STAFF REPORT Planning and Development Department Subject: Cottage Country Unsubstantial Amendment to Development Agreement To: CAO for Planning Advisory Committee, December 13, 2016 Date Prepared: December 6, 2016 Related Motions: PAC16(52), C16(192), C16(227), and C16(313) Prepared by: Debbie Uloth, Project Planner Approved by: John Woodford, Director Summary The Planning and Development Department has received an application by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country), to substantially amend an existing development agreement with the Municipality of East Hants. The application requests to permit the use of individual on-site septic systems. The properties are located on Long Lake in East Uniacke, PID 45163987, PID 45396744, PID 45392578, PID 45392594, PID 45392586, and PID 45390242. There have been 23 bare land condo units built to date that are on cluster systems. On July 19, 2016, Planning Staff presented an initial staff report to Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) regarding the application. PAC passed a motion not to proceed with the application; however, prior to going to Council, KVM Consultants Limited, on behalf of Cottage Country, submitted a letter to Council wishing to clarify the application. Municipal Council passed a motion at their July 27 th meeting requesting the Planning Staff respond to the comments in the letter. As directed, Planning Staff presented a response report to PAC at their September 28, 2016 meeting. Through motion C16(277), Staff were directed to prepare a Staff report outlining a brief history of the original application for Cottage Country. Staff presented the requested report at the November 15 th meeting of PAC. Committee members were not able to make a recommendation to Council, due to Council having tabled a previous motion from PAC. Initial consideration was passed by Municipal Council at their November 23, 2016 meeting. After much review staff have found the application to be consistent with the spirit and intent of the Municipal Planning Strategy and existing development agreement, and are recommending approval. Financial Impact Statement There are no immediate financial impacts associated with the adoption of this report. Recommendation That Planning Advisory Committee recommends Council give final consideration and approve an application by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country), to substantially amend an existing development agreement to change requirements for wastewater servicing for individual condominium units to include cluster systems and individual on-site septic systems, for land located on Long Lake in East Uniacke (PID 45163987, PID 45396744 (including underlying condominium units), PID 45392578, PID 45392594, PID 45392586, and PID 45390242), including all condominium units currently approved or that may be approved prior to the registration of the amending agreement. Recommended Motion That Planning Advisory Committee recommends Council: give final consideration and approve an application by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country), to substantially amend an existing development agreement to change requirements for wastewater servicing for individual condominium units to include cluster systems and individual on-site septic systems, for land located on Long Lake in East Uniacke (PID 45163987, PID 45396744 (including underlying condominium units), PID 45392578, PID 45392594, PID 45392586, and PID 45390242), including all condominium units currently approved or that may be approved prior to the registration of the amending agreement.
Background In January 2013, 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country) entered into a development agreement with the Municipality to permit the development of the Villages of Long Lake. Since 2013, 23 of the proposed 400 dwelling units have been constructed. Each of these dwelling units are using a cluster septic system for the disposal of wastewater. The use and maintenance of cluster systems has been stipulated in the existing development agreement. The developer has requested that the development agreement be amended to permit individual on-site septic systems to manage wastewater, in addition to cluster systems. On July 19, 2016, Planning Staff presented an initial staff report to Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) regarding the application by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country. PAC passed a motion not to proceed with the application; however, prior to going to Council, KVM Consultants Limited, on behalf of Cottage Country, submitted a letter to Council wishing to clarify the application. Municipal Council passed a motion at their July 27 th meeting requesting the Planning Staff respond to the comments in the letter. As directed, Staff presented PAC with a response report at their September 20, 2016 meeting. As a result, Staff have been directed by Council, through motion C16(227), to prepare a report outlining a brief history of the original application for Cottage Country. A report outlining a brief history of the application was presented at the November 15 th meeting of PAC. PAC was not able to make a motion at that time due to a previous motion that had been tabled by Council. At their November 23 rd meeting, Council passed Motion C16(313) to give initial consideration to the application and to permit staff to schedule a public hearing. Subject Property The land is located on Long Lake in East Uniacke, PID 45163987, PID 45396744, PID 45392578, PID 45392594, PID 45392586, and PID 45390242; an excerpt of the zoning map shows the location of the subject property. To date, a portion of Village 1 has been developed with the roads and driveways built to service the 23 dwelling units. The designation and zone of the property is Rural Comprehensive Development District (RCDD) and a development agreement is in place to allow for the development of 400 bare land condo units 300 units in Village 1 and 100 units in Village 2. Property surrounding the Villages of Long Lake is zoned Rural Comprehensive Development District and Rural Use (RU). Most of the land surrounding the Villages of Long Lake is used for forestry purposes. Although, the majority of the land is owned by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited, a portion of the land has been condominiumized. Hants County Condominium Corporation No. 6, is majority owned by Bruce MacDow. Who also acts as President for the condominium corporation and for 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited. Therefore, staff believe that only one signature is required on the amending agreement.
