The City of Campbell River will hold a public hearing on updates being proposed to its zoning bylaws that are meant to clarify a few things.
The city has been engaged in a review of its zoning bylaws since February and will start with clarifying legal terms and definitions before more substantive changes begin happening next year.
At its most recent meeting, city council received the first round of proposed changes to the document, which spell out the meanings of terms used, clarifies or assigns definitions to some terms and removes redundancies in the document, according to the staff report on the alterations.
“The most significant of these legal changes in terms of potential material impact on the operation of the bylaw is the clarification on ‘building height’ and the manner in which it is determined,” the report states. “Building height can be a sensitive issue and it is important to have clarity in the definition and regulation.”
As such, the definitions surrounding building height have been made more precise, “to ensure that expectations can be determined and met consistently from the perspective of both developers/homeowners and affected neighbours.”
Height limits themselves remain unchanged, however, other than the addition of a 15-metre height limit within the Airport One zone, unless federal restrictions dictate otherwise.
Specific changes being considered include clarifying how density is calculated for commercial and residential development purposes, clearly defining “affordable housing” as being rented or sold at less than 90 per cent of its appraised market value, adding “resort” to the list of uses permitted in both the C-5 and C-6 zones and clarification on who can occupy an “accessory dwelling unit.”
These initial proposed changes, the report says, are “the bare minimum” in terms of removing “problematic areas of legality and clarity in the zoning bylaw. However, there remains a great deal of scope for improvement, and staff will therefore bring forward future changes as needed for council’s consideration.”
Those future proposed changes, coming “in the near future,” the report says, could include the addition of diagrams and illustrations, restricting the use of shipping containers in residential areas to “temporary use only,” interpretation and clarification on the allowable size of ancillary buildings, limiting drive-throughs in the downtown core and requirements for electric vehicle charging station installation in multi-family and commercial developments.
The public hearing for the initial proposed changes will be on Monday, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers.
Anyone interested in speaking at the public meeting can do so, but written submissions must be received before 4 p.m. on Monday.