POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE
Date: July 25, 1996
Dept. File No.: PB
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Community Planning, in consultation with
Director of Land Use and Development
Manager of Real Estate Services
General Manager of Engineering Services
Director of Permits and Licenses
Director of Legal Services
Director of Finance
SUBJECT: Referral of RS-5 Zoning to Public Hearing for a Portion of
West Kerrisdale and for Mackenzie Heights
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be instructed to
make application to rezone the area generally bounded by West
41st Avenue, Larch Street, the lane west of Balsam Street, the
lane north of West 45th Avenue, the lane west of West
Boulevard, West 49th Avenue, Southwest Marine Drive,
Southlands Place, Balaclava Street, and the lane north of West
42nd Avenue shown on Figure 1 (a portion of West Kerrisdale)
from RS-1 to RS-5;
FURTHER THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be
instructed to make application to rezone the area generally
bounded by King Edward Avenue, the lane west of Quesnel Drive,
Quesnel Drive, Macdonald Street, the lane north of Elm Street,
West 33rd Avenue, and Blenheim Street shown on Figure 2
(Mackenzie Heights) from RS-1 to RS-5;
FURTHER THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be
instructed to make application to amend the RS-5 District
Schedule to control the maximum area of impermeable materials
on site, generally in accordance with Appendix A;
AND FURTHER THAT these applications and by-law be referred to
Public Hearing, together with the condition of approval
recommended by the Director of Land Use and Development that,
if approved at Public Hearing, the by-laws be accompanied at
the time of enactment by the renamed and amended "RS-5 Design
Guidelines" (formally the "South Shaughnessy RS-5 Design
Guidelines" - Appendix B) to be adopted by resolution of
Council for the two new RS-5 Districts.
B. THAT the Director of Community Planning be instructed to
report to Council development applications which are contrary
to the proposed zoning amendments for possible withholding
pursuant to Section 570 of the Vancouver Charter.
C. THAT if the rezoning is approved, Council approve funding in
the amount of $60,558 to establish a regular full-time
Development Planner I in Planning, $45,338 to establish a
regular full-time Plan Checking Technician II position in
Planning, $53,461 to establish a regular full-time Development
Information Officer position in Planning, 53,461 to establish
a regular full-time Building Inspector I in Permits and
Licenses, subject to classification review, and $15,000 to
cover the costs of new personal computers for the new staff
positions, plus software and Local Area Network hook-ups.
D. THAT the fee by-law be amended to recover costs associated
with the increase in service provided to RS zones by
increasing the permit fees for conditional permits in RS-5 by
$80 (from $900 to $980), for conditional permits in RS-3 and
RS-3A by $380 (from $600 to $980), and $50 for all other
conditional and outright permits in all RS zones for the
purpose of building new houses and larger additions (equal to
or greater than 60 m2 in gross floor area). (See Appendix F.)
E. THAT the General Manager of Community Services in association
with the Director of Finance will report back on the
conclusions of a comprehensive fee review done in association
with the development and building permit review process to
address revenue deficiencies associated with the staff
increases.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A,
B, C, D, and E.
COUNCIL POLICY
On September 27, 1994, Council asked the Director of Planning and the
General Manager of Engineering Services to report back to Council with
recommendations for private property "green space" regulations which
address aesthetic and infrastructure issues.
On June 6, 1995, Council asked staff to report back on interim measures
to deal with neighbourhood requests for character zoning until such time
as staff are able to go back into those neighbourhoods to work with them
on their neighbourhood centres.
On May 17, 1996, Council instructed staff to proceed, in co-operation
with neighbourhood groups, with a consultation process to determine
neighbourhood support for an interim zoning in single-family areas in
advance of CityPlan's neighbourhood visioning program, to proceed with
RS-6 as an interim zone available to RS-1 and RS-1S single-family
neighbourhoods and, where there is demonstrated community support, to
include RS-5 as a possible interim zone for single-family
neighbourhoods, and to amend the RS-5 zone to control the maximum area
of impermeable materials on site should any neighbourhood be rezoned to
RS-5 as part of this interim zoning program.
