REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: June 05, 2017 Report No. DEV-17-021
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Application from the Gorge Vale Golf Club to remove approximately 5.0 ha of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council pass the resolution, attached as Schedule “A” to Staff Report DEV-17-021, stating that they do not object to the application by the Gorge Vale Golf Club to remove approximately 5 ha of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve and authorize staff to forward the resolution to the Agricultural Land Commission forthwith.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Official Community Plan
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
The proposed removal of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve does not support any strategic objectives.
BACKGROUND:
The Gorge Vale Golf Club has submitted an application to the Agricultural Land Commission to remove an approximately 5 ha parcel from the Agricultural Land Reserve. As part of the Agricultural Land Commission’s application review process, they require a resolution from Council stating whether or not they support the removal of the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve. The parcel is located around the northeast corner of the golf course and is centered around the current club house and parking lot (Schedule “B”).
The Official Community Plan designates the proposed expansion area as “Parks and Open Space”. The Official Community Plan contains a single statement related to Agricultural Land. This statement is found in Section 1.9.1 and states:
The Township of Esquimalt is an urban community and contains only one parcel of land within the Agricultural Land Reserve [ALR]. That parcel is the Gorge Vale Golf Course which has been used as such since 1930. Golf courses are a permitted use of land in an agricultural land reserve.
Any development of the golf course for other land uses will require the approval of the Agricultural Land Commission.
As outlined in the Land Capability for Agriculture Report for the Gorge Vale Golf Club (Schedule “C”), the area proposed to be removed has “fair” to “very poor” agricultural land capability.
The reason for the removal of the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve is to allow for future mixed use development on the site. The Golf Club has not yet put together a detailed development proposal, however, it is likely to entail a medium to high density mixed-use concept on the corner where the club house and parking lot are currently located. A new club house would be incorporated into any new development. Any proposed development is likely to extend west from this location to the most westerly extent of the proposed parcel and south to the right of way for the drain main shown on Schedule “B”.
Given that the site is located in the urban core, at an intersection that contains existing commercial uses on the other three corners (Schedule “B”), development of this site is appropriate for reasons outlined in the Issues section of this report.
It should be noted that there has been opposition from some neighbours to the proposed removal of the land from Agricultural Land Reserve (Schedules D, E, F, G and H). The concerns primarily are related to increased traffic, loss of privacy, loss of view, loss of green space and wildlife habitat, flooding, and loss of agricultural land. These are legitimate concerns that would be taken into consideration as part of the rezoning process which will be required before any development takes place on this site. It should be noted that while the proposed parcel to be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve extends south and abuts several lots backing onto the golf course, it is not the intention of the Gorge Vale Golf Club to develop the land adjacent to these lots. It is unlikely that development will proceed south of the municipal drainage line (Schedule “B”). Staff responses to these concerns are outlined below.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option -
Affordable Housing - Increased residential densities contribute to housing affordability. Increasing supply generally puts decreased pressure on price. There are of course many variables that influence housing cost but constrained supply is a major variable that has been identified by economists such as Edwared Glaeser from Harvard University. Professor Glaeser states in his book, Triumph of the City:
Price increases in gentrifying older areas will be muted because of new construction. Growth, not height restrictions and a fixed building stock, keeps space affordable and ensure that poorer people and less profitable firms can stay, which helps thriving cities remain successful and diverse. Height restrictions do increase light, and preservation does protect history, but we shouldn’t pretend that these benefits come with out a price (Glaeser, 2011, p. 148).
Allowing medium to high density mixed - use development on a portion of the lands proposed to be excluded from the Agricultural Land Reserve will contribute to a local housing market where increased supply will provide downward pressure on price and help contribute to housing affordability.
In addition, through the use of the amenity bonusing provisions found in Section 482 of the Local Government Act, Council can include:
Conditions relating to the provision of affordable and special needs housing, as such housing is defined in the bylaw, including the number, kind and extent of the housing; and
A condition that the owner enter into a housing agreement under section 483 before a building permit is issued in relation to property to which the condition applies.
This tool is only available through the rezoning process.
Agricultural production - The land proposed to be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve is rated from “fair” to “very poor”. Paradoxically, agricultural production could increase if the land was removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve through the use of “building integrated agriculture”, also known as ZFarming, such as roof top gardens and roof top greenhouses which could supply locally grown food to restaurants and residents in the development with fresh herbs and vegetables similar to the roof top garden at 1001 Blanshard Street (First Rooftop Garden in Victoria, 2015). It should be noted that the Development Services Department has received an inquiry about using a roof in the industrial park for growing food. To date this proposal has not moved forward. Roof top gardens and roof top greenhouses could potentially be more productive in producing food than using the golf course to grow forage crops.
