Staff Report - OCP-06-07 and Z-06-13 (Bear Mountain Estates) to Planning & Zoning Standing Committee

Subject

Application to Amend the Official Community Plan by Replacing the Land Use Concept Plan for Bear Mountain and to Make Various Omnibus Amendments to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone.

PURPOSE

Les Bjola is applying on behalf of LGB9 Development Corporation to amend the Land Use Concept Plan for the Bear Mountain Comprehensive Development that forms part of Langford's Official Community Plan.

The applicant is also applying to make a number of changes to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone. The proposed changes are as follows:

1. Adding the following as permitted uses:

   • Health care facilities;
   • Hospice care hotel (limited to Area "4");
   • Vineyard (limited to Area "5");

2. Amending the list of permitted uses by:

   • Deleting the regulation for the storage of seasonal recreational vehicles in favour of changes to Sec. 3.03 of the Zoning Bylaw that would prohibit storage of unenclosed recreational vehicles at Bear Mountain;

3. Revising the subdivision lot requirements by increasing the minimum lot width of a lot from 9.5 m to 12 m (39 ft);

4. Revising the density of development on individual lots by:

   • Deleting the maximum lot area requirement for a detached duplex;
   • Decreasing the minimum lot area for a lot where an suite in an accessory building (aka "Granny Flat") may be located from 2787 m2 to 1000 m2;
   • Increasing the floor area ratio of apartment or mixed use buildings from 2.0 to 7.0, with a provision that 95% o f t h e required off-street parking is provided underground;

5. Revising the density of development in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone by:

   • Replacing the schedule amenity fund contributions that occur in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone as a density bonus in favour of a one-time contribution of $250,000 as a condition of this rezoning, and contributions of $1500 per each new residential dwelling unit towards a park and recreation reserve fund and $500 per each new residential dwelling unit towards a general amenity reserve fund, to be paid at time of building permit until these contributions total $2.5 million;
   • Providing a site for a new fire hall, in a location satisfactory to the Fire Chief, while retaining the $500 per unit for affordable housing;
   • Increasing the maximum overall number of dwelling units from 2983 dwelling units to 6000 dwelling units, provided that all multi-family dwelling units greater than three storeys in height are constructed with 9 5 % of the required off-street parking being provided either under building or underground;
   • Including a provision in the bylaw that hotel and care facilities are to be considered as commercial uses;
   • Increasing the maximum total gross floor area of commercial uses (excluding any golf course buildings, clubhouse, hotel or adult care facilities) from 37,160 m2 to 60,000 m2;

6. Deleting the eight storey height restriction on apartment buildings;

7. Reducing the front yard setback of estate residential lots (lots of 2024 m2 / 0.5 acres or larger) from 10 m (33 ft) to 7.5 m (25 ft);

8. Increasing the maximum size of a One- and Two-family residential lot to 2024 m2 (0.5 acres) from 1100 m2 (11,840 ft2);

9. Decreasing the setback to an exterior side lot line for a One- and Two-family residential lot from 4 m (15 ft) to 3 m (10 ft);

10. Increasing the maximum size of a two-family residential lot from 1100 m2 (11,840) to 2024 m2 (0.5 acres);

11. Increasing the minimum size of a residential small lot from 300 m2 (3229 ft2) to 370 m2 (3981 ft2);

12. Amending the requirement that open space, including community park, natural open space, golf course fairway and buffers and the BC Hydro ROW shall constitute not less than 30.5% of the total area encompassed by the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone to now read that open space, including community park, natural open space, golf course fairway and buffers and the BC Hydro ROW shall constitute not less than % of the total area encompassed by the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone; and

13. Amending the park dedication requirement from 24.6% of the land area within the CD6 zone to a minimum of 22% of the land within the CD6 zone.

---

BACKGROUND

On June 17th, 2002, Council adopted Bylaw N° 669 and 670 which amended the OCP designation of the lands now commonly known as Bear Mountain to "Comprehensive Development", and to create the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone.

On November 24th, 2003, Council adopted Bylaw N° 802 (an OCP amendment) which amended the design guidelines for Bear Mountain. At the same time, Council adopted Bylaw N° 803 (a zoning bylaw amendment) which included the following changes to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone:

• increasing the allowable density of development from 1500 to 2200 dwelling units (and increasing the amenity fund contribution schedule accordingly);
• imposing a height limit for apartment buildings of 32 m (104 ft) or eight (8) storeys (whichever is less);
• adding the following restriction on apartment use density: "The floor area ratio of a building for an apartment or combined apartment and commercial use may not exceed 2-1, unless seventy-five percent (75%) of the required off-street parking is provided underground or under a building in which case the floor area ratio may not exceed 7-1";
• increasing the overall commercial density of Bear Mountain from 27,870 m2 (300,000 ft2) to 37,160 m2 (400,000 ft2), net of any golf course buildings, hotel or clubhouse;
• establishing a floorspace limit of 3:1 for buildings with a commercial use.

