REQUEST FOR DECISION Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, Amendment Bylaw No

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1 REQUEST FOR DECISION Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, Amendment Bylaw No Meeting dates: September 16, 2014 To: SLRD Board of Directors RECOMMENDATION: 1. THAT Bylaw , cited as Squamish Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, Amendment Bylaw No be introduced and read a first and second time. 2. THAT Bylaw , cited as Squamish Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, Amendment Bylaw No be referred to the N Quat qua, the District of Lillooet, and provincial agencies including Interior Health Authority, and Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure for comment. 3. THAT pursuant to Section 890 of the Local Government Act, a public hearing be scheduled for September 29, 2014 at 7 PM at the Squamish Lillooet Regional District office in Pemberton, BC. 4. THAT pursuant to Section 892 of the Local Government Act, notice of the public hearing be given. KEY ISSUES/CONCEPTS: There is a ~2,180 m 2 (23,466 sq.ft) hotel development proposed for property in Seton Portage. It is being developed by the Seton Lake Band and is intended to house workers associated with hydro projects. The specific hotel property is currently zoned C2 under SLRD Zoning Bylaw No. 670, A provision in the relevant zone restricts commercial lodging to a parcel of 2 ha or greater where there is no community water system. There is currently no such qualifying water system in place on the subject property so the project would need at least 2 ha to proceed under the terms of the zoning. There are several properties involved in the Seton Lake hotel project, which even if they were consolidated, do not equal 2 ha. This issue was identified upon the initial review, after submission of the building permit application in late July. The subject property is approx acres or ha (7,487 m 2 ) in size. The Band owns the properties on either side of the proposed hotel site, and they may consider consolidating the parcels in the future. As they own the adjacent properties they are able to establish easements if necessary on those properties to accommodate the necessary water and septic services for the 1

2 hotel. Notwithstanding the size of the property, any water service will need to be approved by the Interior Health Authority. Due to the above, the minimum parcel size of 2 ha specified for this property is deemed not to be necessary for the safe and efficient functioning of the water supply source and system. RELEVANT POLICIES: Electoral Area A & B Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999 Electoral Area B Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1073, 2008 BACKGROUND: Under the current zoning for both Electoral Areas A & B (Bylaw 670, 1999), a property in the C2 zone requires at least 2 ha (20,000 m 2 ) to permit a commercial lodging on the parcel where there is no community water system. If a community water system is in place and serves the lot, then commercial lodging is permitted on parcels of 1,000 m 2. The subject property is approximately 7,487 m 2 (1.85 acres). The term community water system is not defined in the bylaw, however, according to SLRD legal counsel, the definition is contained in the Subdivision Regulations (Local Services Act), and the subject property does not qualify as having a community water system. SLRD staff drafted Amendment Bylaw No to create a definition for a community water system to address the issue, and brought an initial report and bylaw amendment to the September 8, 2014 EAD committee meeting, upon which additional legal advice was being sought. However, it was determined upon further review by legal counsel that there is an existing definition in the Provincial Local Services Act Subdivision Regulations that applies where there is no definition in a zoning bylaw. In the Local Services Act Subdivision Regulations the definition of community water system is as follows: "community water system" means a system of waterworks which serves 2 or more parcels and which is owned, operated and maintained by an improvement district under the Water Act or the Municipal Act, or a regional district, or which is regulated under the Water Utility Act; The subject property falls into a definitional gap because as a First Nation, the Seton Lake Band is not considered to be a regional district or an improvement district to meet the qualifications of the definition, nor do they fall within the Water Utility Act. However, they are required to achieve full compliance and approval with the Interior Health Authority for all systems, and they operate several of their own water systems. It was recommended by legal counsel that no definition be added to the zoning bylaw as creating a new definition may conflict with the Provincial subdivision regulations, and that an alternative approach be taken. Under the alternate approach, the revised proposed amendment bylaw (Bylaw No ) will no longer create a definition for community water system, but instead 2

3 will reduce the minimum parcel size required for the commercial lodging use on the C2 zoned property where the hotel would be located (as it is the only property affected; i.e. the new minimum parcel size would be reduced from 2 ha to 7,000 m 2 on the subject property only). As noted previously, the minimum parcel area allowed under the C2 zone where there is a community water system (as per the Local Services Act Subdivision Regulations) is 1000 m 2, putting the Seton Lake Band property at 7,487 m 2 well within those size limits. The Seton Lake Band has submitted a rezoning application in order to enable a text amendment for the C2 zoning specific to the hotel property. The proposed amendment will affect only the subject property for the proposed hotel. The Seton Lake Band is being offered a significant opportunity for economic development in the Seton Portage area that will be beneficial to the larger community as well. ANALYSIS: The revised bylaw amendment will insert a new Section 11.5 into Bylaw 670, 1999 as follows: 11.5 Notwithstanding Section , for the parcel identified as PID (Parcel A, DD KJ4272, District Lot 1596, Plan KAP17213, LLD) the minimum site area for commercial lodging, where the parcel is not serviced by a community water system, shall be 7,000 m 2. A similar clause will amend the proposed Electoral Area B Zoning Bylaw ; this will be addressed as part of that process and is not addressed through this report. The Official Community Plan (OCP) designates the subject property as commercial and has supporting policies regarding community and economic development. The revised bylaw amendment regarding the minimum parcel area is considered consistent with the OCP and SLRD legal counsel has advised that it is appropriate to waive the public hearing for this text amendment. Section 890 (4) of the Local Government Act allows a public hearing to be waived regarding a zoning bylaw where there is an OCP in effect for the area, and the zoning bylaw is consistent with the OCP. The SLRD has waived public hearing requirements in the past, typically for simple text amendments where there is no conflict with the OCP such as this one and no major use or density changes are contemplated. The Local Government Act requires that any public hearing waivers be advertised in two consecutive issues of a newspaper. Such ads must state the details of the application and the date and time that the bylaw will be considered. In addition, the advertisements solicit public input into the process, similar to the input that would be solicited as part of a public hearing advertisement. Notwithstanding the above, in order to provide certainty with respect to timelines, Staff recommends that the public hearing not be waived. In terms of the timeline, the bylaw could be given 1st and 2nd reading at the September 16 th meeting, the referral process initiated, and the 3