Wildlife habitat - The most productive wildlife habitat on the site is the area around the pond. It provides resting and feeding habitat for several waterfowl species and may be breeding habitat for at least one native frog species. The representatives of the Gorge Vale Golf Club have told staff that they do not intend to develop the area around the pond. In fact, as noted above, it is unlikely any land will be developed south of the drain main (Schedule “B”). In addition, if roof top gardens and intensive native landscaping are incorporated into any future development, it is likely that wildlife habitat will be increased relative to the base condition that exists today. Finally, by providing housing in the urban core you reduce the demand for new housing on greenfield sites that results in the loss of wildlife habitat.
Loss of privacy and view - If development is limited through zoning to the area north of the drain main, there will be little direct impact on the residents living along Colville Road. Because the development will be concentrated on a corner where the opposite and diagonally opposite corners already contain commercial development, impacts would be minimal. Privacy impacts on those properties adjacent to the subject site on the east side of Tillicum Road and the north side of Craigflower Road can be mitigated through building design and landscaping.
Flooding - Any rezoning application would require a drainage plan that would indicate areas prone to flooding. Development would not be allowed on flood prone land. In addition, subject to Council’s approval, the new Official Community Plan will contain development permit guidelines related to the on-site management of hydrological events. This would likely be an improvement over the current situation.
Traffic - Once again - somewhat paradoxically - the development of the subject site could help alleviate some of the traffic issues associated with Tillicum and Craigflower Roads. This is for two main reasons. First, as a condition of subdivision, a road widening dedication would likely be required which would allow the Engineering Department to rationalize traffic patterns and facilitate multi-modal transportation options through the introduction of dedicated bike lanes and strategies to make public transit more efficient. In addition, increasing density along transit routes is one of the fundamental principles of good urban planning.
Second, by providing housing in the urban core where alternate forms of transportation such as busses and bike can be used efficiently, you are likely to take cars off the road and thereby reduce congestion. The subject site is located in close proximity to the E & N trail and if a bike lane and wider sidewalks were added to Tillicum Road through road widening an easy link from the site to the E & N trail could be made allowing residents of any future development extraordinary access to the regional bikeway and trail system.
Age Friendly benefits - During the recent Age Friendly study, a number of seniors pointed out the dearth of services in this area. The development of a mixed-use project could potentially contain some of the services that are currently not available in the area. In addition, increasing the population of the area could potentially make it viable for other service providers to locate in the neighbourhood.
Efficient use of existing infrastructure - A detailed study of the existing infrastructure capacity of the site has not been undertaken. It would be a requirement for any subdivision application submitted to the municipality. As discussed above, the development of the site would likely result in a significant upgrade to the transportation infrastructure adjacent to the site. In addition, developing within the urban core makes much more efficient use of existing utility infrastructure such as water mains, sewer lines, drainage lines, electrical power distribution systems, cable and telephone infrastructure.
Proximity to Schools - The subject site is located approximately 900 m from the Esquimalt High School, 1.6 km from the Rock Heights Middle School, and 1.3 km from the Ecole Victor Brodeur. Increasing density near schools helps keep student populations healthy and schools viable.
Increasing the flow of ideas - Edward Glaeser notes:
Cities enable the collaboration that makes humanity shine most brightly. Because humans learn so much from other humans, we learn more when there are more people around us. Urban density creates a constant flow of new information that comes from observing others’ successes and failures (Glaeser, 2011, p. 247).
Historic Land Use of the subject site - The Gorge Vale Golf Course was officially opened on November 1, 1930. No evidence could be found that the subject lands were ever used for agriculture.
2. Organizational Implications - There are no significant organizational implications associated with the processing of the application to remove land from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
3. Financial Implications - Future development of the lands will contribute to the Township’s property tax revenue. The corollary is that future development will also put pressure on services such as parks and recreational facilities, bylaw and police services, and public works.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications - As noted above, increased residential densities in urban cores may: help reduce traffic congestion, make more efficient use of utilities, support local businesses, contribute to urban agriculture and may in fact increase the agricultural productivity potential of the subject site, reduce greenhouse gas emissions through reducing the need to commute long distances, protect existing wildlife habitat and may in fact result in a net increase in wildlife habitat, and reduce damage from flooding by using site design principles that respect hydrological cycles.
5. Communication & Engagement - The applicants posted a notice on the fence adjacent to the proposed parcel to be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve and published two notices in the news paper.
Bibliography
First Rooftop Garden in Victoria. (2015, July 18). Retrieved June 06, 2017, from Eat Drink Victoria: http://www.eatdrinkvictoria.com/first-rooftop-garden-in-victoria/#
Glaeser, E. (2011). Triumph of the City How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York: The Penguin Press.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council pass the resolution, attached as Schedule “A” to Staff Report DEV-17-021, stating that they do not object to the application by the Gorge Vale Golf Club to remove approximately 5 ha of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve and authorize staff to forward the resolution to the Agricultural Land Commission forthwith.
2. That Council not pass the resolution, attached as Schedule “A” to Staff Report DEV-17-021, and authorize staff to advise the Agricultural Land Commission forthwith.
3. That Council pass an amended resolution stating the conditions upon which they would not object to the application by the Gorge Vale Golf Club to remove land from the Agricultural Land Reserve and authorize staff to forward the resolution to the Agricultural Land Commission forthwith.