As Sechelt rewrites its zoning, residents and property owners have questions – lots of questions.
As each shared their concerns at the Sept. 8 public hearing, they were met with applause from fellow attendees. Over two hours of discussion about proposed Zoning Bylaw 580, 18 residents spoke out, some multiple times.
The new zoning bylaw is intended to replace the Zoning Bylaw 25, which was adopted in 1987, and is to regulate all land use within the district, modernize regulations and simplify zones. Director of planning and development Andrew Allen told the public gathering that the Ministry of Transportation has given preliminary approval of the new bylaw. It has passed second reading.
Folks want to know
Residents raised questions about why the district did not update the now 11-year-old Official Community Plan (OCP) first, and why STR regulations were not included earlier in the process. Comments included concerns about increased density without infrastructure planning, impact to neighbourhoods, inconsistencies with the OCP, and areas where they’d like clarification. Some residents raised site-specific concerns about neighbouring properties as examples of how the proposed bylaw would affect them.
One speaker asked if height restrictions would be based on the average finished grade or average natural grade of a property, saying he lost his property’s view when a neighbour built on top of a platform. Another also spoke about the reduction of maximum height from 10.5 metres (which he said is similar to other communities in B.C.) to 8.5 metres in residential zones, saying that a new 10.5-metre home would fit the neighbourhood’s character. He cited the need to build compact housing, including an extra floor on small lots. That speaker asked council to retain the existing building height in residential zones, and said existing industrial land should be used more intensively to support local jobs and offered some suggestions to do so.
Suite space calculation was raised by another property owner who has concerns about the inclusion of garage space as living space, which he says could create a parking issue. He and some others also objected to the rezoning of their personal properties.
A resident of the Tillicum Bay area also raised their concerns about the new aquaculture processing definition and environmental issues, and industry use in the Gray Creek floodplain area. Another property owner asked council to dedicate the Gray Creek basin area for silviculture and rewilding, and yet another asked for it to be protected as an aquifer.
West Sechelt resident Jeri Patterson spoke about business licences per lot, whereas the previous bylaw allowed two licences per lot but Bylaw 580 proposes only one per dwelling, and asked what the motivation and intent is to reduce business licences. She asked what residents who live at the same property and have separate businesses should do, and said she objects strongly to the reduction of home-based businesses.
After each speaker, the attendees in the room applauded. Sechelt staff collected both written and verbal statements to be included in a future report to council.
Next steps after the public hearing include a report from staff at a Sechelt council meeting that includes the public feedback. Siegers said changes to regulations can be made at third reading, but changes to land use or density will require either a second public hearing or a follow-up amendment to the new bylaw. After the bylaw is adopted, bylaw monitoring and review will continue, then Sechelt expects to undertake a parking review and downtown planning. The next council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 21.