4 public hearing held on September 29th. All input collected from the public hearing and referrals will be presented to the Board at the October 1 st Board meeting. On that date the bylaw could potentially receive 3rd reading and adoption. SLRD staff and the Electoral Area B Director met with Chief Larry Casper and several other representatives and consultants for the Seton Lake Band. The Seton Lake Band indicated that they have engaged with BC Hydro that requires accommodation in the area (currently in short supply). The Seton Lake Band is developing this project to meet a portion of the accommodation demand as well as to provide longer term amenities for the Seton Lake Band communities. The Seton Lake Band has made a commitment in order to supply staff accommodation on time and on budget. The Seton Lake Band has to enter into construction contracts in early October for the construction and purchase of the structures, which are being built off site and require at least two months to construct. The Seton Lake Band has stated that commitments for the foundations (please see below) and the construction contracts are in the range of $3 million. The Seton Lake Band also indicated that there are significant timing issues associated with their hotel commitments. In particular, there are concerns about any delays past the beginning of October, due to the inability to pour concrete foundations and footings for the buildings if the ground is frozen. Another timing issue has to do with road conditions along Highway 40 being very poor in the winter and access to the site gets challenging once there is snow and ice on the roads. The Province regulates water supply issues and no approval from local government is required for those issues. The Interior Health Authority (IHA) would be the approving authority for such a water supply system. In a September 5 th, 2014 letter to the SLRD, Antares Project Services (a consulting firm representing the applicant) indicated that the water system proposed for the hotel has been approved by IHA. Given the time pressures indicated by the applicant, and the jurisdiction and approval issues mentioned above, staff have initiated an early correspondence with the IHA regarding the proposed bylaw amendment. In staff s initial conversations with IHA staff regarding the proposal, from the perspective of the Drinking Water Protection Act and Regulation there are no prescribed minimum parcel sizes with respect to water systems. There are setbacks from wells, waterbodies, septic systems, etc. that are required to be met. IHA staff also indicated that it does not appear that the reduced minimum parcel size would impair the provision of adequate water/wastewater treatment so they have no initial concerns regarding the proposed amendment bylaw. OPTIONS: Option 1 Give the bylaw first and second reading, initiate the referral process, and schedule and advertise a public hearing. 4

5 Given timing constraints and advertising requirements, the meeting would need to be held on September 29 th preferably at the SLRD Board room. This will leave staff time to address any community input prior to the October 1 st Board meeting. Option 2 Give the bylaw first and second reading, initiate the referral process, and waive the public hearing. Option 3 Do not give the bylaw first and second reading, and refer back to staff for more information or for amendment. Preferred Option: Option 1 IMPLICATIONS FOLLOW UP ACTION: As per Board decision. CONCLUSION: This application represents a significant economic opportunity for the Seton Lake community, with extensive community investment, jobs and economic opportunities proposed. The proposed bylaw amendment will reduce the minimum parcel area required for commercial lodging at the Seton Portage Hotel site where there is no community water system in place as per the Local Services Act Subdivision Regulations definition, thus helping to cover the regulatory definitional gap. An early referral process was initiated with key stakeholders, including the Interior Health Authority. All referral comments will be brought back to the Board at the October 1, 2014 meeting so that they may be considered prior to third reading and adoption of the bylaw. ATTACHMENTS: Appendix 1: Zoning Amendment Bylaw No Prepared by: I. Holl, Planner Reviewed by: K. Needham, Director of Planning and Development Approved by: L. Flynn, Chief Administrative Officer 5

6 SQUAMISH-LILLOOET REGIONAL DISTRICT BYLAW NO A by-law of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to amend the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, as amended from time to time. WHEREAS the Board of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District wishes to amend the Squamish- Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999; NOW THEREFORE, the Regional Board of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows: 1. This bylaw may be cited for all purposes as Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999, Amendment Bylaw No The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999 is amended as follows: (a) By updating the Summary of Amendments table in Zoning Bylaw No. 670, 1999 to include this bylaw. (b) By inserting the new Section 11.5, immediately following Section 11.4 as follows: 11.5 Notwithstanding Section , for the parcel identified as PID (Parcel A, DD KJ4272, District Lot 1596, Plan KAP17213, LLD) the minimum site area for commercial lodging, where the parcel is not serviced by a community water system, shall be 7,000 m 2. READ A FIRST TIME this day of, 2014 READ A SECOND TIME this day of, PUBLIC HEARING held this day of, READ A THIRD TIME this day of, ADOPTED this day of, Patricia Heintzman Chair Peter DeJong Secretary