Figure 1. Proposed RS-5 District - West Kerrisdale Central
Figure 2. Proposed RS-5 District - Mackenzie Heights
SUMMARY AND PURPOSE
This report recommends referral to Public Hearing of RS-5 zoning in two
areas: West Kerrisdale Central (illustrated on Figure 1 above); and
Mackenzie Heights (illustrated on Figure 2 above). Multi-language
random sample telephone surveys of area residents and property owners
were conducted in both areas. The surveys indicated that both West
Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie Heights have greater than 60% support
for a zoning change to deal with concerns about the design of new
developments and landscaping in both areas (West Kerrisdale Central -
81%; Mackenzie Heights - 70%). Of those in favour of a zoning change,
80% in West Kerrisdale Central and 60% in Mackenzie Heights preferred
RS-5 zoning.
RS-5 zoning encourages new development and additions to be compatible
with the neighbourhood by providing a floor space increase if the RS-5
Design Guidelines are followed. If followed, the design of new houses
and major additions along with site landscaping would be derived from
the design of adjacent properties to the development site.
Staff recommend that Council refer RS-5 zoning to Public Hearing for
both West Kerrisdale and Mackenzie Heights. Staff also seek Council
approval to amend the RS-5 District Schedule to control the maximum area
of impermeable material on site (as is currently included in RS-6), and
to adopt RS-5 Design Guidelines for use in the two new RS-5 Districts.
Staff are operating at capacity and, therefore, it is recommended that
Council establish four new positions to respond to the anticipated
increase in staff workload due to the rezoning of these two areas and
future rezonings (to either RS-5 or RS-6). There will be an initial
shortfall in cost recovery until revenue from permit fees in other areas
rezoned in the coming months as part of the Interim Zoning program come
on stream. In the meantime, the staff capacity will be used to serve
existing RS zones.
Staff, therefore, recommend that Council amend the fee by-law to recover
costs associated with the increased level of service by increasing the
permit fees in RS zones for new houses and larger additions (equal to or
greater than 60 m2 in gross floor area).
BACKGROUND
On May 17, 1996, Council approved adoption of a proposed process to
implement the interim zoning program requested by Council on June 6,
1995. The program would address issues of external design and site
landscaping in RS-1/RS-1S neighbourhoods. RS-6 zoning would be made
available as an interim zone, with the additional option of RS-5 zoning
where there is demonstrated community interest in that zone.
RS-6 zoning requires/prohibits certain design features, and
encourages/discourages others in order to establish a minimum standard
of design quality and foster a greater variety of design than under RS-1
zoning. "Impermeability" regulations prohibit excessive paving of the
site, and a modest floor space increase is provided if landscape design
guidelines are followed. The combined Development Permit and Building
Permit process in this zone takes roughly four to five weeks.
RS-5 zoning encourages new houses and additions to be compatible with
existing houses and landscaping by providing a floor space increase for
going through a design guideline review process. Buildings which meet
design guidelines would derive their design from adjacent houses and
site landscaping. The permit process in this zone takes two to three
months for a development permit, one to three weeks for the building
permit.
The Council-approved planning process for the interim rezoning program
involves three steps:
1. Phase I - This phase determines the general level of neighbourhood
support for a change in zoning. Only after neighbourhood support
is demonstrated would Planning commit significant time and
resources to a rezoning process. This first step is therefore
carried out in co-operation with resident groups who assist in
notifying area residents/property owners of the planning program.
A post-returned "expression of interest" survey is then conducted
among all area residents. This survey is monitored or carried out
by Planning staff. If the survey achieves a 25% response rate, and
if 60% of the respondents to the survey support a change in zoning,
then staff proceeds with Phase II.
2. Phase II - This phase determines the type of single-family zoning
which the neighbourhood supports. Staff distribute more detailed
information on RS-1, RS-6 (and RS-5) zoning to all area residents
and property owners, holding public meetings or open houses, and
completing the Phase II survey on the area's zoning options. An
outside consultant is used to conduct the Phase II survey as a
multi-language random sample telephone survey. Typically
approximately 700 households are contacted in each neighbourhood,
leading to the completion of approximately 400 interviews (taking
into account people who are not home or who refuse to be
interviewed), yielding statistical results with a plus or minus 5%
margin of error. A 60% support rate for a new zoning would be
adequate for staff to refer a rezoning report to Council.
3. Staff report back to Council on the Phase II survey results with a
recommendation on the area zoning and, where appropriate, referral
to Public Hearing.
This report also responds to the September 27, 1994 Council directive
that, in response to storm flooding that occurred the previous summer,
the Planning and Engineering Departments report back with
recommendations for private property "green space" regulations which
address aesthetic and infrastructure issues. This previously resulted
in the inclusion of controls in the RS-6 District Schedule which limit
site paving and building coverage. Similar controls on impermeable
materials site coverage are proposed as an amendment to the RS-5
District Schedule.
