After hearing from Council, the public, the business and development community we are releasing a draft of a new Zoning Bylaw.

Some of the key highlights in the draft include:

• Changing the names of most of the zones to align with the newly approved OCP. This does not change the regulations within the zones, or any development rights.; rather it makes sure the OCP and Zoning Bylaw are using the same language for people to better understand how the OCP land use designations and zones relate to each other.
• Consolidating residential uses into two terms:
  • Small-Scale Residential (describing residential development up to 4 residential units); and
  • Multi-Unit Residential (describing residential development with 5+ residential units).
  • This will make things easier rather than the current method of trying to list every type of residential development (i.e. single family, duplex, triplex, fourplex, suite, laneway house, garage suite, townhouse, rowhouse, apartment etc.)
• Changing the R1 zone to make it easy to build small-scale residential housing:
  • Increasing lot coverage from 35% to a sliding scale based on the number of units proposed:
    • 35% for 1 unit;
    • 40% for 2 or 3 units, and 45% for 4 units;
    • Plus an additional 5% for lots less than 370 sq m.
  • Decreasing building setbacks:
    • Side setbacks from 1.5m to 1.2m; and
    • Front and Rear setbacks from 4.5m to 3.0m
• Changing the method the Zoning Bylaw uses to measure height (in all zones):
  • Adjusting the way we measure height (in all zones) from:
    • The current method of measuring from the lowest point (average finished grade) to the top of the roof; to a method that of measuring from average finished grade to the mid-point of the roof.
    • The maximum height in the R1 zone will remain the same at 10m.
• Moving the 30% permeable surface requirement (in all zones) from elsewhere in the Bylaw to the zone to make it clearly visible that permeable surfaces are required. The Zoning Bylaw defines permeable surface as any surface that allows precipitation or surface water to penetrate directly into the underlying soil and may include live plant material, lawn (grass) or decorative surfacing with permeable materials, such as gravel, river rock, wood chips, bark mulch with no associated layer of impermeable material (such as plastic sheeting). We also clarified that green roofs may also be considered permeable surfaces.
• Clarifying landscaping requirements for new development:
  • All landscaping must be climate resilient, fire-smart and be indigenous to the West Kootenay region. To ensure this we have added a list of invasive species that are prohibited in new development.
• Requiring all new residential development to have space for refuse and recycling bins,
  • currently only multi-unit residential developments must have dedicated space for refuse and recycling containers. This change now requires new small-scale residential development (4 units or less) to have space dedicated to refuse and recycling containers.
• Changing the number of employees a Home Occupation (i.e. Home Business) can have, from the current rule of 1 full-time employee & 2 part-time employees to 3 employees regardless of employment status.
• Allowing residential development on Institutionally zoned lands to align with the new OCP. See the draft I1 and I2 zones.
• Prohibiting new Tobacco Shops and Cheque Cashing and Payday Loan Stores:
  • Tobacco Shop is a business that primarily sells tobacco, tobacco products, vapour products including e-cigarettes.
  • Cheque Cashing and Payday Loan Store is a business that cashes cheques for a fee charged to the payee of the cheque.
  • See the draft Zoning Bylaw for the complete definition for each term.
• Requiring public engagement and a rezoning process for all Large-Format retail over 3,000 sq m (32,290 sq ft.)
  • We have reduced the number from 4,000 sq m to 3,500 sq ft based on feedback.
  • Also clarified that temporary /seasonal increases in floor space such as garden centre would not trigger a rezoning process for existing businesses.

In addition to Zoning Bylaw changes, we are also proposing changes to Schedule 9 of the Development Application Procedures Bylaw to clarify the difference between a major and minor variance:

• A major variance requires notification of the neighbours and a Council decision. A minor variance on the other hand does not require this extra process and can be approved by staff, provided certain criteria are met.
• It's proposed to clearly state the difference between a minor and major variance:
  • the current bylaw requires a property owner to demonstrate if their proposed construction is "consistent with neighbourhood character", is of "low-project value" and does not reduce "light access, privacy or views". All of these terms are difficult to define and can often delay the processing of variance applications which results in delays for Building Permit applications.
  • In the proposed bylaw, to be considered a minor variance, the variance must be 20% or less of a minimum required building setbacks or be 5% or less of the minimum or maximum standard for all other Zoning regulations. For example, if a zone has a maximum height of 10m, staff could potentially approve a variance up to 12m. Anything greater than that would have to go to Council.

You can see a high-level list of all changes here.

You can review the what we heard report for the zoning bylaw here.

After this final round of engagement, we will be presenting the draft Zoning Bylaw to Council for the formal approval process.

If you have a question or need more information, use the ask a question feature