POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE
Date: March 27, 1997
Dept. File No.PB
CC File No. 5301-1/8018/8005
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Community Planning
SUBJECT: RS Options - Douglas Park, West Southlands and Portions of
Dunbar and West Point Grey
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be instructed to
make application to amend the RS-5 District Schedule to
add RS-5S, generally in accordance with
Appendix A;
FURTHER THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be
instructed to make application to rezone the areas shown on
Figure 1 from RS-1S to RS-5S (see Appendix B - Douglas Park
RS-1S and Appendix C - Dunbar RS-1S);
FURTHER THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be
instructed to make application to rezone the areas shown on
Figure 2 from RS-1 to RS-5 (see Appendix D - West Point Grey
RS-1 and Appendix E - Dunbar RS-1);
FURTHER THAT the Director of Land Use and Development be
instructed to make application to rezone the area identified
as Sub-Area 1 shown on Figure 3 from RS-1 to RS-5 and to
rezone the area identified as Sub-Area 2 shown on Figure 3
from RS-1 to RS-6 (see Appendix F - West Southlands RS-1);
FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to
prepare the necessary by-laws for consideration at the Public
Hearing, including amendments to the Sign By-law to extend the
current provisions for RS-5 to RS-5S;
FURTHER THAT these applications and by-laws be referred to
Public Hearing, together with the condition of approval
recommended by the Director of Land Use and Development that,
if RS-5S zoning is approved at Public Hearing, the by-laws be
accompanied at the time of enactment by the renamed
"RS-5/RS-5S Design Guidelines" to be adopted by resolution of
Council for the new RS-5S Districts;
FURTHER THAT, subject to approval of the RS-5S rezoning at
Public Hearing, the Subdivision, Parking, and Fee By-laws be amended to
extend the provisions for RS-5 to RS-5S;
AND FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed
to bring forward the amendments to the Subdivision, Parking, and Fee
By-laws at the time of enactment of the Zoning By-law.
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.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A
and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
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 the CityPlan Neighbourhood program.
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.
Figure 1. Proposed RS-5S Districts - A Portion of the Dunbar RS-1S
District and Douglas Park RS-1S District
Figure 2. Proposed RS-5 Districts - Portions of the West Point Grey RS-1
District and the Dunbar RS-1 District
Figure 2. continued
Figure 3. Proposed RS-5 and RS-6 Districts - Portions of the West
Southlands RS-1 District
SUMMARY AND PURPOSE
This report recommends referral to Public Hearing of: RS-5S zoning for a
portion of the Dunbar RS-1S district (Dunbar RS-1S) and the Douglas Park
RS-1S district (Douglas Park RS-1S) illustrated on Figure 1 above; RS-5
zoning for portions of the West Point Grey RS-1 district (West Point
Grey RS-1) and the Dunbar RS-1 district (Dunbar RS-1)illustrated on
Figure 2 above; and RS-5 zoning for the area identified as Sub-Area 1 on
Figure 3 above and RS-6 zoning for the area identified as Sub-Area 2 on
Figure 3 above.
Multi-language random sample telephone surveys of area residents and
property owners were conducted in all areas. The surveys indicated that
in each of the above areas there was roughly 60% support for a zoning
change to deal with concerns about the design of new developments and
landscaping: Douglas Park 59%; Dunbar (RS-1S area) 62%; Dunbar (RS-1
area) 65%; West Point Grey 64%; and West Southlands 59%. Of those in
favour of a zoning change, 67% in Douglas Park and 66% in Dunbar (RS-1S
area) chose RS-5S, 61% in West Point Grey and 62% in Dunbar (RS-1 area)
chose RS-5. In West Southlands, 49% chose RS-5, 48% chose RS-6;
however, in the northern portion of West Southlands RS-1 the majority
(61%) of residents and property owners who favoured change chose RS-5
zoning, while in the south the majority (56%) chose RS-6 zoning.
RS-5 and RS-5S 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. RS-6
zoning requires/prohibits certain design features, and encourages site
landscaping in order to establish a minimum standard of design quality
and foster a greater variety of design than under RS-1 zoning.
BACKGROUND
On May 17, 1996, Council adopted 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, with
the additional option of RS-5 zoning where there is demonstrated
community interest in that zone. Both RS-5 and RS-6 were to be offered
as interim zones.
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. "Impermeability" regulations prohibit excessive paving
of the site. When the guidelines are used, the permit process in this
zone takes two to three months for a development permit, one to three
weeks for the building permit.
RS-6 zoning requires/prohibits certain design features, and encourages
site landscaping 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 three to five weeks.
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 and hold open houses. Following this, an
independent 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 at a 95% confidence
level 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.