On July 18th, 2005, Council adopted Bylaw N° 944, which rezoned the property at 999 and 1000 Gade Road from GB1 (Greenbelt 1) to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone.

The lands that were the subject of Bylaw N° 944, also known as Florence Lake North, now form the southeast quadrant of the Bear Mountain development. At that time, Council also increased the overall density of development in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone by 781 dwelling units to a total of 2983 dwelling units.

APPLICATION DATA

SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA

The CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone encompasses a number of individual properties spread over approximately 290 ha (720 acres) of land situated west of Millstream Road, immediately south of the boundary between the District of Highlands and the City of Langford, east of Goldstream Provincial Park, and north of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Official Community Plan designation of the subject property is Comprehensive Development.

There are a number of development permit areas for both environmentally sensitive and hazardous conditions within the area of the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone. These are being preserved, controlled and addressed through a number of different Development Permits that have been issued with respect to lands within the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone.

The subject property is served by water and municipal sewers.

The surrounding land uses and zoning are as follows:

---

COMMENTS

Official Community Plan Amendment

When the subject property was originally rezoned in 2002, Council also amended the Official Community Plan designation of the subject property to "Comprehensive Development" and amended the OCP by adding the Bear Mountain Estates plan as Appendix "M" which included a Land Use Concept Plan (Map 7). This land use concept plan was amended (by Bylaw N° 943) in 2005 when the Florence Lake North lands were added to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone. The applicant now wishes to amend the OCP by again amending this Land Use Concept Plan (see proposed plan attached).

This new land use concept plan gives better definition to privatized open space, and is an improvement over the current land use concept in terms of definition and clarity.

Amendments to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) Zone

The applicant is proposing to amend the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone in a number of ways which are outlined above. Each will be addressed in turn below.

PERMITTED USES

The applicant has requested that the following uses be added as permitted uses in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone:

• Health care facilities;
• Preschool in all parts of the zone, and for certainty that daycares may only exist in the Village Centre;
• Hospice care hotel (limited to Area "4");
• Vineyard (limited to Area "5").

The applicant has also requested that the storage of seasonal recreational vehicles be removed as a permitted use in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone, and that Sec. 3.03 of the Zoning Bylaw be amended to prohibit the storage of unenclosed recreational vehicles at Bear Mountain.

This is not seen as being particularly problematic. Any bylaw complaints resulting from this prohibition would likely be mitigated by the fact that Bear Mountain would inform new homeowners of this prohibition by way of a covenant on title. Council may wish to require that Bear Mountain include specific information about this prohibition on recreational vehicle storage in their marketing and sales information.

During the formulation of the bylaw to rezone the lands now known as Westhills (Bylaw N° 939) the city's solicitor was able to provide updated information with regards to bylaw formulation, and items (with respect to use) which could prove to be problematic if not corrected in the CD6 zone. Respecting the applicant's desires for changes in the list of permitted uses, Council may wish to consider these and other changes to the list of permitted uses in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone, as follows:

• The CD6 zone permits "medical clinics and accessory commercial uses" as well as "public and private hospitals and nursing homes". The applicant would like to have "health care facilities" added as a permitted use. There is a concern is that the term "health care facilities" is too vague. Council may wish to consider adding the following, in lieu of "medical clinics and accessory commercial uses": "Medical clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and multi-level care facilities" and drop "public and private hospitals and nursing homes" as a use;

• The use category "Civic Uses and Buildings" is legally problematic, as a zoning bylaw may not differential between a use that is public and a use that is private. Council may wish to consider replacing this with specific typically (but not exclusively) civic uses such as: "assembly and entertainment uses", "ambulance stations and fire halls", and "recreation centre";

• The use category "cold beer and wine store" has been superseded in other parts of the Zoning Bylaw by the more all-encompassing term "liquor store";

• The CD6 zone allows "commercial uses that are accessory to public institutional uses". This is again problematic as zoning cannot discriminate by differentiating between a public and a private use. This use is also redundant, as accessory uses are also generally permitted. Council may wish therefore to delete this entirely;