Development Proposal The purpose of the application is to amend Part 6: Sewage Disposal of the development agreement. Villages of Long Lake is a bare land condominium cottage development that allows for a denser development pattern than would typically be permitted through the subdivision process. One of the reasons a denser development pattern was permitted was due to the use of cluster septic systems to deal with the disposal of wastewater for multiple dwelling units. Currently, under Part 6, the Developer is required to provide shared septic disposal systems to residents, and is required to provide the Municipality with maintenance and monitoring plans. In addition, the Developer agreed that the cost and responsibility for the construction, inspection, and maintenance of sewage disposal systems is the sole responsibility of the Developer. Below is a copy of Part 6 of the Development Agreement: PART 6: SEWAGE DISPOSAL 6.1 The Owner shall provide sewage disposal to the development by shared disposal systems as shown on Schedule 2. However, it is agreed that the location, number and layout of the disposal beds shown on Schedule 2 is conceptual and may change due to soil conditions and grades encountered. As such, such changes do not require an amendment to this agreement. 6.2 The Owner shall provide the Development Officer with certified maintenance and monitoring plans prepared by a Professional Engineer for all on-site sewage disposal systems within the Development. The maintenance and monitoring plans shall outline remedial measures and an implementation program in the event a system malfunctions. The Owner shall be responsible for implementing the maintenance and monitoring plans. 6.3 For greater clarity, the Parties agree that the cost and responsibility for the construction, inspection, and maintenance of sewage disposal systems on the Lands, including dealing with any malfunctions or future need to upgrade or replace said systems is the sole responsibility of the Owner. The Developer has requested that Part 6 of the development agreement be amended to permit the installation of on-site septic systems for each individual unit. As a result the proposed development agreement amendment would permit the use of individual on-site septic systems and cluster septic systems. A concept plan of Villages 1 and 2 has been attached to this report. A site plan showing the approximate unit size and location for Villages 1 and 2 has also been included; however, the unit sizes on the site plan may be altered, and the layout of the roads and units may be changed as the site is developed. In instances where a cluster system is proposed for Villages 1 and 2, the developer will be responsible for the design, installation, and monitoring and maintenance of the systems. In instances where individual on-site septic systems are being proposed, the developer will be responsible for the design, the owner of the bare land condominium unit will be responsible for the installation, and the developer will be responsible for the monitoring and maintenance. With individual systems the designer of the system is not permitted to install it. NSE requires that another company complete the installation. Eventually, the monitoring and maintenance of both the cluster and individual septic systems will be the responsibility of the condominium corporation and not the developer. Both the proposed cluster and individual septic systems are not proposed to follow condominium unit boundaries. Therefore, it will be possible to have an individual on-site septic system servicing one dwelling that crosses into the unit boundaries of another condominium unit. In other words, there might be instances where the system for an individual unit could be installed on common land or on another unit. Initially, Planning Staff had understood that the individual septic systems would be placed on the same unit as the house it services; however, this is not the case. Details of how NSE regulates septic systems in the instances such as bare land condominium corporations can be found under the Policy Analysis of this report. During the initial application, the developer stated that one of the advantages of using the cluster system option was to lessen the environmental footprint of the development on Long Lake and to ensure that the condominium development was ultimately responsible for the installation and maintenance of the cluster systems. One of the