DISCUSSION
1. Planning Process
(a) Phase I Resident Surveys
Phase I resident surveys were conducted in West Point Grey, Dunbar RS-1
and RS-1S areas, West Southlands, Douglas Park, the Glen Park RS-1S
district and the Cedar Cottage RS-1S district (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. The Glen Park RS-1S District and the Cedar Cottage RS-1S
District
Figure 4. continued
The results of the Phase I survey can be summarized as follows, with
response rates for each area (i.e., total surveys mailed back/total
surveys delivered) listed below each area in the first column:
Question 1: Which a) Retain the b) Seek an c) Undecided
option do you current RS-1/ alternative
prefer? RS-1S zoning zoning
West Point Grey 36% 62% 1%
(38% response rate)
Dunbar (RS-1) 27% 71% 1%
(40% response rate)
Dunbar (RS-1S) 39% 59% 2%
(37% response rate)
West Southlands 34% 64% 2%
(44% response rate)
Douglas Park 35% 63% 1%
(35% response rate)
Glen Park 49% 49% 3%
(25% response rate)
Cedar Cottage 59% 38% 2%
(21% response rate)
The results of the mail-back survey indicated that there was sufficient
support in West Point Grey, the Dunbar RS-1 and RS-1S areas, West
Southlands and Douglas Park to proceed onto Phase II of the Interim
Zoning process: all areas had a greater than 25% response rate and each
had approximately 60% of those responding supporting a change in zoning.
Both Glen Park and Cedar Cottage had relatively poor response rates and
neither area achieved a clear majority response in favour of changing
the zoning so these two areas did not go forward in the process.
(b) Phase II Telephone Surveys
In January of 1997, staff distributed detailed information on RS-6 and
RS-5 (RS-6S, RS-5S) zoning to all residents and property owners in West
Point Grey, Dunbar RS-1 and Dunbar RS-1S areas, West Southlands and
Douglas Park (see Appendix G). Contained in the information package
were staff phone numbers in order that questions could be asked and
responses given. Multilingual "call back" lines were set up for people
with English as a second language. All distributed material was
translated into Chinese.
Open houses (with translation services) was held in all areas to answer
questions and display additional, more detailed information about the
zoning. In addition, a Chinese language open house was held on January
31, 1997, at the Fraser Street SUCCESS offices, for residents of the
four study areas.
The random sample telephone surveys of area residents and property
owners were conducted by an independent consultant in each of the areas
in late February/early March. With over 400 completed phone surveys in
West Point Grey and the Dunbar RS-1 area, 200 completed calls in the
Dunbar RS-1S area and Douglas Park, and 136 calls in West Southlands,
the accuracy of the resulting statistics is roughly plus or minus 4% to
5% for each neighbourhood at a 95% confidence level. The survey results
for the areas or portions of areas where zoning changes are proposed are
as follows (see summary - Appendix H; a full detailed report is
available from the Clerk).
Question 1: Which a) Retain the b) Seek an c) No opinion
option do you current RS-1/ alternative
prefer? RS-1S zoning zoning
West Point Grey 34% 64% 2%
Dunbar (RS-1) 32% 65% 3%
Dunbar (RS-1S) 34% 62% 4%
West Southlands 39% 59% 2%
Douglas Park 38% 59% 3%
Question 2: Which a) RS-5/ b) RS-6/ c) Undecided
zoning option do you RS-5S RS-6S
prefer? West Point Grey 39% 24% 1%
Dunbar (RS-1) 40% 24% 1%
Dunbar (RS-1S) 41% 18% 2%
West Southlands 28% 28% 3%
Douglas Park 40% 19% 1%
The surveys indicated that all areas have approximately 59%-65% support
for a zoning change to deal with concerns about the design of new houses
and landscaping. Of those in favour of a zoning change, most preferred
RS-5/RS-5S zoning. West Southlands was split on whether RS-5 or RS-6
was the most preferred zoning, although further analysis indicated that
the majority who favoured change in the northern portion also favoured
RS-5 zoning (61%), while in the south the RS-6 zoning was favoured (56%)
(please see Appendix F - West Southlands RS-1). Staff, therefore,
recommend referral to Public Hearing of RS-5S zoning for Dunbar (RS-1S
area) and Douglas Park, RS-5 zoning for the northwest portion of West
Southlands, for a portion of West Point Grey and Dunbar (RS-1 area), and
RS-6 zoning for the southeast portion of West Southlands. Staff should
note that the clear majority of respondents who preferred RS-6 zoning
also preferred to adopt it as written without any changes.
Staff should also note to Council that further analysis of the survey
results was conducted to determine the boundaries of these proposed
rezonings. Staff had mentioned to Council in the report outlining the
Interim Zoning program that view blockage would not be addressed as part
of the rezoning program. There were a number of areas within the larger
study areas where views were an issue, particularly in light of the
additional height (to 35 ft. from 30 ft.) allowed under RS-5/RS-5S and
RS-6 zoning. In such cases, staff examined the results of the surveys on
a block-by-block basis to determine if residents and property owners
felt differently than the majority of residents living in the overall
study area. In two cases, we found this was so and have adjusted the
boundaries of the proposed rezonings to delete these areas, thereby
remaining RS-1 or RS-1S (please see Appendix C - Dunbar RS-1S and
Appendix D - West Point Grey).