DISCUSSION
1. Area Descriptions
The West Kerrisdale Central area is made up of roughly 1,000 properties,
ranging in size from 295 m2 to 4 415 m2 (3,172 sq. ft. to 47,520 sq.
ft.). Property widths range from 7.9 m to 73.2 m (26 ft. to 240 ft.);
property depths 25.2 m to 104.7 m (82.75 ft. to 343.4 ft.). The housing
stock is a mix of pre-war Craftsman-style houses and Tudor- and
Georgian-style houses, and post-war bungalows, post-1980s houses, and
other styles.
The Mackenzie Heights area is made up of roughly 850 properties, ranging
in size from 355 m2 to 906 m2 (3,818 sq. ft. to 9,750 sq. ft.).
Property widths range from 9.9 m to 28.7 m (32.5 ft. to 94 ft.);
property depths 22 m to 45.7 m (72 ft. to 150 ft.). The housing stock
is a mix of pre-war English-Cottage, Tudor- and Georgian- and
Craftsman-style houses, post-war bungalows, post-1980s houses, and other
styles.
2. Planning Process
(a) Phase I Resident Surveys
In consultation with the Planning Department, residents from both West
Kerrisdale and Mackenzie Heights conducted their own independent
resident surveys in early 1996. Block captains or contacts delivered
and received completed surveys. Staff reviewed the survey forms and
results, and felt the survey work was equivalent to the Phase I portion
of the planning process discussed above (see Appendix C* for examples
and complete results of surveys) and, therefore, moved the planning
process directly into Phase II efforts.
(i) West Kerrisdale Phase I Survey
The boundaries for the West Kerrisdale survey area were chosen to
reflect the locations of major streets and common neighbourhood
characteristics. It was delivered to all houses within the survey area,
excluding vacant houses and houses with renters who declined to
participate (856 delivered); 518 were returned (60% of the total surveys
delivered). Of the 518 respondents, 457 or 88.2% preferred some form of
revised zoning in their neighbourhood to address concerns about the
design of new homes and landscaping.
* LIMITED DISTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL
(ii) Mackenzie Heights Phase I Survey
The boundaries for the Mackenzie Heights survey area were chosen to
reflect the locations of major streets and common neighbourhood
characteristics. The north-eastern border was drawn at the "top of the
slope" overlooking Puget Drive so view areas would be minimally impacted
by any potential zoning change. It was delivered to all houses within
the study area (854); 255 were returned (30% of the total surveys
delivered). Of the 255 respondents, 223 or 87.5% were in favour of a
change in zoning to introduce more design control for housing in
Mackenzie Heights.
(b) Phase II Telephone Surveys Staff felt that there was sufficient support in both West Kerrisdale and
Mackenzie Heights to go on to Phase II of the planning process. In June
of 1996, staff distributed detailed information on RS-6 and RS-5 zoning
to all residents and property owners (see Appendix D*). Contained in
the information package were staff phone numbers in order that questions
could be asked and responses given. Multi-lingual "call back" lines
were set up for people with English as a second language. All
distributed material was translated into Chinese. An open house (with
translation services) was held in both areas to answer questions and
display additional, more detailed information about the zoning.
The random sample telephone surveys of area residents and property
owners were conducted by an independent consultant in each of the two
areas in the first two weeks of July. With approximately 400 completed
phone surveys in each area, the accuracy of the resulting statistics is
roughly plus or minus 3% for each neighbourhood at a 95% confidence
level. The survey results are as follows (see summary - Appendix E; a
full detailed report is available from the clerk):
Question 1: Which zoning option do West Mackenzie
you prefer? Kerrisdale Heights
(a) Retain current RS-1 zoning 15% 25%
(b) Adopt new zoning 81% 70%
(c) No opinion 4% 6%
* LIMITED DISTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL
Question 2: Do you ... West Mackenzie
Kerrisdale Heights
(a) Prefer RS-6 13% 25%
(b) Prefer RS-5 66% 42%
(c) Undecided 2% 4%
The surveys indicated that both West Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie
Heights have greater than 60% support for a zoning change to deal with
concerns about the design of new developments and landscaping (West
Kerrisdale Central - 81%; Mackenzie Heights - 70%). Of those in favour
of a zoning change, 80% in West Kerrisdale Central and 60% in Mackenzie
Heights preferred RS-5 zoning. Staff, therefore, recommend referral to
Public Hearing of RS-5 zoning in West Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie
Heights.
