Implementation of the NCWG's Final Recommendations - Council Meeting June 28, 2021
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Implementation of the NCWG’s Final Recommendations Council Meeting June 28, 2021
Presentation Outline
1. Council Decision
2. Summary of NCWG Recommendations
3. Proposed Implementation Steps
4. Proposed Changes
a) Building size and visual impact
b) Housing Diversity
c) Larger Lots - Subdivision and House Size
d) Landscaping
e) Fences, retaining walls and finished grade
f) Process Improvements
5. Conclusion and Recommendation
2 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Previous Decisions
At the December 7, 2020, Council passed the following
resolutions:
THAT
1. The Neighbourhood Character Working Group
Recommendations, attached as Appendix A to the
report from the Senior Planner dated November 18,
2020, be received; and
2. Staff report back with implementing policies and
guidelines with reference to the Neighbourhood
Character Working Group’s recommendations by the
second quarter of 2021.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of NCWG Recommendations
After a 2-year citizen-led process, the WG identified and recommended:
Issue Identified Recommendation
Building size and • Encourage smaller homes and smaller lots and limit visual impact of buildings
visual impact
Housing diversity • Encourage suites and coach houses
Larger lots – • Allowing subdivision of large lots
subdivision and • Maximum floor area cap for houses on large lots
house size
Landscaping • More green landscaping and less hardscapes
Retaining Walls, • Minimize use of retaining walls
Fences and • Limit the height of fences and retaining walls when combined
Manipulation of • Discourage the manipulation of finished grade to build up sites
Finished Grade
Process Changes • Process improvements for site servicing, renovation projects
• Encourage more communication with neighbours
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Proposed Implementation Steps
Short-term
• OCP Amendment to 2.1.8. to add consideration of neighbourhood
character along with updates to DP submission requirements
• Zoning Amendments to:
• reduce the size of new single-family dwellings and encourage secondary
suites and coach houses;
• other improvements to coach house regulations (setbacks, minimum
outdoor space, maximum width of dormers, etc.);
• improve/strengthen requirements related to landscaping, fences and
retaining walls; and
• expansion of subdivision opportunities
• Update Coach House Guidelines
• Update Boulevard Bylaw – landscaping and parking
• Update Soil Removal and Blasting Bylaws
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Proposed Implementation Steps
Medium-term
• Update Boulevard Guidelines
• Best Practices Pamphlets
• Update application submission requirements to include design
rationale addressing neighbourhood character considerations
• Update Development Variance Permit brochure to include
consideration for front yard setback proposals to better match existing
streetscape patterns and for renovation projects for non-conforming
houses
• Update website to encourage applicants to consider neighbourhood
character and to encourage discussions with neighbours in early
stages of design for building permit projects
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Building Size
• Reduce FAR from 0.35 to 0.30 on lots > 7,333 SF and from 2500 SF to
2,200 SF on lots 4,400 - 7,333 SF
• To be made up with secondary suite and coach house bonus floor area
• Floor area calculations –
• Excluded basement height calculation – max. 9 ft. from first floor
• Interior courtyards including exterior enclosed areas counted (85% or more
enclosed)
• Covered deck space at any level counted beyond 4 ft.
• Double height covered space counted twice beyond 4 ft.
• Reduce overall exemption for garage and accessory space (work shed) from
684 SF to 440 SF – homeowner has choice to use for 2 car garage, 1 car
garage with work shop or for living space for a CH (or any other combo) –
aligned with Council’s climate action amendments
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Visual Impact
• Street facing HBF – overhang limited to 4 ft.; 33% exclusion must be
contiguous
• Privacy wall – max. based on safety requirement in BCBC
Visual Impact (cont’d)
• Roof height – butterfly and shed roof limitation
• Allow reduced front yard setback (reduce by 10 ft.) for garages that are
perpendicular to the street (max. 440 SF in area)
• Blank side wall – mitigated through average grade, building height &
basement calculation changes, deck restriction (1.2 m overhang) and the
privacy wall restriction – would limit the amount of wall typically built in
these areas and produce added articulation
Housing Diversity – Coach Houses
• 800 SF bonus on lots > 4,400 SF
• 800 SF bonus for lots with older (pre-1976) homes with
restrictions on major renos
• 560 SF coach house bonus on lots < 4,400 SF
• Streamline permitting for 1-storey
• Various improvements to design and site planning –
dormers, balconies, min. private outdoor space
• Allowing a coach house above a garage while
maintaining a reduced 2nd level
• Min 30% ground floor living space
• Maximum of one interior garage (220 SF) space
• Garage and accessory exemptions allowed to be used
for living space
• Max 1,600 SF coach house (including exempted areas
including basements)
• Stratification – can be considered under existing OCP
policyHousing Diversity (cont’d)
• Secondary suites (basement):
• 500 SF bonus on lots > 7,333 SF
• 350 SF bonus on lots < 7,333 SF
• bonus area can be located outside of building footprint and would not need to
