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$: Public Notice - Home | City of PentictonNews/News/2014/2014-12-04...For Office Use Only: city\ADDRESS\Riddle Rd\1400\2014 MP 1576\2014 OCP AMEND PL-077\Notices\2014-12-04 Public Notice$
Public Notice

December 4, 2014 Subject Property: 1400 Riddle Road District Lot 392S, Similkameen Division Yale District Please refer to site map on Page 2. Application: Official Community Plan Amendment PL2014-077 To amend Schedule ‘B’ of Official Community Plan Bylaw 2002-20 by re-designating 1400 Riddle Road from ‘North East Sector’ to ‘PR (Parks and Recreation)’ to dedicate the lands as Park and to proceed with accreditation under the “Avoided Forest Conversion Project” to receive carbon offsets for the City to use in its corporate climate action reporting. Information: The staff report to Council and OCP Amendment Bylaw 2014-48 will be available for public inspection from Friday, December 5, 2014 to Monday, December 15, 2014 at the following locations during hours of operation: • Penticton City Hall, 171 Main Street • Penticton Library, 785 Main Street • Penticton Community Centre, 325 Power Street You can also find this information on the City’s website at www.penticton.ca/publicnotice. Please contact the Planning Department at (250) 490-2501 with any questions. Council Consideration: A Public Hearing is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Monday, December 15, 2014 in Council Chambers at Penticton City Hall, 171 Main Street. Public Comments: You may appear in person, or by agent, the evening of the Public Hearing, or submit a petition or written comments by mail or email no later than 9:30 a.m., Monday, December 15, 2014 to: Attention: Corporate Officer, City of Penticton 171 Main Street, Penticton, B.C. V2A 5A9 Email: [email protected].

continued on Page 2

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Page 2 of 2 For Office Use Only: city\ADDRESS\Riddle Rd\1400\2014 MP 1576\2014 OCP AMEND PL-077\Notices\2014-12-04 Public Notice

No letter, report or representation from the public will be received by Council after the conclusion of the December 15, 2014 Council Meeting. Please note that all correspondence submitted to the City of Penticton in response to this Notice will form part of the public record and will be published in a meeting agenda when this matter is before the Council or a Committee of Council. The City considers the author’s address relevant to Council’s consideration of this matter and will disclose this personal information. The author’s phone number and email address is not relevant and should not be included in the correspondence if the author does not wish this personal information disclosed. Those persons with special hearing, language or access needs should contact City Hall at (250) 490-2400 prior to the meeting. Blake Laven, RPP, MCIP Manager of Planning

1400 Riddle Road

Council Report

Date: November 3, 2014 File No: OCP Amendment PL2014-077 To: Annette Antoniak, City Manager From: Blake Laven, Planning Manager Subject: Support OCP Amendment from 1400 Riddle Road

Staff Recommendation

THAT “OCP Amendment Bylaw 2014-48” , a bylaw that amends Schedule ‘B’ of Official Community Plan Bylaw 2002-20 by redesignating District Lot 392S, Similkameen Division Yale District, located at 1400 Riddle Road from “North East Sector” to “PR” (Parks and Recreation), be read a first time and be forwarded to the December 15th, 2014 Public Hearing.

AND THAT staff proceed with the process to dedicate the lands as Park, under Section 30 of the Community Charter after adoption of “OCP Amendment Bylaw 2014-48.”

AND THAT staff proceed with accreditation under the “Avoided Forest Conversion Project” to receive carbon offsets for the avoidance of forest conversion.

Strategic priority objective

This initiative is in line with the City’s objective to be sustainable and to meet the City’s Climate Action commitments.

Background

The North Block of the North East Sector (Attachment ‘A’) is a heavily forested area, which has long been designated for residential development by City land use documents. Most recently, during the North East Sector Plan review process, done in 2005, portions of the North Block were identified as having the potential for 725 units of residential development. With 325 of those units identified as ‘easy’ development. The largest property in the North Block is a 300 acre City owned property, roughly 1/3 of which the Plan identifies as for residential development. While it is important to ensure a reservoir of housing reserves for the future growth of a community, further investigation into this particular property has led to the questioning of it as a logical area for residential growth in Penticton.