Staff should also note that the current "South Shaughnessy RS-5 Design
Guidelines" should be renamed to the "RS-5/RS-5S Design Guidelines" to
reflect its use in areas of the city currently zoned RS-1S (permitting
legal rental suites). No substantial changes are proposed for these
design guidelines, although some consequential amendments will need to
be made. A copy of the renamed and amended RS-5/RS-5S Design Guidelines
is available at the City Clerk's Office.
3. 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, RS-5S or RS-6 zoning is adopted.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The RS-5/RS-5S and RS-6 zoning encourages site landscape planting which
will positively affect the city's micro-climate and air quality. The
RS-5/RS-5S and RS-6 zoning also regulates the maximum site coverage by
impermeable materials which would also have positive effects on
micro-climate, and reduce runoff thereby decreasing flooding potential
and reducing combined sewer overflows. Each of the zones provide some
moderate incentive for renovating existing houses which could result in
lessening the burden on landfill sites from the demolition of existing
houses on sites where new houses are proposed.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The Children's Policy and the Statement of Children's Entitlements are
not applicable to this amendment.
PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
RS-5/RS-5S zoning is unique and much more complex than RS-1 zoning.
Processing of applications will generally involve extra staff time for
checking applications, meetings 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/RS-1S applications, RS-5/RS-5S
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).
In October of 1996, Council adopted RS-5 zoning and design guidelines
for a portion of West Kerrisdale and Mackenzie Heights. Four staff
positions were added at that time: a Development Planner, a Plan
Checking Technician, a Development Information Officer, and a Building
Inspector. Staff reported to Council that the added workload from the
rezoning justified the additional staff resources, although processing
RS-5 applications would only use a portion of a full-time staff member
(i.e., given that the two areas had 40 to 45 Joint Applications and
Development Applications per year, a total of 40 person-weeks would be
added to the staff workload). Staff noted that with further rezonings
through the Interim Rezoning program, the residual staff time would
eventually be used.
Recently Council has sent to Public Hearing a proposal to rezone some
RT-4 and RT-5 areas to make one- and two-family dwellings conditional.
The areas under consideration, if rezoned, will yield an additional 23
conditional applications per year, adding a total of 30 person-weeks to
the workload.
West Point Grey, Dunbar, Douglas Park and West Southlands are composed
of roughly 8,600 properties. These RS-1/RS-1S areas together have had
an average of 92 Joint Applications and Development Applications for new
houses per year over the last five years (i.e., West Point Grey 38 per
year, Dunbar 41, Douglas Park 8, West Southlands 5). To administer the
same number of applications under RS-5/RS-5S and RS-6 zoning, assuming
most applicants in the proposed RS-5/RS-5S zoning (i.e., roughly 75%)
will seek the maximum FSR and submit a conditional application,
additional staff time required would be approximately 84 person-weeks in
total.
Given all of the changes and proposed changes listed above, the
additional workload would be distributed among staff in the following
way:
52 person-weeks for the Development Planners or Planning
Facilitators;
83 person-weeks for the Plan Checking Technicians;
9 person-weeks for the Development Information Officer;
3 person-week for Landscaping Technicians; and
7 person-weeks for Building Inspectors.
In addition, approximately 15% of applications for building renovations
and additions will occur in the conditional stream of the RS-5/RS-5S
zoning, for those seeking the maximum permitted floor space. This will
also add to the staff workload, most particularly for Development
Planners/Facilitators and Plan Checking Technicians.
Finally, there may be as many as 15 more neighbourhoods which will go
through the Interim Zoning process, which may result in further
rezonings to RS-5/RS-5S or RS-6/RS-6S, which will again increase the
workload on staff.
The implications of the increase in staff workload for Planning will be
discussed in a companion memorandum to Council from the Director of Land
Use and Development. The City Building Inspector notes that the
additional workload for building inspections will be accommodated with
existing staff, although future rezonings will likely bring about a
request for additional staff in order to maintain current levels of
service. There may also be some additional workload placed on property
use inspectors, particularly due to the impermeability regulations and
site landscaping guidelines associated with the proposed RS-5/RS-5S and
RS-6 zoning. Staff will be monitoring the situation and will report back
to Council should the workload require additional staff.
CONCLUSION
This report recommends referral to Public Hearing of: RS-5S zoning for
Dunbar (RS-1S area) and Douglas Park, RS-5 zoning in the northern
portion of West Southlands, West Point Grey and Dunbar (RS-1 area), and
RS-6 zoning in the southern portion of West Southlands.
* * * * *