Staff Report (Planning): Z19-0003 / Bylaw No. 1832 – Amend C3 Zone to Allow Sheet Metal Fabrication at 1016 McCallum Road

PURPOSE

Duncan Magee of 644297 Ltd has applied to amend the text within the C3, District Commercial, Zone to allow one general industrial use, limited to sheet metal cutting and fabrication, at the property located at 1016 McCallum Road. This amendment is required to allow a metal fabrication business to continue operating at this location.

BACKGROUND

PREVIOUS APPLICATIONS

• A Development Permit (DP00-0004) was issued in 2000 to allow signage for a gas station on the property that included a number of sign variances, and upgrades to on-site landscaping.
• A Temporary Use Permit (TUP18-0002) was issued in 2018 to allow the use of a sheet metal fabrication business on the property for a period of 3 years. This TUP is set to expire on August 20th, 2021.

Table 1: Site Data

Subject: Z19-0003, 1016 McCallum Road

OCP Designation

Mixed Use Employment Centre

SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA

The subject site is located at the corner of McCallum Road and the Leigh Road off-ramp, north of the TransCanada Highway (Hwy 1) and east of the Leigh Road and Bear Mountain Parkway. The site currently contains a shell gas station and a multi-tenant commercial/office development.

Figure 1: Ortho Map (2017) showing property at 1016 McCallum Rd and surrounding zoning designations

Table 2: Surrounding Land Uses

COMMENTS

OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN

The subject site is designated as “Mixed-Use Employment Centre” by the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP). Mixed-Use Employment Centres are intended to be developed as primarily workplace precincts with a variety of commercial, light industrial and institutional uses. These areas are also intended to support creative or innovative infill housing (provided that these residential uses do not jeopardize the long-term function of the Centre as an employment node), parks and open spaces, and inter-city and/or inter-regional transit hubs that connect residents and employees.

A Concept for a Mixed-Use Employment Centre:

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AREAS

The City of Langford has designated all commercial land as a Development Permit Area, to provide Council with the ability to ensure that the form and character of new commercial developments are of high quality, and best suited to both surrounding properties and the vision of Langford as expressed in the OCP.

A small portion of the south west corner of the subject site is located in the 200 Year Flood Plain. However, as the current proposal does not involve any changes to the site or exterior of the building, Development Permits are not required until the applicant makes changes to the footprint of the existing building. A Sign Permit is required for new external signage and must be addressed through a separate sign permit.

PEDESTRIAN, CYCLING AND MOTORIST NETWORK

As previously noted, the subject site is located on McCallum Road, just east of the Leigh Road off ramp and north of the TransCanada Highway. McCallum Road provides good vehicular connectivity north east to the large commercial developments on Millstream Road, and the Leigh Road interchange provides good vehicular connectivity north to Bear Mountain and south to the rest of Langford. The TransCanada Highway provides connectivity to the rest of the Capital Regional District.

BC Transit Route 56: Thetis Heights/Langford Exchange provides regular service from north and westbound bus stops located directly across the street from the subject site and approximately 100 metres from the subject site on McCallum Road.

There are sidewalks on the north side of the Leigh Road ramp, on the east side of Leigh Road to Goldstream Avenue, on both sides of the Bear Mountain Parkway and on one or both sides of the street for most portions of McCallum Road. There are also bike lanes on the north side of the Leigh Road ramp, on both sides of Leigh Road south to Goldstream Avenue, on both sides of the Bear Mountain Parkway, and on both sides of McCallum Road from just east of Springboard Place to Affirmed Place.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The subject site is serviced with municipal water and sanitary sewer services and is within the Fire Department’s standard 10 minute response area. The Fire Department has noted that large amounts of nitrogen and oxygen are stored on-site for this use, and that they will be working with the business owners to provide appropriate shut-offs and identification to address fire concerns.

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL

LaserCam Fabrication Inc. has established a laser sheet metal cutting and fabrication operation within Unit #112 at 1016 McCallum Road. This property is within the C3, District Commercial, Zone of Langford’s Zoning Bylaw, which does not currently allow for any scale of industrial uses. A TUP or Temporary Use Permit was issued in August 2018 to permit LaserCam Fabrication to operate at this location for a period of three years. The applicant would now like to establish the use permanently at the site by amending the text within C3 zone to allow sheet metal cutting and metal fabrication.

If Council is supportive of adding this use to the C3 Zone, they may wish to have language added to the Bylaw so as to restrict the number of industrial uses at the subject location. This will ensure the entire property is not turned over to industrial uses as that is not characteristic of the C3 Zone that recognizes primarily commercial uses, and some institutional uses.

When the applicant obtained a business license in 2018, building inspection staff determined that there were no tenant improvements required to operate the business and no permits were required to operate. In addition, planning staff approved the business license as the TUP to allow the use had been issued and the applicant was able to demonstrate compliance with the Zoning Bylaw’s parking requirements for a manufacturing use.

Only two of the conditions that Council placed on the issued TUP are valid now that the applicant is requesting to allow the use through an amendment to the zone. Council may wish to place these conditions into a Section 219 covenant registered with the property:

a) That there be no outdoor storage of materials or equipment on site, despite regulations that allow unenclosed storage in the C3 zone;

b) That manufacturing activities be conducted within the building, and that noise, dust, odours, and all other potential nuisances be limited so as to not be discernible beyond the limits of the unit;

As of February 2019, the City of Langford’s bylaw enforcement department has not received any complaints regarding the business operations of LaserCam Fabrication Inc. at the subject property.

Table 3: Proposal Data

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

As the subject property is not being redeveloped there are no fees associated with servicing or improvements to infrastructure. As well, the density on the property is not being increased therefore contributions to Amenity reserve funds are not being requested.

OPTIONS

Option 1

That Council:

1. Give First Reading to Bylaw No. 1832 as drafted.

OR Option 2

1. Take no action at this time with respect to Bylaw No. 1832.

Submitted by:

Lauren Morhart, MCIP, RPP, Planner 2

Concurrence:

• Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP, Director of Planning
• Lorne Fletcher, Manager of Community Safety and Municipal Enforcement
• Cory Manton, Manager of Parks and Recreation
• Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng, P.Geo, Director of Engineering
• Leah Stohmann, MCIP, RPP, Deputy Director of Planning
• Adriana Proton, Manager of Legislative Services
• Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
• Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services
• Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Appendix A

Location Map

Appendix B

Property Map