Historically the area has been used for grazing and ranching, but more recently it has become a destination for outdoor recreational including hiking and mountain biking. The cycling use has been formalized through an agreement between the City of Penticton and the Penticton and Area Cycling Association (PACA) for PACA to use the area for the development of a mountain bike terrain park. The development of these lands

Council Report Page 2 of 18

as an outdoor recreational destination is in line with the Economic Development Office’s initiative to make Penticton a world class cycling destination.

Through the lease process, Planning Department staff began to question whether the North East Sector Plan intentions for this area were still the logical outcome for the lands. While this review was going on the BC Government’s Green Communities Committee announced the launch of the “Avoided Forest Conversion” program, which is a program whereas local governments could generate carbon credits for dedicating forested areas designated for residential development to park land – thus avoiding the conversion of forests to other land uses. Investigation into the program showed that the redesingation of the portions of the 1400 Riddle Road that are designated for residential development to Park would qualify for the program and generate carbon off-sets for the City to use in its corporate climate action reporting.

This initiative was brought before the City’s Climate Action Advisory Committee and was supported unanimously. The Climate Action Council Advisory Committee in February of 2013, passed the following resolution recommending that Council support the initiative:

It was MOVED and SECONDED

THAT the Climate Action Advisory Committee recommends to Council to direct staff to initiate the process to preserve “District Lot 392S, Similkameen Division Yale District” for the purpose of carbon sequestration to achieve the City’s carbon offset requirements.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

Even though the program was announced in early 2013, the province had not provided the specifics of how qualification would work until July of this year. Since this time, staff have been investigating the qualification of the program and whether the subject lands would be eligible. The first step in the process is to redesignate the lands. The next step would be to hire a professional forester to complete a survey of the lands to determine the value of the forest. That survey is important to determine the exact benefit to the avoided conversion. The numbers are then used in the City’s GHG emission reporting. Designating the lands as Park under Section 30 of the Community Charter provides an additional measure of protection to the lands. To change the lands to any other use would then require a city –wide referendum. This dedication also gives some ‘bonus’ points in the accounting of the carbon benefit.

Staff have been in contact with PACA, who currently lease the lands and Canadian Horizons, who are largest land owners in the North East Sector Plan. Both of those organizations support the initiative.

Proposal

That Council support a bylaw to remove the subject property from the North East Sector and designated that lands as PR (Parks and Recreation). And that staff pursue enrolment in the “Avoided Forest Conversion’ program.

Financial implication

The OCP process has been initiated by staff, so all cost associated with the project is the responsibility of the City. To be eligible for the ‘Avoided Forest Conversion’ off-set program, a Forest Management Plan is required to be done, as well as some long range planning for the area. Staff, as part of the 2015 budget process, are requesting that $5,000.00 of the City’s Carbon Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) funds


be directed towards these initiatives. If registration in the program is successful, then the City would see significant benefit in the City’s climate action reporting responsibilities.

Analysis

Approve Redesignating the subject lands from residential to Park, will be the most impactful action the City has undertaken yet in its goals to meet its Climate Action commitments. According to the City’s Climate Action Plan, residential buildings account for 25% of energy consumption in the city and over 10% of all GHG emissions. In addition, personal vehicles account for 28% of energy use and over 30% of all GHG emissions. Encouraging growth in outlying areas of the city will increase the use of personal vehicles and allow for less efficient housing types. Alternatively, removing this outlying area from the growth area of the City will have a positive net impact on our future pollution projections. Without the benefit of having the forest survey and management plan, it is hard to determine exactly what benefit the City will receive for the redesingation of these lands, but the carbon benefit should be substantial. Initial calculations estimate that the City could use over 16,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent off-sets from this project over its twenty year lifespan. This is a significant number as the City’s carbon footprint was 2,184 non-off-set tonnes of carbon emissions in 2012 and 1,513 in 2013. Adding roughly 800 tonnes worth of off-sets each year will be substantial in the City meeting its Climate Action commitments, which includes carbon neutrality. Removing the subject lands from the North East Sector will also have some positive benefits to the developers of the Spiller and Reservoir Blocks of the Plan. Originally, with the designation of the North Block for residential development, the water reservoir, sewer and storm water infrastructure in the Spiller and Reservoir areas needed to be oversized to accommodate the future growth of the North Block lands. This has been a determining factor in the area not proceeding sooner. Without the North Block area being designated for those purposes, the infrastructure will be easier to design, construct and pay for. There are adequate growth areas in the City without the development of the subject lands for residential development. City documents encourage growth within the core area of the City through infill and higher density development. There is, however, adequate lands for single family and hillside development as well. Mentioned previously is the Spiller and Reservoir Blocks, but there is also the recently adopted Upper Wiltse Plan (800 units) as well as the Campbell Block, which is also part of the North East Sector Plan area that identifies 1400 residential units, among other areas. Given the current growth rates of Penticton (+/- 1% a year) these available growth areas without the City owned lands at Riddle Road are sufficient for the foreseeable future. Having the subject lands designated as a park will give PACA the comfort to develop the area into a destination mountain bike park without the threat that the lands will be developed for housing. PACA has recently hired a terrain park planner to develop the mountain biking capabilities so that the area can become a destination for international competitions and become accredited. It is staff’s wish that PACA’s planning team and the City’s hired forester can coordinate on a plan that will both ensure the long term viability of the forest and provide for a world class cycling experience. Supporting the conversion of the subject lands to a Park designation will support this initiative.


