Habitat for Humanity can submit a discretionary use application to city council for a building project after council instructed city administration to amend the zoning bylaw so the project could proceed.
The non-profit organization submitted a zoning bylaw amendment application to city hall recently, asking that it be allowed to construct a new semi-detached dwelling — essentially a duplex — in an R1 large lot low-density residential district. It recently purchased two lots at 1015 Ominica Street East and wants to construct two residential units, one on each lot, with a shared wall along the property line.
Under the current zoning bylaw, applicants cannot construct new semi-detached dwellings on their property, Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development services, told city council during its May 11 regular meeting. Since the property is zoned as R1, the reconstruction of existing semi-detached dwellings is discretionary. An amendment to the zoning bylaw is required to remove this pre-existing condition.
Keeping semi-detached dwellings as discretionary allows council to decide which locations are appropriate for this form of housing, she continued. It also incorporates a public process into the decision. If and when council approves the zoning bylaw amendment, Habitat for Humanity will have to come back for a discretionary use approval.
It wasn’t that long ago that the municipality renewed the zoning bylaw, so there must have been some reason administration didn’t make this change then, observed Coun. Brian Swanson. He thought the bylaw amendment was a “pretty fundamental change” since it would allow for potential duplexes when none were initially envisioned. He thought the zoning bylaw didn’t allow that for a reason.
When city administration renewed this particular bylaw, it didn’t make any changes to this clause and moved it forward from the previous bylaw, Sanson explained. City administration doesn’t believe this will become a significant issue since it’s not possible to subdivide lots.
“It would have to be an existing lot that you could build this on, so the density wouldn’t be increased in any neighbourhood because it would have to be a separate lot to begin with for each unit on each side,” she continued. “It is discretionary, so it would come down to a case-by-case basis.”
That can often become a contentious issue, Swanson pointed out. In the past, the municipality used to approve “spot zones,” so he wondered why that wasn’t happening here.
Spot zoning is the application of zoning to a specific parcel or parcels of land within a larger zoned area when the rezoning is usually at odds with a city's master plan and current zoning restrictions.
City administration would prefer not to spot zone in the middle of a block, since it could set a future precedent where council could approve an R2 zoning district in an R1 district, Sanson said. Since R2 allows for more than two dwelling units, someone could construct a building with four or six units, or however many fit on the lot.
“This one seems easy upfront, but I wonder what implications will arise later by changing the zoning in R1 districts,” said Swanson.
Council then voted 6-1 to have city administration amend the zoning bylaw and remove the pre-existing building restriction on semi-detached dwellings in the R1 district; Swanson was opposed.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 25.
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