Staff were also aware that the northeastern boundary of the Mackenzie
Heights study area is a view-sensitive area. Upon examination of the
survey results, staff found that the majority of survey respondents
along Quesnel Drive (part of the view-sensitive area) wished to retain
RS-1 zoning. Staff, therefore, propose that the boundaries for the
proposed RS-5 rezoning be adjusted to exclude Quesnel Drive which will
retain the current RS-1 zoning (please refer to Figure 2). Should area
residents we have not heard from to date object to this, Council could
instruct staff to re-survey this small area along Quesnel Drive to
determine resident support for a zoning change.
Council should also note that the current South Shaughnessy RS-5 Design
Guidelines should be renamed to the RS-5 Design Guidelines to reflect
its use in other areas of the city. Consequential amendments to these
design guidelines will also be made. A copy of the renamed and amended
RS-5 Design Guidelines is available at the City Clerk s Office.
3. Amendments to RS-5 Zoning - Impermeability Regulations
Before allowing any new areas to be rezoned to RS-5, staff recommend
that Council amend the existing RS-5 zone to include the same
impermeable materials site coverage controls as included in the RS-6
zoning District Schedule section 4.8.4 and 4.8.5 (see Appendix A).
These sections control the maximum amount of impermeable materials
(buildings, paving, etc.) on a site.
These controls address Council's intent to limit increased stormwater
runoff into the sewer system. Regulating private property impermeable
areas not only reduces flooding potential and combined sewer overflows
but also addresses concerns about the retention of landscape planting
and lawns.
Regarding the existing RS-5-zoned South Shaughnessy area, residents and
property owners would be notified of the proposed amendment and their
input could be heard as part of the Public Hearing for the West
Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie Heights areas.
4. Impact on Property Values
The Manager of Real Estate Services advises that under current market
condition, there should be no significant impact on property values in
the short term if the RS-5 zoning is adopted.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The RS-5 encourages site landscape planting which will positively affect
the city's micro-climate and air quality. The RS-5 will also regulate
the maximum site coverage by impermeable materials (if Council so
chooses) which would also have positive effects on micro-climate, and
reduce runoff thereby decreasing flooding potential and reducing
combined sewer overflows. RS-5 provides some moderate incentive for
renovating existing houses which could result in lessening the burden on
landfill sites from house demolitions.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The Children's Policy and the Statement of Children's Entitlements are
not applicable to this amendment.
PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
RS-5 zoning is unique and much more complex than RS-1 zoning.
Processing of applications will generally involve extra staff time for
checking applications, meetings (and negotiations) with applicants,
meetings with staff (e.g., landscaping and engineering), telephone
enquiries, file searches, correspondence, site visits, and providing
information to residents and prospective applicants. Compared to RS-1
applications, RS-5 applications will affect staff in the following
areas:
Development Planners or Planning Facilitators (additional 12 to 16
hours per application);
Plan Checking Technicians (additional 20 to 25 hours per
application--bulk of research, correspondence, and neighbourhood
applicant and staff liaison duties are handled by this position);
Development Information Officers (additional 2 to 3 hours per
application);
Landscaping Technicians (additional 0.5 hour per application); and
Building Inspectors (additional 2 hours per application).
The West Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie Heights study areas are
composed of roughly 1,850 properties. The two study areas together have
had 40 to 45 Joint Applications and Development Applications per year
over the last four years. To administer the same number of applications
under RS-5 zoning, assuming most applicants will seek the maximum FSR
and submit a conditional application, an increase of approximately 17 to
21 person-weeks of total additional staff time per year may be involved.
In July of 1993, Council adopted RS-5 zoning and design guidelines for a
portion of South Shaughnessy. Two positions were added at that time: a
Development Planner and a Plan Checking Technician. Staff reported to
Council that the added workload from the rezoning justified the
additional staff resources, although processing RS-5 applications would
only use-up half of the staff time. Staff noted that with further
rezonings in South Shaughnessy, the residual time would eventually be
used up.
Subsequent to the RS-5 rezoning, Council approved the use of RS-5 Design
Guidelines for conditional applications in the RS-3 zone in East
Kerrisdale (May 1994) and the RS-3A zone (October 1994) in South
Shaughnessy. Given that approximately 75% of the applications in these
zones were now being dealt with on a conditional rather than outright
basis, the residual staff resources made available with the hiring of
staff for the RS-5 rezoning are now effectively used up.