The redesingation of these lands to park meets several objectives of the OCP including the promotion of programs and initiatives that ensure the sustainability of our environment and to provide a variety of recreational opportunities that meet the City’s residents and visitors. Given the above Staff recommend that Council give fist reading to the bylaw and forward it to the December 15th, 2014 Public Hearing for comment from the public. Deny/ Refer Council may feel that this land is too important to the future growth of Penticton to set aside as a carbon reserve. If that is the case, Council should not support the initiative. Alternatively, Council may want to know the exact benefit prior to making the decision to participate in the program. If that is the case, Council could direct staff to begin the forest survey to determine the value of the forest from a carbon sequestration point of view. Council may also be concerned that should another form of development or use of the land be applicable in the future, the proposed OCP designation will be a restriction for that to occur. Alternate recommendations

THAT Council not support the change in OCP designation at this time. THAT the program be referred back to staff for further research as directed by Council.

Attachments

Attachment ‘A’ – Aerial image of subject property Attachment ‘B’ – Images of subject lands Attachment ‘C’ – Map and Excerpt from North East Sector Plan Attachment ‘D’ – Overview of ‘Avoided Forest Conversion” project Respectfully submitted,

Blake Laven, RPP, MCIP Planning Manager

Approvals

Director City Manager

AH


Attachment A Location of Subject Property


Attachment ‘B’ Images of Area

Figure 1: Gates leading to 1400 Riddle Road with a mountain biker coming down the main trail in the mid ground

Figure 2: Photo from subject lands looking towards Okanagan Lake showing the typical forest cover and terrain on the property


Figure 3: Bike trail running through the subject lands. Biking is a compatible use with the project

Figure 4: Photo from the high point of 1400 Riddle Road showing its desirability for residential development


Attachment ‘C’ Map and Excerpt from North East Sector Plan

SUBJECT LANDS TO BE REMOVED

FROM NES PLAN AREA


Attachment ‘D’ Project Overview

OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 2014-48 Page 1 of 1

The Corporation of the City of Penticton

Bylaw No. 2014 -48

A Bylaw to Amend Official Community Plan Bylaw 2002-20 WHEREAS the Council of the City of Penticton has adopted an Official Community Plan Bylaw pursuant to Section 903 of the Local Government Act; AND WHEREAS the Council of the City of Penticton wishes to amend Official Community Bylaw 2002-20; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Municipal Council of the City of Penticton, in open meeting assembled, hereby ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. Title: This bylaw may be cited for all purposes as “Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 2014 -48.” 2. Amendment:

2.1 “Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 2002-20” Schedule ‘B’ Future Land Use is hereby amended as follows: Redesignate District Lot 392S, Similkameen Division Yale District, located at 1400 Riddle Road from “North East Sector” to “PR” (Parks and Recreation).

2.2 Schedule “A” attached hereto forms part of this bylaw. READ A FIRST time this day of , 2014

A PUBLIC HEARING was held this day of , 2014

READ A SECOND time this day of , 2014

READ A THIRD time this day of , 2014

ADOPTED this day of , 2014

Notice of intention to proceed with this bylaw was published on the __ day of ___, 2014 and the __ day of____, 2014 in the Penticton Western newspaper, pursuant to Section 94 of the Community Charter.

Garry Litke, Mayor

Dana Schmidt, Corporate Officer

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