reasons why the applicant has requested the change is due to the impact of the installation the cluster systems are having on the landscape. The applicant has indicated that blasting and extensive removal of existing vegetation has been required for the installation of these systems. Photos of the cluster systems has been attached as Appendix C. Policy Analysis The Planning and Development Department has reviewed the application from 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country) based on the applicable policies contained in the Municipal Planning Strategy and the existing development agreement. To address potential compatibility issues with neighbouring residences and businesses, and to comply with criteria applied to consideration of this application, Staff requested comments from external agencies as required. A detailed table of the evaluative criteria from the enabling policies and corresponding comments from Staff and reviewing agencies has been attached to this report. The development agreement amendment is enabled by the 2000 East Hants Official Community Plan and the 2016 East Hants Official Community Plan. Planning Staff have received comments from Nova Scotia Environment (NSE). Essentially, NSE does not evaluate the requirements for individual on-site septic systems for bare land condominium corporations in the same way that they would evaluate on-site septic system requirements for a traditional subdivision. With a traditional subdivision application each individual septic system has to be able to be accommodated on the lot with the house it is intended to provide services to. In a condominium corporation, NSE does not take into consideration the condominium unit boundaries, only the boundary of the overall condominium corporation. Therefore, the lot size of the bare land condominium corporation for the Villages of Long Lake far exceeds the minimum lot size of NSE. NSE regulations do not limit the number of individual on-site septic systems on one lot; however, each system must comply with the regulations (setbacks from watercourses, setbacks from wells, setbacks from other systems). This provision permits the applicant to vary where the individual on-site septic systems are located. Therefore, it is possible for such a system to cross unit boundaries. Although NSE regulations allow for this type of development, Planning Staff feel that conflicts could arise between neighbouring unit holders if the individual septic systems cross unit boundaries. However, since Planning Documents do not regulate septic systems staff defer to the NSE regulations. As specified in the existing development agreement, the developer shall supply certified maintenance and monitoring plans to the Development Officer for the cluster septic systems. This provision will also be applicable to the individual on-site septic systems. Ultimately, the condominium corporation will be responsible for determining when all septic systems are inspected, maintained, and the tanks pumped. They will also be responsible for repair of the systems if issues arise. In the discussion of the initial development agreement, cluster septic systems were promoted by the developer as having improved environmental benefits over individual on-site systems. Planning Staff have completed the policy evaluation process for the Cottage Country application. Staff are unable to determine whether the proposed individual on-site septic systems will lead to improved environmental stewardship, improved impact on water quality, and reduction in the removal of vegetation, compared to cluster septic systems. There are too many variables to consider when making such a conclusion, such as the soil conditions, placement of systems, condition of surrounding vegetation, size of the systems, type of system, and the care taken by the people installing the systems. Planning Staff completed a site visit, in October, of the Villages of Long Lake. The developer has made improvements to how the cluster septic systems are being installed in Village 2 compared to the method of installation in Village 1. Those items in a development agreement not considered substantive do not require a public hearing. However, amendments to Part 6: Sewage Disposal was not identified as being unsubstantive; therefore, a substantial amendment to the existing development agreement is required.
