Land Use Bylaw Amendment - Bowen Island Municipality

Public Hearing Agenda
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 813 8659 4924
Passcode: 182510

Please scroll down and click through the tabs below to review the comprehensive background information package related to this Public Hearing for Bylaw 528.

Read the proposed amendment bylaw that’s being considered by Council: Land Use Amendment Bylaw No. 528, 2020

Read the current Land Use Bylaw with the proposed amendments highlighted, and annotations explaining the rationale: BIM Bylaw No. 57, 2002 – Track Changes and Staff Comments for Bylaw No. 528 Amendments

Read the current Land Use Bylaw with the proposed amendments highlighted: Bylaw No. 57, 2002 with tracked changes.

Council Resolutions: ordered most recent to oldest

May 25, 2021 Meeting

RES#21-216

It was Moved and Seconded

That Council direct staff to amend Bylaw No. 528, 2020 by amending Section 3.9 (d) to read: “Retaining walls not exceeding a height of 1.5 metres may be sited on any portion of a lot, subject to setbacks to the sea, lakes, watercourses, wetlands, and highways.” and by deleting Section 3.9 (e).

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

RES#21-217

It was Moved and Seconded

That Bylaw No.528, 2020 cited as “Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 528, 2020” be read a second time as amended; and That Council refer Bylaw No. 528, 2020 to a public hearing.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

December 14, 2020

RES#20-535

It was Moved and Seconded

That Bylaw No. 528 cited as “Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No.57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No.528, 2020” be read a first time; and

That Council refer Bylaw No. 528 to the Islands Trust, the Advisory Planning Commission, and a public open house.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

October 26, 2020

RES#20-442

That Council direct staff to present the draft Land Use Bylaw amendment bylaw, presented at the October 13, 2020 Committee of the Whole, to Council for consideration of First Reading.

October 13, 2020 Committee of the Whole

RES#20-412

It was Moved and Seconded

That the Committee of the Whole recommend that Council direct staff to present the draft Land Use Bylaw amendment bylaw, presented at the October 13, 2020 Committee of the Whole, to Council for consideration of First Reading.

(Councillor Morse opposed)
CARRIED

RES#20-360

That Council refer the draft Land Use Bylaw Update Amendment Bylaw to the Advisory Planning Commission and to a Committee of the Whole Meeting.

RES#20-074

It was Moved and Seconded

That the Committee of the Whole recommend that Council direct staff to prepare an amendment bylaw to make the amendments to the Land Use Bylaw No, 57, 2002 as outlined in the staff report dated January 30, 2020.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

Committee resolutions: ordered most recent to oldest

January 20, 2021: Advisory Planning Commission

It was Moved and Seconded

That the Advisory Planning Commission support the Proposed Housekeeping Amendments to Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 as presented at its January 20, 2021 meeting.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

September 16, 2020: Advisory Planning Commission

Daniel Martin, Manager of Planning and Development, provided a Council referral dated July 27, 2020, a Staff report dated July 17, 2020 and a presentation dated September 20, 2020 regarding housekeeping amendments to Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002. Discussion ensued and comments were provided.

Definitions:

Consider inclusion of “community centre” within definitions, perhaps “public community facility”;
Ensure continuity of terms, for example either “attached dwelling” or “dwelling, attached” and “natural grade”, or “grade, natural” consistently throughout the document.

New Building Height Section:

#1: Average Grade. Research the language used by other districts to describe perimeter in relation to carports and decks.

Setback Exceptions:

Avoid confusing language that requires explanation such as “but such reduction applies only to the projection feature”.
Look more at retaining walls (re setback to the sea) and allow some retaining walls for specific uses such as access to the sea or gardens.
Temporary structures adhere to same rules.
Martin Pykalo will find City of Vancouver language for setbacks and exterior walls point.

Accessory buildings:

Floor area definition exempts unenclosed structures such as carports.

Lot coverage:

Take out “building” and add “roof overhang”.

Front Lot Line:

Requires more work: Members were requested to email the Manager of Planning and Development with ideas.