In March of 1996, Council rezoned another portion of East Kerrisdale to
RS-6. At the time staff reported to Council about a further increase in
staff workload. As a result, Council added a full-time plan checking
position to Permits and Licenses. However, staff suggested that no
Planning positions be added at the time because the marginal increase in
workload could be absorbed by existing staff. At that time, staff noted
that if RS-6 is adopted elsewhere in the future or if the incremental
workload proved to be more extensive that originally anticipated, Staff
would report back on the need for additional staff.
With the rezoning of West Kerrisdale Central and Mackenzie Heights to
RS-5, Planning has again reached the stage where there is no residual
staff resources to take on the additional workload and additional staff
are required: a Development Planner I, a Plan Checking Technician II,
and a Development Information Officer. The rezoning of West Kerrisdale
Central and Mackenzie Heights alone will not justify the creation of
three new staff positions; however, the residual staff resource is
anticipated to be used up in the very near future as more RS-1/RS-1S
area are rezoned to RS-5 or RS-6 as part of the ongoing Interim Zoning
program. In the meantime, any additional staff time will be used to
improve processing times in other RS zones. By adding additional staff
now, the Planning Department can maintain its current levels of staff
service now and into the immediate future.
Further, RS-3 and RS-3A applications are not currently being processed
on a full cost-recovery basis. This is addressed below.
Council should note that these additional staff positions will be filled
in January of 1997. Development applications in the two new RS-5-zoned
areas will start to be processed after enactment of the new zoning
later this year.
The additional workload for Landscape Technicians due to the rezonings
to RS-5, RS-3, RS-3A and RS-6 zoning--all with landscaping
controls--will be addressed should Council add additional staff through
changes made to the Private Property Tree By-law. If those positions
are not added by Council, then staff will report back on the need for an
additional Landscape Technician position in Planning.
The Director of Permits and Licenses will need an additional building
inspector to handle the increased responsibilities related to
discretionary design guideline enforcement in the RS-5, RS-3, RS-3A and
RS-6 zones. This will be the first additional inspector position
created since RS-5, RS-3A and RS-3 were created during the South
Shaughnessy/Granville Single-Family Zoning Review Program.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The total cost of the four new staff positions is $230,200, which
includes wages, benefits and computer equipment, software and Local Area
Network hook-ups (see Appendix G). It is proposed that over time, these
staff increases will be offset by permit fees as per the City s cost
recovery policies. Only 40 permits are expected to be processed per
year in the two new RS-5 areas, yielding approximately $36,000 from this
source of revenue, leaving a shortfall of $194,000. However, future
potential rezonings in 1997, involving areas such as Cedar Cottage,
Douglas Park, West Point Grey, Clinton Park and Dunbar, if approved,
could lead to the processing of perhaps as many as 190 conditional
permits (based on 1995 permits), leaving a shortfall of $65,000.
Staff recommend raising permit fees to respond to the shortfall in
revenues and to reflect the increased level of service:
RS-3/RS-3A applications are not being processed on a cost-recovery
basis and increasing the fees for conditional applications in these
zones by $380 (from $600 to $980), will bring these fees in line with
those paid in the RS-5 zone (noting that conditional RS-3/RS-3A
applicants require the same level of processing as those in RS-5); and
In addition, by increasing the permit fee for new houses and large
additions (equal to or greater than 60 m2 in gross floor area) by $80
for conditional permits in RS-5 and $50 for all other outright and
conditional permits in RS zones (e.g., RS-1, RS-2, RS-6), revenues
will match the increased cost of providing service to RS
neighbourhoods.
These fee increases are an interim measure to offset some of the
shortfall. Given the comprehensive fee review staff will be undertaking
in the near future, along with the development and building permit
review, it is anticipated that further adjustments to staffing and fees
will eliminate the total shortfall.
Also, Council should note that space has been found for the additional
personnel, although space needs may later surface as an issue in light
of the re-engineering process currently underway.
CONCLUSION
This report recommends referral to Public Hearing of RS-5 zoning for the
central portion of West Kerrisdale and Mackenzie Heights. Results of
random sample telephone surveys conducted in each area indicate clear
majority support for a zoning change in both areas, and, of that
majority, a clear preference for RS-5 zoning.
* * * * *