Vancouver City Council |
Supports Item No. 2
P&E Committee Agenda
February 12, 2004ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: January 26, 2004
Author/Local: AGuichon/6627
RTS No. 03856
CC File No. 113/5306
Meeting Date: February 12, 2004
TO:
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM:
Subdivision Approving Officer
SUBJECT:
Proposed Amendment to Subdivision By-law No. 5208
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve the application to reclassify the property at 7012 Nanaimo Street from Category B to Category A of Table 1, Schedule A, of Subdivision By-law No. 5208
B. THAT if Council approves Recommendation A, the Director of Legal Services be authorized to prepare the necessary by-law amending the Subdivision By-law implementing the required changes.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council Policy regarding amendments to the subdivision categories in the RS-1, RS-1S, RS-3, RS-3A, RS-5, RS-5S and RS-6 Zoning Districts is reflected in the Manager's Report as approved by Council on October 28, 1987. As well as establishing seven parcel size categories for subdivision in the RS-1 District, the report provided for possible future changes in the categories in cases where property owners seek to reclassify their parcel category either up or down, to facilitate or prevent subdivision.
PURPOSE
This report addresses a proposal to reclassify the property at 7012 Nanaimo (Lot 6, Block 63, Fraserview) from Category B to Category A for the purpose of future subdivision in accordance with the minimum parcel size requirements of Table 1, Schedule A, of the Subdivision By-law.
GENERAL SUBDIVISION INFORMATION
The reclassification of a property from one Category to another constitutes an amendment to the Subdivision By-law. Council may amend the Subdivision By-law, but Council has no jurisdiction over the approval or refusal of subdivision applications. The Council-appointed Subdivision Approving Officer has sole jurisdiction over subdivision approvals or refusals, and decisions made by the Approving Officer can only be appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
BACKGROUND
In 1988, Council amended the Subdivision By-law to create seven categories of minimum parcel width and area to govern the subdivision of lands zoned RS-1. The introduction of subdivision categories created several standards which reflect and reinforce the historic, prevailing subdivision pattern in blocks across the city which vary markedly with regard to parcel size.
In subsequent years, other single-family zones as defined in the Zoning and Development By-law, including RS-1S, RS-3, RS-3A, RS-5, RS-5S and RS-6, have been included as well. The specific subdivision category applicable to lands in these zoning districts is shown on 279 sectional maps which are on file with the City Clerk. The minimum standards for each of the seven categories are shown in the table below.
Subdivision Category
Minimum Width
Minimum Area
A
30 ft. (9.144 m)
3,000 sq. ft. (278.709 m²)
B
40 ft. (12.192 m)
3,600 sq. ft. (334.451 m²)
C
50 ft. (15.240 m)
5,000 sq. ft. (464.515 m²)
D
60 ft. (18.288 m)
5,400 sq. ft. (501.676 m²)
E
75 ft. (22.860 m)
6,750 sq. ft. (627.095 m²)
F
100 ft. (30.480 m)
12,000 sq. ft. (1 114.836 m²)
G
150 ft. (45.720 m)
18,000 sq. ft. (1 672.254 m²)
The reclassification of a property from one assigned category to another is an amendment to the Subdivision By-law. When the categories were introduced, a reclassification process was established in anticipation of property owners seeking to change their parcel-size category, either upwards or downwards in an effort to facilitate or prohibit subdivision.
SUBJECT SITE
As shown in Appendix A, the parcel which is the subject of this reclassification request is classified as Category B, which prescribes a minimum width of 40 ft. and a minimum area of 3,600 sq. ft. for each parcel created by subdivision. The subject parcel, Lot 6, has a width of 64 ft. and an area of 6,886.4 sq. ft. There is, therefore, no opportunity for the subject parcel to be subdivided at present, as the parcels to be created would not meet the Category B minimum width or area requirements. In some circumstances, the Subdivision By-law does afford the Approving Officer some discretion to relax the minimum requirements for subdivision, but this discretion is not applicable to this parcel.
This application for reclassification has been submitted by the property owner of Lot 6. If the reclassification to Category A (minimum width of 30 ft. and minimum area of 3,000 sq. ft.) is approved, it is the owner's intention to apply to subdivide the site into two equal parcels, demolish the existing dwelling and construct two new single-family homes.
NOTIFICATION RESULTS
Ten property owners in the immediate area were notified in writing of this reclassification request. One owner responded to the notification, and was in opposition to the proposal. This owner cited the potential loss of two trees and well as a concern that the front yard set back for the new homes would be inconsistent with the existing front yard set backs of adjacent homes.
PREVIOUS RECLASSIFICATION APPROVALS
Appendix B shows several properties which have been reclassified by Council in the past.
· In June, 2003, Council approved a reclassification on West 5th and Tolmie Street.
· In March, 1997, Council approved a reclassification on the northwest corner of West 26th Avenue and Highbury Street.
· In July, 1994, Council approved an application for reclassification of a property at the corner of West 34th Avenue and MacDonald Street.
All these reclassification applications were supported by the Approving Officer.
HISTORY OF SUBDIVISION IN THE BLOCK
Block 6 was created by the registration of Plan 8514 in 1951 which created much of the Fraserview area. There have been no subsequent subdivisions in the block. The varying parcel widths fronting onto East 54th Avenue in this block were created by this 1951 subdivision plan.
ANALYSIS
Parcels on the corner of a block are frequently the subject of reclassification requests, as corner parcels are often larger in width and area, frequently being the remainder left as the original surveyor proceeded down the block.
Currently, Lot 6 is approximately 52% larger in width (64ft.) and 38% larger in area (6,886.4 sq. ft.) than the average of the width (42.2 ft.) and area (5,000 sq. ft.) of the parcels in the block fronting onto East 54th Avenue. Should this reclassification be approved and the property subsequently be subdivided, the parcels created would be 32 ft. in width, which is 24% smaller than the average width of the existing parcels in the block, and each have an area of approximately 4,495 sq. ft., which is 12% smaller than the average area of the existing parcels. The resulting parcels will therefore be less inconsistent with the prevailing parcel size in the west half of the block than the current situation.
Council has previously approved reclassification requests for large remaining corner parcels in blocks elsewhere in the city. Although approval of this reclassification would result in parcels smaller in width than some parcels in this block, these smaller parcels would be consistent with the two adjacent existing parcels. In addition, the resulting 32 ft. parcels would be less inconsistent with regard to width and area than is the current large 64 ft. parcel currently is.
Existing trees would be regulated by the Private Property Tree By-law, irrespective of reclassification and possible future subdivision. The front yard requirement for this site, whether redeveloped as a single parcel or following subdivision, is regulated by the District Schedule of the Zoning and Development By-law. A dwelling constructed on this site as a single parcel, or two dwellings constructed on two subdivided properties, would be set back in accordance with the By-law.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, staff recommend approval of this application.
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