Public Participation Planning staff have complied with Public Participation Policies of the Municipal Planning Strategy when processing this substantial development agreement amendment request. An advertisement outlining the application and indicating that it had been received and was under review by staff was placed in the July 20, 2016 edition of the Chronicle Herald. Planning Staff have mailed all residents within 300 metres of the subject property, including all current condominium unit owners, with an application information sheet and a questionnaire. Questionnaire responses have been provided to Council for their review. A notice advising the public of the December 21, 2016 hearing will be placed in the December 7 th and 14 th editions of the Weekly Press for two consecutive weeks prior to the hearing. As well, the date and time of the public hearing has been included with the questionnaire letter that was mailed out to all property owners within 300 metres of the subject property. Fiscal Impact Analysis As part of the policy requirements for the 2016 East Hants Official Community Plan, all planning applications must be evaluated using the Fiscal Impact Analysis Tool. The results of the analysis is to be used to help Municipal Council in their decision making process regarding planning applications. However, it is not intended to used as the only criteria for Council to make a positive or negative decision. The Cottage Country substantial development agreement application is not expected to have a fiscal impact from a Municipal perspective because the amendment will not impact the number of units to be constructed and it will not impact Municipal services. Conclusion Staff have completed their review the proposal by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country) to amend an existing development agreement to permit the option of individual on-site septic systems to be used to manage wastewater. The applicant s proposal has been evaluated using all applicable policies in the Municipal Planning Strategy. Based on this evaluation, Staff find the proposed amendment, to Part 6 Sewage Disposal, of the existing development agreement, consistent with the spirit and intent of the Municipal Planning Strategy and existing development agreement. Recommendation That Planning Advisory Committee recommends Council give final consideration and approve an application by 3230225 Nova Scotia Limited (Villages of Long Lake, Cottage Country), to substantially amend an existing development agreement to change requirements for wastewater servicing for individual condominium units to include cluster systems and individual on-site septic systems, for land located on Long Lake in East Uniacke (PID 45163987, PID 45396744 (including underlying condominium units), PID 45392578, PID 45392594, PID 45392586, and PID 45390242), including all condominium units currently approved or that may be approved prior to the registration of the amending agreement.
Appendix A Proposed Concept Plan for Village 1 and 2 and Draft Site Plan for Village 2
Appendix B Air Photo of Subject Property
Appendix C Subject Property Photographs
Appendix D Policy Analysis Policy RR14. IM26. Council shall require that the development of any Rural Comprehensive Development District (RCDD) only be considered through development agreements Council shall consider the evaluation criteria, terms, and conditions for development agreements enabled by this Strategy, and specifically in this subsection. Comments This is the policy that permits Council to consider development agreements and amendments to development agreements on land designated and zoned Rural Comprehensive Development District (RCDD). IM27. Council shall consider the following evaluation criteria for any development agreement application: a) The impact of the proposed development on existing uses in the area with particular regard to the use and size and of proposed structure(s), buffering and landscaping, hours of operation for the proposed use, and other similar features of the proposed use and structures. b) The impact of the proposed development on existing infrastructure with particular regard to Municipal piped water and wastewater systems, fire protection, refuse collection, school capacities, and recreation amenities. Council shall consider comments from the Municipal Engineer and other agencies as applicable. c) The impact of the proposed development on pedestrian and motor traffic circulation with particular regard to ingress and egress from the site, traffic flows and parking, adequacy of existing and proposed road networks to service the proposed development, adequacy of pedestrian infrastructure including walkways and sidewalks where required. Council shall consider comments from Municipal Engineer(s) and/or the Provincial Transportation Departments as applicable. d) Council shall consider, where appropriate, the impact of the development on the comfort and design of proposed streets and existing street users. This shall include whether the proposed development is human-scaled, is easily accessible to active transportation users, and if it promotes visual variety and interest for active transportation users. The impact of moving from cluster septic systems to on-site individual septic systems includes possible increased size of bare land condo units and less common lands used for cluster system disposal fields. Staff are unsure if the total amount of vegetation removed for cluster systems versus individual septic systems would be greater or less than one another. The impact of moving from cluster septic systems to on-site individual septic systems will not impact Municipal services, fire protection, refuse collection, school capacities, or recreation amenities. The proposal will change the way wasterwater is dealt with. Whether the system is onsite or cluster the condo corporation will ultimately be responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of either system. A major difference is that with cluster systems the developer is installing the system and with individual systems the unit owner is installing the system. The impact of moving from cluster septic systems to on-site individual septic systems will not impact pedestrian and motor traffic circulation. The impact of moving from cluster septic systems to on-site individual septic systems will not impact the comfort and design of the proposed streets.