be buried below grade - exemption would only apply for a secondary suite
that is separate from the primary dwelling
• Remove cap of 968 SF to align with BCBC
• Suite and CH bonus is exclusive
• Allow secondary suite and coach house on same lot
• Duplex recommendations to be addressed through future workLarger Lots – Subdivision and House Size
• Subdivision expansion (5% reduction in lot size and expansion of
opportunities for atypical lot configuration)
• GFA cap = 1.5 X minimum lot size
• Implications for all RS-zoned lots
• Approximately 11,400 lots (excluding Eagle Island and upper lands)
• Subdivision expansion with 5% reduction in lot size requirement allows
approximately 240 lots (2%) to be subdivided
• GFA restriction impacts approximately 3,400 lots (30%); of these, 2,100 lots
(19%) are penalized since they cannot be subdivided
• Alternate proposed approach:
• Subdivision expansion with 12.5% reduction in lot size requirement allows
approximately 680 lots (6%) to be subdivided
• GFA restriction based on 150% on current zoning (site area & FAR);
restricts approximately 1,700 lots (15%); of these, zero lots are penalized
22,000 lot (RS3) Min. Lot Size House Size with Min. Lot Max. House Size Subdivision
Current Zoning 12,000 4,200 (0.35 FAR) 7,700 (0.35 FAR) n/a
NCWG report 11,400 3,420 (0.30 FAR) 5,130 (1.5 X min.) n/a
Modified 10,500 3,150 (0.30 FAR) 6,300 (1.5 X min.*) 2 X 3,300 housesLandscaping
• Require that everything in the boulevard except a
parking pad and driveway must be planted
• Clarify that boulevard must be included in landscape
plans
• Require landscaping in front of fences/retaining walls
• Best practices pamphlet (to be developed in future):
• Boulevard parking designed to not appear as an
extension to the property
• Maximum 50% impermeable on all street frontages
• Require impermeable > 50% to be turf blocks
• Require impermeable allowance for driveway and
parking to be “made up” with permeable space
elsewhere
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONSFences, Retaining Walls
and Finished Grade
• Fence/wall height max 1.8 m as viewed
from the street
• Grade considerations – decrease grade
manipulation with change to height
calculation to require finished grade to not
exceed natural grade.
• Basement exposure to street – grade
calculation and finished grade exemption
changes would address along with a
reduction in height above grade allowance
from 3 ft. to 1.5 ft. Basement walk out
allowed as an exemption to finished grade
for livability.Fences, Retaining Walls and
Finished Grade (cont’d)
• Limit soil removal and addition –
• Reduce the allowance for retaining
walls in the front and side yards
• Reduce the allowed “cut” amount for
interior retaining wallProcess Improvements
• Require consideration of neighbourhood character in all development
permits
• Neighbourhood notification/consultation for building permits –
educational materials to be developed; further consideration at next
stage for how neighbours can be notified of building permit projects
• Site plan showing neighbouring properties – not recommended as a
requirement with current information, however, would be further
reviewed at next stage with brochure and submission requirement
development
• Form and Character DPs for > 0.3 FAR and houses >10,000 SF – not
permitted under LGA
• CAC for small lot subdivision rezonings – waiver not recommended, but
this is largely addressed through zoning bylaw amendment to facilitate
subdivision
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONSProcess Improvements (cont’d)
• Renovation costs and process – fee reduction not recommended due to
required cost recovery and proposed BOV process not legal; issue will
be addressed through new regs
• Variance process – update DVP guide to include front yard setback
provision and renovation for non-conforming houses
• Withhold demo permit until building permit is issued – not
recommended due to concerns about derelict properties, squatting
• Maximum $25k landscape bond
• Increase threshold to $150 K for servicing upgrades (alternate approach
“by room” not recommended)
• Soil Removal and Blasting Bylaws to be consolidated and blasting limits
to be simplified based on site size
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONSConclusion: From WG to Implementation
Proposed bylaws address Council’s strategic plan objective 1.4:
• “Create policies and guidelines for single family residential zones with
reference to the findings in the NCWG report”
Proposed bylaws advance OCP policies:
• 2.1.1 “Amend neighbourhood subdivision standards […] to enable the
development of smaller houses on smaller lots”
• 2.1.2 “Update zoning provisions […] to increase the supply of coach houses”
• 2.1.8 “Ensure that new single-family dwellings respect neighbourhood
character by:
a. Reviewing regulations controlling the scale of new single-family
dwellings; and
b. Applying and updating built-form guidelines, as relevant, in regards to
neighbourhood context and character, streetscape and natural features”
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONSStaff Recommendation
• Give first reading to zoning
and OCP bylaws; give first,
second and third readings of
other bylaws and set the date
for public hearing
• Next steps:
• Newspaper ad and
communication on District
webpage
• Public Hearing – July 27, 2021
• If adopted zoning, OCP and
fees and charges bylaws would
be effective Jan, 31, 2022
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NCWG’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONSThank You! Questions?
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