Staff Report - Bylaw No.1761, Park Addition (2120 Millstream Road)

Background

At the Regular Meeting of the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee on September 14, 2020, the Committee reviewed a rezoning application for 2120 Millstream Road that would see the property rezoned from the RR4 (Rural Residential 4) Zone to the RS1 (Residential Small Lot 1) Zone. More specifically, the proposal includes the creation of 37 lots for single family homes and 47 townhouse units.

Commentary

At the Committee meeting, the lack of dedicated park space for playgrounds and tot lots in the area emerged in discussions between the Committee and community members who participated. It was acknowledged that the closest playground area to the subject property is Goldie Park (649 Goldie Avenue), a 4-minute drive and 30-minute walk, and Rockhampton playground (1268 Rockhampton Close), a 6-minute drive and 36-minute walk.

From this discussion, Council resolved “That the applicant dedicates approximately 5% of the subject property as park at the time of subdivision, as approved by the Manager of Parks and the Director of Planning prior to Public Hearing”.

Since then, the developers have returned to staff with a proposal for a neighbourhood park approximately 579 m2 in area at the intersection of Longspur Drive and Road D as shown below on Figure 1.

Figure 1: Proposed Park Location, shown in green.

The Parks Manager and Director of Planning feel that this proposal is satisfactory and that a neighbourhood playground can be built on the proposed park space. The developer has agreed to create an additional two parking spaces on the street as the playground may increase parking demand in the area. While the proposed park does not amount to 5% of the total land, it meets the neighbourhood desire for a playground area. Section 510 of the Local Government Act allows the municipality to request up to 5% of the land as Park or cash-in-lieu at market value. Council may wish to note that 5,422 m2 of additional land is already proposed to be protected as non-disturbance areas within the strata common properties. While not dedicated as Park, this will provide additional greenspace within the development. The Park area shown above, while large enough to support a neighbourhood playground, only represents approximately 1.5% of the overall development area. Given this, Council may wish to accept the park proposal as shown in Figure 1 and request that the remaining balance of 5% of the land shall be given as cash-in-lieu at the time of subdivision.

Options

That Council

1. Accept the proposed park dedication as shown in Figure 1 and require that the remaining balance of 5% of the land be given as cash-in-lieu at the time of subdivision

OR

2. Reject this park dedication proposal.

Respectfully submitted

Submitted by:
Julia Buckingham, Planner II - Approved

Concurrence:
Marie Watmough, Manager of Legislative Services - Approved
Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP Director of Planning - Approved
Cory Manton, Manager of Parks and Recreation - Approved
Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng, P.Geo, Director of Engineering - Approved
Leah Stohmann, MCIP, RPP, Deputy Director of Planning - Approved
Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance - Approved
Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services - Approved
Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer - Approved