seven off-street parking spaces for the group daycare use. This will bring the total requirement of off-street parking spaces for the dance studio and the group day care to ten. The applicants have spoken in great detail with the Engineering and Planning departments and have consulted with On Point Engineering Ltd to determine the best parking configuration for their property while still maintaining an adequate area of outdoor play space for the daycare. It has been determined that the safest way to achieve this parking requirement is to create a total of 6 off-street parking spaces with an additional 4 on-street parallel parking spaces to be created along Treanor Avenue. According to this plan, the required ten spaces can be provided, however four will be provided on-street.
The applicants are seeking Council approval to reserve the the four on-street parallel parking stalls for the main use of the daycare and the dance studio during weekday business hours. Accepting this scenario would require either a variance or a bylaw amendment. If Council is supportive of this, they may direct staff to include a site-specific off-street parking requirement in the bylaw based on the current floor area of the property. Should the applicants wish to increase the floor area on the property, this would increase the parking requirement and would therefore require a variance.