• "Schools, except that preschools are only permitted within the "Village Centre" area, as defined in the Land Use Concept forming part of Appendix "M" of Official Community Plan Bylaw N° 150" are uses that are currently permitted in the CD6 zone. While schools, by definition, include preschools, "Family daycares" and "group daycares" are not included in the definition of a school. The applicant has requested that Group Daycare be permitted in the village centre portion of the CD6 zone only. Council may wish to include, as a use permitted in the Village Centre "group daycare limited to not more than 20 children on lots that are less than 1 394 m2 (15 000 ft2) in area and not more than 36 children on lots that are greater than 1 394 m2 (15 000 ft2) in area and in the latter case only on lots with at least 30 m (100 feet) of frontage" to be consistent with the zoning of this use in other areas;

• The city does not have a use category that would encompass a "Hospice Care Hotel". A hospice could exist under the definition "multi-level care facility" or "hospital". A hotel would require that a register be kept in accordance with the Hotel Guest Registration Act. The intent is to be able to provide for a facility such as a Ronald McDonald House. The City's solicitor has indicated that this may be accomplished by simply including "Ronald McDonald House or similar accommodation use" as a permitted use;

• The applicant has requested that the use "vineyard" be added to the zone. This is not a term that has been defined in our zoning bylaw to-date, however "silviculture" is a permitted use in the GB1 (Greenbelt 1) zone. For simplicity, Council may wish to add "viniculture and accessory winery" as a permitted use;

• Council may wish to consider adding "Temporary construction and real estate marketing offices" to the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone, as it has in many other zones;

SUBDIVISION LOT REQUIREMENTS

Section 6.95.02(6) of Zoning Bylaw N° 300 reads:

Notwithstanding Subsection 6.95.02(2), a lot having an area of not less than 370 m2 (4 000 ft2) may be created by subdivision in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone for a one-family residential use, provided that:

• the lot width is not less than 9.5 m (31 ft); and
• the building envelope on the lot created has a width and depth of at least 7 m (23 ft).

This section of the bylaw is problematic, as the first sentence should read: a lot having an area less than 550 m2 (5920 ft2) and not less than 370 m2 (4000 ft2).

The applicant's proposal, then, to increase the minimum lot width of a lot from 9.5 m to 12 m (39 ft) is reasonable.

DENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT ON INDIVIDUAL LOTS

Section 6.95.03(2) of the CD6 zone allows for the creation of detached duplexes on corner lots having an area of at least 835 m2 and not greater than 1099 m2. This is consistent with the provision for detached duplexes in other zones.

The applicant has requested that the upper limit for lots where a detached duplex could be permitted be deleted. This is unlikely to have a significant impact on the pattern of development at Bear Mountain, and would provide some flexibility in design, particularly where lots may have topographical challenges. The upper limit was imposed in other areas as a way of limiting the possibility that a developer would create duplex lots and detached dwelling units, instead of creating individual fee simple lots. However, there appears to be little or no financial advantage to the developer in doing this, as the size of the lot increases.

The applicant has requested that the minimum area of a lot where a suite in an accessory building (aka: "granny flat") may be located be reduced from 2787 m2 (0.68 acres) to 1000 m2 (0.24 acres). The applicant has also requested that the maximum floor area of the accessory building with suite be deleted. Reducing the minimum lot area where a granny flat may occur is not particularly problematic. Deleting the maximum floor area of a secondary suite in an accessory building could, however, cause problems. Council may wish to agree to the reduction in the minimum lot size, but retain the maximum floorspace of the accessory dwelling unit (granny flat suite).

Section 6.95.03(6) of the CD6 zone requires that: "The floor area ratio of a building for an apartment or combined apartment and commercial use may not exceed 2-0, unless seventy-five percent (75%) of the required off-street parking is provided underground or under a building in which case the floor area ratio may not exceed 7-1."

The applicant is requesting that the minimum floor area ratio for an apartment or mixed use building be increased from 2:0 to 7:0, if 9 5 % of the parking is provided underground. Council may wish to note that this is being proposed in conjunction with a request for the removal of the overall maximum height limit on buildings.

Section 6.95.03(7) of the CD6 zone requires that: "The floor area ratio of a building for a commercial use may not exceed 3.0."

The applicant is requesting that this be increased from 3:0 to 7:0. This request is not particularly problematic as the number of these buildings that are likely to exist is small, and as the floorspace ratio relates to density on individual lots. The overall amount of commercial development within the CD6 zone is controlled in other parts of the zone.

DENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE CD6 ZONE

The applicant is requesting that Council increase the overall density of development in the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone from 2983 dwelling units to 6000 dwelling units (not including secondary suites), and to increase the total commercial floorspace for the CD6 (Comprehensive Development 6 - Bear Mountain) zone from 37,160 m2 to 60,000 m2.

This latter request is being made so that a second hotel and a care facility can be developed in the village centre.

---