Staff Report to Special Council: Early Guidance for Development Connected to the Strategic Plan Update

Staff Report to Special Council: Early Guidance for Development Connected to the Strategic Plan Update

DATE

Thursday, May 18, 2023

DEPARTMENT

Planning

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

SUBJECT

Early Guidance for Development Connected to the Strategic Plan Update

BACKGROUND

At their Regular Meeting held December 5, 2022, Council provided direction to staff regarding the creation of a strategic plan. Since this time, James Ridge Consulting Inc. has been engaged to advise Council about the strategic planning process, the different types of strategic plans that could be considered, as well as to begin gathering thoughts and ideas for consideration in a strategic plan. Mr. Ridge is giving a status update presentation at the same Council meeting this report is being presented.

The feedback gained through the initial visioning related to the strategic plan has indicated that a priority of Council is to ensure that growth and new development is done in a thoughtful, sustainable way that addresses the housing crisis and climate crisis while creating a vibrant, thriving community.

The City has engaged Brent Toderian, a well-known urbanist and city planner, to act as an advisor relating to these issues and to provide advice on how Langford could consider moving forward in new ways to address them, Mr. Toderian is also providing an update to Council on how to accomplish Council’s goals as part of this meeting.

On Wednesday, May 17th, the day prior to this meeting but after the drafting of this report, Langford is hosting a public event titled Building Cities Better: Improving Urbanism in a Time of Climate Change and Housing Need, featuring a presentation from Mr. Toderian during which he intends to share his experience and advice relating to elements of city planning, urbanism, density, and alternate transportation in achieving multiple public interest goals.

In preparation for the upcoming Sustainable Development Advisory Committee meetings, members of the development community are seeking guidance on Council’s expectations for development proposals, and the priorities that Council wishes to achieve through new development.

COMMENTARY

Due to the initial feedback gained as part of the strategic planning process to date and the imminent start date for the review of new development applications by the Sustainable Development Advisory Committee and Council, staff have been working with Mr. Toderian to bring forward an interim communication measure to provide to applicants, for Council’s consideration. This interim measure is intended to provide Early Guidance to the development community and residents regarding Council’s initial priorities and expectations for new development proposals while the strategic plan continues to be developed along with its corresponding policy and bylaw initiatives. It is expected that elements of the Early Guidance will be the subject of specific work programs that will include appropriate process and public engagement and will ultimately lead to Council consideration and decision. However, as an interim measure, the Early Guidance is intended to clarify Council’s initial expectations for new development proposals and provide some flexibility as to how and to what extent they are incorporated into proposals.

In developing this proposed Early Guidance, staff have also referred to the Official Community Plan (OCP), as it contains objectives and policies covering a wide range of community goals and values, including: climate action; parks and open spaces; built environment and urban design; community health and well-being; housing; sustainability; multi-modal transportation; local economy; food systems; community infrastructure; and the growth management and land use strategy for the City. It is intended that this Early Guidance is consistent with existing Policy intentions.

Pulling from the intentions of the OCP, the strategic planning process to-date, and the City’s work with Mr. Toderian, the following early guidance for new development proposals has been prepared for Council’s consideration:

1. HIGH QUALITY GROWTH AND DENSITY

Council’s intention is to support growth with an emphasis on successful urban community-building, while increasingly emphasizing the quality of new higher density development, particularly in the context of livability, sustainability, affordability and development viability. The achievement of high-quality urban density will emphasize urban design and architectural design that results in engaging street-level activation and vibrancy, and an ambitious street tree canopy. Where taller buildings are proposed, floor plates should be relatively slim and well separated to avoid the individual or cumulative effects of excessive upper-floor massing.

In addition to design quality, considerations of high-quality urban density should include, where beneficial and viable, some or all of the following:

• Amenities supporting livability/quality of urban life at the building, block and neighbourhood scale.
• Integration of existing mature, viable site trees where feasible relative to tree location, site conditions, development viability and other public interest considerations.
• Consideration of relative affordability opportunities.
• Inclusion of 2-3 bedroom apartments for families as well as other family supports such as in-suite storage, in-building amenities etc.
• Green design opportunities relative to architectural design and sustainable energy sources over-and-above City requirements.
• Avoidance of excessive vehicle parking, and strategic provision of enhanced supports for alternatives to vehicle ownership and use, including diverse urban biking options, walking, public transit use and carshare.
• Strategic supports in housing and mobility for accessibility.

2. LESS IMPACTFUL, MORE LIVABLE CONSTRUCTION

To mitigate the construction impacts of medium and high-density growth on existing neighbours and neighbourhoods in a rapidly and continuously changing city, applications should propose and implement a well-considered “good neighbour commitment” that reflects established high-quality practice in maintaining urban livability during construction.

This type of Early Guidance for development proposals fits in well with the existing intentions of the OCP, and as such does not require any policy or bylaw amendments in order to be supported by Council. The Early Guidance simply provides an opportunity for Council to provide clarity and direction as to how they wish the current intentions of the OCP to be addressed by development proposals while they continue the strategic planning process and additional planning processes. The process of moving forward with the strategic planning initiatives will include additional research, community and stakeholder engagement, and review through a public process.

As noted, this Early Guidance is intended to be an interim measure to respond to the development community’s request for clarification on Council’s priorities and expectations for development proposals, as staff move forward to schedule the agendas for upcoming meetings of the Sustainable Development Advisory Committee. Development proposals would then be expected to provide a description of how they propose to address the intent of this Early Guidance for Council’s further consideration as part of the rezoning process.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications to the City in providing this proposed Early Guidance for development applications. Any financial implications associated with implementing the strategic planning initiatives to create new or amended policies or bylaws can be explored and discussed as part of the strategic planning process.