November 18, 2019: Advisory Planning Commission

It was Moved and Seconded

That the Advisory Planning Commission support and recommend that Council consider proposed Land Use Bylaw amendments as outlined in the reported dated November 13, 2019 as presented at the November 18, 2019 APC meeting with the following comments:

Building: Definition in reference to covered walkway be reconsidered.
Lot coverage: That eaves of up to 4’ deep not be included in lot coverage definition.
Front lot lines: That more consideration be given to wording and that graphics are provided.
Dwelling Definitions: That Apartment, Townhouse and Two-Family dwelling definitions be collapsed into an Attached Dwelling definition.
Supportive Housing: Include both the Supportive Housing and Personal Care Home definitions into the Supportive Housing definition.
Retaining Wall: Definition should not include the word “retain”, possible wording could include “means a vertical structure holding back rock or soil”.
Setback Exceptions: That North Vancouver District and other communities’ regulations regarding retaining walls be consulted particularly regarding issues of height and location and setback to the sea restrictions.
Signs: Contractors should be able to have a sign advertising their current work but within a time limit. APC would like to see Staff re-wording of sign definition.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

January 21, 2019: Advisory Planning Commission

It was Moved and Seconded

That the Advisory Planning Commission recommend that the “lot line” definitions in Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 be revised as follows:

That front lot lines be any lot line adjacent to a highway; and,
That provision for existing neighbourhoods include the use of the average of the neighbouring lots to determine the setback distance.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

October 22, 2018: Advisory Planning Commission

Discussion regarding Projections into Setbacks included:

Concerns regarding the different impacts that setback restrictions have on large, rural and settlement lots compared to smaller ones, for instance in Deep Bay. Members felt it did not make sense to have blanket exemptions when the setbacks are different in different zones
Members questioned exempting balconies and decks as there could be significant privacy concerns. Staff explained that allowing overhang prevents property owners from building flat walls right up against the setback
Members recommended the following regarding Projections into Setbacks:
- Providing a list of definitions of the terms;
- Simplifying restrictions wherever possible;
- Imposing a maximum limit on the size of bay windows;
- Creating different exemptions into the front and back setbacks, and restricting exemptions in side setbacks;
- That the retaining wall exemption be reduced to 1.5 metres and that the exemption not extend to setbacks from creeks, seas, lakes and watercourses.

Discussion regarding Exempt Buildings included:

Some members felt that accessory buildings should not be exempt at the front of the property.
Members discussed the aesthetics of tall fences along the front property line; most members felt that deer proofing and privacy were more important factors.
Some members felt that exemptions for carports in small lots such as in Deep Bay would mitigate the unsightly installation of temporary structures such as tents to protect cars and boats.

September 17, 2018: Advisory Planning Commission

Height:

All sloped roofs should be measured to the mid-point of the roof, including shed roof designs.

Grade:

APC not deeply concerned about the method of calculating the grade, but would prefer a simple method.

Lot Coverage:

Any building volume, irrespective of how it is supported, should be counted in lot coverage calculations. Some definitions measure to the ‘outermost exterior walls,’ and the APC would support this approach.

Floor Area:

APC members recommend measuring to the interior of the walls, rather than the mid-point;
Currently, areas with under 2 metres between floor and ceiling constitutes ‘floor area’: discussion regarding reducing this distance to better capture the intent of a non-liveable space.

Commission members felt that the definitions should be as simple as possible.

Staff Reports are ordered most recent to oldest

Staff Reports to Council

Staff Report for May 25, 2021

Staff Report for April 26, 2021

Staff Report for December 14, 2020

Staff Report for Committee of the Whole October 13, 2020

Staff Presentation for Committee of the Whole October 13, 2020

Staff Report for Committee of the Whole February 3, 2020

Staff Presentation for Committee of the Whole February 3, 2020

Staff Report for July 27, 2020

Staff Reports to Committees

September 20, 2020 Presentation

Staff Report for November 19, 2019 Meeting

Staff Report for October 21, 2019 Meeting

Staff Report for January 21, 2019 Meeting

January 21, 2019 Presentation

Staff Report for October 22, 2018 Meeting

Staff Report for September 17, 2018 Meeting

Public Open House Presentation Slides: March 11, 2021

Islands Trust Executive Committes Approval: January 14, 2021

Why is automobile repair / home occupation being changed?

When someone is running their business from their home – using the property to live in first, and run their business second, this is called Home Occupation.

It’s actually pretty unusual for a Land Use Bylaw to have automobile repair listed as a home occupation. We looked around at other municipalities similar to Bowen and couldn’t find an example of it anywhere else in BC.

Properties zoned residential have different regulations for land use than those zoned commercial, so there’s a special definition for home occupation that’s more restrictive. This is to protect residential neighbourhoods and the environment.

The provision for automobile repair as a home occupation was already in the 2002 Land Use Bylaw as follows:

The following uses shall not be permitted as home occupations and will require the appropriate zoning or temporary use permit:

Salvage yard or automobile repair except that one (1) motor vehicle, licensed or not, may be maintained on a property for purposes of repair either as a hobby or home occupation with such repairs to be completed within one (1) year of occupancy the site by the vehicle.

