POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

	Date: January 11, 2001
	Author/Local: PJohnston/7461
	RTS No. 1508
	CC File No. 5302
	Council: January 23, 2001

TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT: Satellite Dishes - Amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the Director of Current Planning be instructed to make application to amend Section 5 of the Zoning and Development By-law to not require a development permit for a satellite dish that does not exceed 77 cm (30.3") in diameter nor the height limit of the district in which it is located, generally in accordance with Appendix A;

FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to prepare the necessary by-law;

AND FURTHER THAT the application and by-law be referred to a Public Hearing.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

The Zoning and Development By-law requires that a development permit be obtained to install a satellite dish, unless the dish is located in the rear yard and is no higher than
1.9 m (6.2') above grade.

Development permit fees are based on a cost recovery policy and range from $394 to $465 for a satellite dish.

PURPOSE

This report reviews existing permit requirements for satellite dishes and recommends that most small dishes not be required to obtain permit approval.

BACKGROUND

In April of last year, the owner of 2542 York Avenue was ordered to remove a recently-installed 77 cm (30") satellite dish, or obtain a development permit for the dish in compliance with the Zoning and Development By-law. The owner was advised that it was doubtful the Director of Planning would give favourable consideration to a development permit application.

In response, the owner wrote City Council, and Council requested "a report back on the current issues with the installation of new smaller satellite dishes on homes and whether the existing by-law, which is enforced on a complaint basis, should be amended".

DISCUSSION

The existing by-law provisions were created when satellite dishes were much larger than the 46 cm (18"), 61 cm (24") and 77 cm (30") dishes available today. Because of their former large size and visual impact, only dishes used for domestic purposes, located no higher than 1.9 m (6') above grade in the rear yard of a residential district are permitted without a development permit. If these provisions are not met, a development permit is required. Section 10.27 of the By-law permits the Director of Planning to allow a satellite dish in any district, through development permit approval, provided that he is satisfied the dish will not have an unduly detrimental effect on the site or adjacent properties, and provided before granting approval, affected adjacent property owners are notified. Given the location of the dish at 2542 York Avenue (visible from the street and projecting above the roof) and a complaint from an adjacent resident, it is unlikely that the Director of Planning would have approved a development permit.

There are many other satellite dishes which are higher than 1.9 m (6') above ground that have been erected without permit, for which no complaints have been received and no enforcement action has been taken. With existing By-law provisions, dishes with negative visual impacts would be unlikely to obtain a development permit.

Staff have considered the various options available to deal with the dish at 2542 York Avenue, and other similar dishes, and have concluded that the By-law should be amended to exempt satellite dishes 77 cm (30") or under in diameter from development permit requirement, provided they do not exceed the height limit of the district in which they are located. While this will result in some dishes being erected in undesirable locations withnegative visual impacts, staff have reached this conclusion having regard to the following:

1. If a development permit is required and the cost recovery policy is adhered to, the cost of the permit and associated submission requirements will continue to far exceed the cost of the dish. The permit cost will deter many people from applying.

2. There is no way to reduce the permit fees without a considerable subsidy. Because of the constraints on where satellite dishes can be erected (an unobstructed SE orientation is required), it is not possible to draft non-discretionary regulations which would allow the development applications to be processed as outright approvals, with minimal staff time, and ensure that the proposed location does not have negative impacts. With non-discretionary regulations that attempt to prevent serious visual impacts (for example, no dishes on the front of a house or projecting above the roof) many applications will be refused and some sites may be unable to have a dish because of the orientation of the building and location of obstructions.

3. Dishes may continue to come down in size, or technological advances may result in another means of obtaining the service that dishes now provide. Consequently, the impact of these dishes may be relatively short-lived.

4. To date, there have been few formal complaints received about satellite dishes. In many instances, the dishes are no more visually offensive than other structures or features that are not regulated by development permit such as utility poles and basketball hoops, or outlandish paint colours, ornaments, or floodlights.

Staff recognize that not requiring relatively small satellite dishes to obtain any City approval will mean that no enforcement action will be able to be taken on any dish that is constructed in a highly visible and objectionable location (for example, on a roof affecting a view). However, staff hope that these instances will be rare, and note that many existing dishes are installed in relatively unobtrusive locations, without complaints registered with the City. Staff also note that installations on multiple dwellings are subject to controls and constraints imposed by strata councils and landlords. Dishes erected on designated heritage buildings would continue to be controlled through the requirement of a heritage alteration permit. The domestic use restriction which presently applies to antennae and satellite dishes in R (residential) districts would remain in place.

If satellite dishes become a significant visual blight, resulting in increased complaints and public concerns, staff will revisit the issue. However, if Council approves staff's current recommendation, the City would have no power to order the removal of any offensive but legally non-conforming dishes that have been erected during the period where no development permit was required.

In the interest of a timely response back to Council, no public consultation has been undertaken. A survey of adjacent municipalities - Richmond, Burnaby, West Vancouver, North Vancouver City and District - has found that they have no special regulations for small satellite dishes providing they are within the permitted building envelope and height.

CONCLUSION

Planning staff have undertaken a quick review of the issues and regulations which apply to satellite dishes with the objective of responding to the concerns raised by the owner of 2542 York Avenue, and Council's directive to report back.

Staff have concluded that enforcement action on the satellite dish at 2542 York Avenue, and other illegally-installed dishes of a similar size, not be pursued, and that instead the Zoning and Development By-law be amended to generally exempt small satellite dishes from development permit requirement, provided they do not exceed the height limit of the district in which they are located. The dish at 2542 York Avenue complies with this requirement.

If satellite dishes become a serious problem in the future, as determined by the number of complaints received, staff will bring this back to Council recommending further consideration of regulations to control the location of small dishes.

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APPENDIX A

AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT BY-LAW SATELLITE DISHES

(Bold Italics indicates proposed new wording, line through proposed deletion)

Section 5 Exemptions From Development Permit Requirement

No development permit shall be obtained for the following uses and activities . . . . .

5.15 The construction of antennae, including satellite dishes, used for domestic purposes in an R district provided:

(a) if located in an R district they are used for domestic purposes;

(b) they are located in the rear yard and are no higher than 1.9 m above the existing grade, or in the case of satellite dishes, comply with the height regulations of the district in which they are located and do not exceed 77 cm in diameter.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver