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The existing Cedar Valley Comprehensive Development Plan (CVCDP) was approved by Council in 1996.
The Plan is now over 20 years old and a review of the plan is needed.
Council’s 2016 to 2018 Strategic Plan identified the need for specific neighbourhood planning, including Cedar Valley;
In January 2018, Council approved the District’s Official Community Plan (OCP) after 2 years of public consultation. The OCP is the District’s primary policy document related to land use, density and building design guidelines.
Council directed staff to review the existing 1996 plan with the purpose of providing a renewed vision, updated objectives and policies and to coordinate the plan with engineering plans.
Neighbourhood Planning typically takes the form of either a “Neighbourhood Plan” or “Local Area Plan”.
Neighbourhood Plans are comprehensive documents where everything from servicing, road layouts, land use density and building design guidelines are discussed;
Local Area Plans like this one are less specific and look primarily at roads, pedestrian corridors, utility corridors and other related servicing infrastructure with less emphasis on land use.
The land use policies in this new plan are largely carried forward from the 1996 plan with modifications as needed.
This draft plan also includes new policies to address emerging issues including: clarifying policies related to commercial development, encouraging a variety of housing types, and clarity around environmental protection and the provision of parks facilities.
Formal Council approval process:
July 25, 2019 - Council reviewed the proposed plans and scheduled a Public Hearing. The Staff report to Council, as well as the draft plans, is available in the documents section of this page, or by viewing the July 15 Council agenda, available here(External link).
August 6, 2019 - A Public Hearing was held. At the Public Hearing, Council requested additional information before making a decision on the Cedar Valley Local Area Plan (CVLAP) and Cedar Valley Engineering Plan (CVEP). This includes additional information related to the topic of Protected Natural Assets, including: timelines, costs, potential staff resource implications. Staff are now preparing this information which includes correcting a few mapping errors. Once the information has been prepared, Staff will bring forward a report containing the requested information, for Council's consideration.
On November 18, 2019 Council considered the additional information provide by Staff and approved the CVLAP and CVEP.
On November 18, 2019 Council approved the Cedar Valley Local Area Plan (CVLAP) and the Cedar Valley Engineering Plan (CVEP).
The existing Cedar Valley Comprehensive Development Plan (CVCDP) was approved by Council in 1996.
The Plan is now over 20 years old and a review of the plan is needed.
Council’s 2016 to 2018 Strategic Plan identified the need for specific neighbourhood planning, including Cedar Valley;
In January 2018, Council approved the District’s Official Community Plan (OCP) after 2 years of public consultation. The OCP is the District’s primary policy document related to land use, density and building design guidelines.
Council directed staff to review the existing 1996 plan with the purpose of providing a renewed vision, updated objectives and policies and to coordinate the plan with engineering plans.
Neighbourhood Planning typically takes the form of either a “Neighbourhood Plan” or “Local Area Plan”.
Neighbourhood Plans are comprehensive documents where everything from servicing, road layouts, land use density and building design guidelines are discussed;
Local Area Plans like this one are less specific and look primarily at roads, pedestrian corridors, utility corridors and other related servicing infrastructure with less emphasis on land use.
The land use policies in this new plan are largely carried forward from the 1996 plan with modifications as needed.
This draft plan also includes new policies to address emerging issues including: clarifying policies related to commercial development, encouraging a variety of housing types, and clarity around environmental protection and the provision of parks facilities.
Formal Council approval process:
July 25, 2019 - Council reviewed the proposed plans and scheduled a Public Hearing. The Staff report to Council, as well as the draft plans, is available in the documents section of this page, or by viewing the July 15 Council agenda, available here(External link).
August 6, 2019 - A Public Hearing was held. At the Public Hearing, Council requested additional information before making a decision on the Cedar Valley Local Area Plan (CVLAP) and Cedar Valley Engineering Plan (CVEP). This includes additional information related to the topic of Protected Natural Assets, including: timelines, costs, potential staff resource implications. Staff are now preparing this information which includes correcting a few mapping errors. Once the information has been prepared, Staff will bring forward a report containing the requested information, for Council's consideration.
On November 18, 2019 Council considered the additional information provide by Staff and approved the CVLAP and CVEP.
Neighbourhood centres are mixed-use commercial and
residential areas with shopping and services on the main floor and apartments or
offices above. They are planned to provide for the day-to-day shopping and
service needs of Cedar Valley residents. Neighbourhood Centres provide focal
points for socializing, local employment opportunities in a pedestrian-oriented
setting. They may contain special features like plazas, open areas, and public
art that help the neighbourhood come together and provide an engaging space
outside the home for public life.
Mission's Official Community Plan identifies a maximum allowable height of 4 stories;
whereas, the 1996 Cedar Valley plan identifies a maximum allowable height of 2 stories. The draft 2019 plan will clarify what is an acceptable maximum height.
We believe there is a need for more commercial floor space in
the area to provide for residents’ daily shopping needs and to reduce the need
to travel outside the neighbourhood for shopping and services. We are proposing commercial floor space minimums for Neighbourhood Centres.
The changes we're proposing with this plan are:
The minimum amount of commercial floor
space for commercial buildings in the neighbourhood centres will be:
o465 square meters (5,000 square feet) for properties that are 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres) or smaller; and
o930 square meters (10,000
square feet) for properties larger than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres).
Commercial buildings will be limited to two (2) storeys.
Mixed commercial and residential buildings will be limited
to four (4) storeys.
Where separate commercial and residential buildings are
developed together on the same lot, the residential building will be limited to
four (4) storeys.
A maximum of 6 stories may be considered under a density
bonusing scenario provided a significant community benefit is provided, such as
rental and/or affordable housing. Further information on density bonusing will
be available during the Zoning Bylaw review consultation in March.
What do you think about these proposed changes to the minimum floor space requirements and height limits?
Single Family
Dwellings once dominated the housing market in Cedar Valley. In recent years
the neighbourhood has experienced a shift towards higher density housing like rowhouse
or townhouse development.
The draft 2019 plan encourages
a variety of housing forms and densities, including townhouses and apartments;
however, there are challenges presented by the rising cost of land, and the
high water table in Cedar Valley.
To address these
challenges we are looking at allowing increased building heights and densities
in certain areas to encourage the construction of apartments.
Density averaging is
a tool that allows a developer to build more densely on one portion of their
lot in exchange for building less densely on another portion. The overall density
of a development must fit with the OCP requirements. Building on the significant
public consultation from the OCP process staff designed the following area
where averaging could occur.
The recently approved
OCP sets a Floor Space Ratio (FSR) of 1.0 as the density limit for rowhouse, townhouse and
apartments in Cedar Valley.
What is Floor
Space Ratio (FSR)?
FSR is the measurement of the amount of floor space
(density) that can be built on a lot. For example, a 10,000 square foot lot
with density of 1.0 FSR would be allowed to build 10,000 square feet of floor
space. The actual amount of density may be less when other considerations are
taken into account, such as parking, setbacks and watercourses.
What do you think of using this tool to encourage development of Apartments near neighbhourhood centres and transit?
This plan builds on the environmental
management policies and initiatives of the 1996 Cedar Valley Plan and the new Official Community Plan.
The draft Plan has changed the name of the land
use designation “Environmentally Sensitive Area” to “Protected Natural Assets
(PNAs).”
The purpose of this is to be more inclusive,
as PNAs are parcels of land that support terrestrial or aquatic habitat
including Critical Habitat, wetlands, headwaters, water retention or recharge
areas. They can include Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) but can extend
beyond ESA boundaries and include undevelopable land that could be suitable for
walking trails and limited, passive recreation.
Do you support the objective of protecting
Cedar Valley’s environmentally sensitive areas and areas for trails and
wildlife viewing within Protected Natural Asset areas? Why?
Developers
could be required to conduct a bio-inventory of their development and adjoining
areas before designing new buildings for their properties. A bio-inventory is a review and assessment that identifies terrestrial and aquatic species and environmentally valuable
resources on or near the site. In some cases, a detailed bio-inventory may be
required.
Invasive
species, including noxious weeds, can cause economic and environmental harm,
pose health and safety risks and interferes with development potential. Noxious weeds, if not controlled, can
interfere with the function of engineering infrastructure, such as pipes, pumps
and stormwater management systems.
Proposed
change to the draft plan, include: requiring developers to conduct an bio-inventory,
and noxious weed assessment of their properties. If priority invasive species such
as Knotweed or Giant Hogweed are found, then a management process starts to
make sure they are eliminated on site instead of being removed and put
elsewhere.
What do you think about requiring developers
to conduct bio-inventories for their project sites that would include invasive
species and noxious weed assessments before they are able to develop?
This plan
explains the significance of natural capital and green infrastructure, and how
networks of forests and wetlands work with other open spaces to benefit
residents.
Green
infrastructure includes such features as bio-retention facilities, bio-swales,
constructed wetlands, green roofs, permeable pavements and stream restoration
initiatives.
Tree
retention is another natural capital opportunity, as trees reduce the urban
heat island effect by providing shade, evapotranspiration and air
movement.
Retaining
natural features on development sites can be balanced with development
intensification (e.g. with development clusters or density bonusing and
averaging) to provide environmental protection with economically successful
development, providing mutual long-term benefits for the community.
What do you think about the objective of the draft plan to protect trees,
watercourses and other natural features that can be used in conjunction with
‘green infrastructure’?
Cedar Valley is a growing community with young families where
residents need open space for active recreation and enjoyment of the natural
setting.
In addition to this plan, parks and open space planning is
guided by the Official Community Plan (OCP) approved by Council in 2018, and
the Parks, Recreation, Arts & Culture Master Plan also approved by Council
in 2018.
We want people to live within close walking distance of neighbourhood parks and trails.
Approximately 7,900 people live in Cedar Valley today. When built-out there will be approximately 18,000 to 22,000 people in Cedar Valley. There won’t be enough active park area
unless we take action now.
This plan recommends securing
more parkland for active recreation like soccer, baseball, tennis and other
sports and games.
The plan also has plans for pedestrian trails to provide direct
links with schools, parks, neighbourhood centres, institutional buildings and
other destinations within Cedar Valley.
Trails located within Protected
Natural Asset (PNA) areas should be wide enough to protect mature trees and
other natural features along the way.
What do you think about this update that would create more active recreation parks and pedestrian trails in Cedar Valley?