The proposed amendment would add the following sentence to the end of that paragraph:

A maximum of one motor vehicle may be maintained on a property over the course of a calendar month.

What brought on the need to change this regulation?

Staff brought forward this proposed amendment to address concerns with the regulation as it was written in the 2002 Land Use Bylaw, allowing automobile repair businesses to operate out of any residential lot on Bowen without any further approvals.

Why only one automobile per month?

Staff are proposing a range that would still permit an auto repair home occupation to occur at a scale of someone re-building a car, or occasionally doing repair works for neighbours or friends, but not a scale where multiple cars are serviced on a property every day. Regulations have to find a good balance – allowing home-based businesses to operate while protecting the neighbourhood and the environment.

If a business is already established in compliance with the original Land Use Bylaw, can they keep operating?

Existing home-based businesses would keep operating with no change to their licence, even if the amendment bylaw is adopted. This is called “existing non-conforming use” (outdated language used to call it “grandfathered”). Any new businesses applying to run a vehicle repair business out of their home would have to comply with the new regulations.

Why would an existing non-conforming use lose its permission to operate under the old regulations if it stopped operating for six months?

Existing non-conforming uses are regulated by provincial legislation called the Local Government Act (LGA). Section 528 of the LGA permits that if a use is being conducted according to the bylaws at the time, and then the bylaws are changed to not allow that use, that the current use can continue. The authority to continue is removed if the non-conforming use “is discontinued for a continuous period of 6 months.”

I like to work on automobiles as a hobby. Does this new regulation affect me?

The amendment would add a maximum number of vehicles that could be worked on, either as a hobby or a home occupation.

How will this regulation be enforced?

Regulation of any changes to the Land Use Bylaw would continue to be enforced under the terms of our Bylaw Services Investigation Policy. Business would continue to have to show their compliance with the Land Use Bylaw to receive a Business Licence.

What about the vision for home-based businesses in the Official Community Plan. Do these amendments contradict it?

The governing objectives in the Official Community Plan are:

Objective 177: To encourage home based businesses as a means of maintaining the island character and to help promote self-sufficiency and a sense of community.

Objective 178: To minimize disruptive impacts of home-based businesses on neighbours’ peaceful enjoyment and on the natural environment

We’re trying to find a good balance between these two objectives, encouraging small home-based businesses while minimizing disruptive impacts to neighbours and on the natural environment.

Polices in the Official Community Plan include:

Policy 413: Home-based businesses will be regulated primarily on the basis of performance standards related to noise, nuisance, odours, disturbances, unsightly premises, and other matters that could affect neighbours’ peaceful enjoyment and the natural environment.

Policy 415: The Land Use Bylaw and associated bylaws contain specific regulations regarding such matters as permitted uses, floor space, parking, signs, outdoor storage, number of employees.

Policy 416: Uses that are potentially dangerous to human health and safety are not acceptable as home-based businesses.

Policy 417: Home-based businesses which propose to expand or operate on a site at a level beyond that permitted in the Land Use Bylaw will require a rezoning or temporary use permit.

The Official Community Plan envisions that regulations will primarily be through performance-based standards, and that the Land Use Bylaw will also contain specific regulations, and will state uses not acceptable as home-based businesses. The Land Use Bylaw already identifies auto repair as a use that is not acceptable as a home-based business, with the exception of permitting one car at a time to be serviced. This proposed amendment would narrow the exception by further limiting the maximum number of vehicles per month.

Why was this being called a “housekeeping” bylaw?

The full name of the bylaw is “Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 528, 2020”. We give bylaws with long, technical names a nickname to give them some context. This was called a “housekeeping” bylaw because we need to tidy up a bylaw that is almost 20 years old.

The original Land Use Bylaw was adopted in 2002. Over the years, amendments have been made here and there when a rezoning is needed. But a lot of the old regulations don’t make sense in 2021, so Council is considering this bylaw to remove things that are no longer useful, update and change things to reflect the current day, and add new things that we didn’t think of in 2002.

I think the amendments in this bylaw are too diverse and complicated to be made all at the same time. Why isn’t it split up?

Typically, a Land Use Bylaw should be reviewed every few years for small amendments and updates. However, no such review has been conducted for Bowen’s Land Use Bylaw since it was adopted in 2002. When staff started a review for potential updates in 2018, the number of amendments needed was lengthy. This Amendment Bylaw could be split into multiple bylaws, but it would lengthen the overall project time, causing processing time for licence and permit approvals to get longer and longer.