e) The suitability and availability of other appropriately zoned sites for the proposed use. f) The submission of a professionally drawn site plan showing the location of all new and existing structures on the lot, parking areas, proposed and existing walkways, areas of tree retention, watercourses or environmentally sensitive areas, buffering, and landscaping and building plans, including signage plans, if applicable, showing the nature and design of the proposed structure. g) Adequacy of the size of the lot to ensure required buffering and screening can be carried out. h) Potential for significantly reducing the continuation of agricultural land uses. i) The proposed density and urban form, including height, massing, bulk, stepbacks and setbacks, are compatible with (not necessarily the same as) existing development forms. The development is appropriately zoned. A concept plan has been provided. Only a concept plan was required as part of the original development agreement. The design engineer for the applicant has indicated that the individual on-site septic systems will meet the requirements of NSE. Nova Scotia Environment has indicated that for condo development they do not evaluate if a proposed septic system is appropriate for an individual unit. Instead they evaluate if the proposed septic system is appropriate for the entire lot size of the condo development. Individual septic systems may cross unit boundaries. There are no agricultural uses in the area. Not applicable to the proposal. IM28. Terms and conditions of the agreement to ensure consistency with Strategy policies and the employment of sustainable development practices shall include, but are not limited to the following where applicable: a) The use and size of any new structures or any expansions of existing structures. b) The compatibility of the structure in terms of design elements including, but not limited to roof type, exterior cladding material, and overall architectural form and elements that are reasonably consistent with the style and character of the community. c) Provisions for adequate buffering and screening to minimize the impacts of the development on adjacent uses, such buffering and screening to be designed with consideration given to the types of impacts that may be felt by adjacent properties (ie. noise, headlights, dust, etc.). d) Any matter that may be addressed in the Land Use Bylaw, such as yard requirements, No new structures are proposed. No new structures are proposed. Not applicable to the proposed application. Not applicable to the proposed application.
outdoor storage, height, bulk and lot coverage, etc. e) Time limits for the application for a development permit and the initiation and completion of construction. f) The establishment of hours of operation and maintenance of the proposed use. g) The provision of adequate parking and parking lot design to include maximum ease and safety of traffic flow and dust control. h) Provisions regarding signage that may be sensitive to the overall visual amenity of the immediate area and safety issues. i) Methods of protection of the land and watercourses and mitigation practices during and after construction of the proposed development. j) Methods of stormwater management on-site during and after construction and methods used to control erosion and sedimentation. k) Provisions regarding tree removal, devegetation, and tree planting on the site and overall adequacy of landscaping. There are no proposals to amend the time limits specified in the existing development agreement. Not applicable to the proposed application. As per the existing development agreement requirements. Not applicable to the proposed application. All proposed individual on-site septic systems will have to meet the minimum distance from lake shore requirements identified by Nova Scotia Environment. In addition, the existing Development Agreement requires that the applicant provide the Municipality with monitoring and maintenance plans for the cluster systems. Planning Staff propose maintaining this requirement for the individual on-site septic systems. Therefore, the condominium corporation will ultimately be responsible for the upkeep all septic systems and to ensure issues around leaking systems is addressed. Not applicable to the proposed application. Planning Staff are unable to determine if the move from cluster septic systems to individual on-site septic systems will result in more or less de-vegetation of the overall property. It is the hope of the applicant that there will be less devegetation of the site.