REQUEST FOR DECISION

File # 3900
3900--02
Report To: Mayor and Council
From: Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
Presenter: Charlene Jackson
Subject: Administration Report No. 0147/21
RZ2021
RZ2021--002 Zoning Amendment to facilitate consolidation of
lands for Downtown Development - 9708 101 Avenue
Meeting: Regular Council
Meeting Date: 08 Nov 2021

RECOMMENDATION:

"THAT, Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2559, 2021 be introduced and read for
the first and second times by title only,

AND FURTHER THAT, a Public Hearing be scheduled for November 22, 2021 at
6:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers.
Chambers.””
CAO'S COMMENTS:

This rezoning application has staff support and provides a starting point for the construction of
a commercial property with the owner as the anchor tenant.

ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION:
RECOMMENDATION:Alternative
Alternative Recommendation 1: "THAT, Zoning
Amendment Bylaw No. 2559, 2021 be denied.
denied.””

KEY ISSUES(S)/ CONCEPTS DEFINED:

SUMMARY:

The Applicant is seeking to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 for the subject property
located at 9708 101 Avenue, so that they can move forward with consolidating the parcel with
two adjacent C
C--2 parcels to the west, 9712 & 9716 101 Avenue, to facilitate the development of
a commercial building, of which the owner will be the anchor tenant.
Staff support this application.

This amendment will allow for the consolidation of three undersized commercial lots into one
large commercial lot that will support the development of an appropriately scaled multi
multi--tenant
mixed use commercial building, as per the current C C--2 Downtown Core Commercial
requirements. The two lots adjacent to this parcel are currently zoned C
C--2.

Since the lots that the Owner wishes to consolidate have individual titles and split zoning (1
lot is RM
RM--2 and 2 lots are C
C--2), they are currently highly constrained in their ability to create
a multi
multi--tenant commercial mixed use development. The ability for a developer to meet the
requirements for the Downtown Development Permit Area on an undersized lot is limiting.
The intent and opportunity for lots in this area has been that they could be consolidated over
time to create larger lots and are then able to support high density downtown commercial and
residential uses. This has been supported through the existing OCP and Zoning changes over
time.

The Owner plans to construct a new commercial building, with their business as the anchor
tenant. That meets the criteria as established in several of the City's guiding documents
such as the Official Community Plan (OCP), the Downtown Action Plan, and the Zoning Bylaw.
All three of these guiding documents reference tthe
he direction to promote infill and
redevelopment of higher density forms of commercial, residential and mixed use
developments in the downtown core. This amendment enables the development of the larger
scale construction sought for the downtown core and will allow the developer to construct a
high quality commercial building that conforms with the direction endorsed by Council within
these strategies. See Attachment 1 - Application and Attachment 5 - Conceptual Building
Plan, for conceptual renderings of the proposed building.

BACKGROUND:

The subject property is currently designated DMU - Downtown Commercial Mixed Use by the
OCP and is zoned RM
RM--2 - Multiple Dwelling Housing (High Density) through the Zoning Bylaw.
See Attachment 3 and Attachment 4.
The lot proposed for amendment is one of 4 existing lots that were previously developed as
overflow and staff parking for the former Fort St. John General Hospital. With the relocation of
the hospital, these lands are now an unmaintained paved lots that are in various states of
disrepair.

RELEVANT POLICY:

IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION

COMPLIANCE WITH STRATEGIC GOALS:

Goal No. 1 - Enhance community economic development to provide
opportunities and sustainability for Fort St. John.

Goal No. 5 - Actualize downtown Fort St. John as a social, vibrant, liveable hub as articulated
in the Fort St. John Downtown Action Plan.

COMPLIANCE WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: Not applicable.

GENERAL:

KEY INFORMATION:

Parcel Identifier
Identifier:: 013
013--640
640--151

Legal Description
Description::

LOT 24 SECTION 6 TOWNSHIP 84 RANGE 18 WEST OF THE SIXTH MERIDIAN PEACE RIVER
DISTRICT PLAN 4252
Site Area: 538.3326 m2 (full parcel)

OCP Designation

Š DMU – Downtown Commercial Mixed Use

Development Permit Area

Š Downtown Development Permit Area

Zoning

Š Current: RM
RM--2 Multiple Dwelling Housing (High Density)

Š Proposed: C
C--2 Downtown Core Commercial

Surrounding Zoning:

The surrounding and directly adjacent zoning are:

Š North: RM
RM--2 Multiple Dwelling Housing (High Density)
Š South: INS
INS--1 Institutional
Š East: RM
RM--2 Multiple Dwelling Housing (High Density)
Š West: C
C--2 Downtown Core Commercial

Surrounding Active Land Use:

The surrounding and directly adjacent current land uses are:

Š North: Apartments and Single Family Dwellings

Š South: Vacant Institutional lands
Š East: Vacant/abandoned parking Lot
Š West: Vacant/abandoned parking Lot

The zoning mix of this neighbourhood is C C--2 Downtown Core Commercial, RM

RM--2 Multiple
Dwelling Housing (High Density) and INS
INS--1 – Institutional.

ORGANIZATIONAL: Not applicable.

FINANCIAL: Not applicable.

FOLLOW UP ACTION:

Should Council give the proposed bylaw First and Second Readings, Legislative Services will
send notification pursuant to Section 464 of the Local Government Act and a Public Hearing
will be scheduled.

Also, a zoning amendment notice sign will be placed on the subject property as part of the
Public Hearing notification process.

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION: A Public Hearing will be scheduled for November 22,

2021 at 6:00 pm in City Hall Council Chambers pursuant to Section 464 of the Local
Government Act.

COMMUNICATION: Not applicable.

DEPARTMENTS CONSULTED ON THIS REPORT: Referrals included all City

departments for high level commentary.

Attachments:

Attachment 1: Application

Attachment 2: Context Map

Attachment 3: Current OCP Designations Map

Attachment 4: Current Zoning Designations Map

Attachment 5: Conceptual Building Plan

Attachment 6: Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2559, 2021

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Charlene Jackson, Planner I
18 Oct 2021
CONCEPTUAL DRAWING
 Legend

Subject
Property

Former
Fort St. John Hospital
Site
1: 500

RZ2021-002 9708 101 Avenue

18-Oct-2021
25.4 0 12.70 25.4 Meters
This map is intended for representation only. There is no guarantee of currency and accuracy of data shown.
NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_10N
Please refer to legal plans for all measurements. Copyright (c) City of Fort St. John, Province of BC 2021.
 Legend

1: 500

RZ2021-002 Current OCP Designation

18-Oct-2021
25.4 0 12.70 25.4 Meters
This map is intended for representation only. There is no guarantee of currency and accuracy of data shown.
NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_10N
Please refer to legal plans for all measurements. Copyright (c) City of Fort St. John, Province of BC 2021.
 Legend

1: 500

RZ2021-002 Current Zoning Designation

18-Oct-2021
25.4 0 12.70 25.4 Meters
This map is intended for representation only. There is no guarantee of currency and accuracy of data shown.
NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_10N
Please refer to legal plans for all measurements. Copyright (c) City of Fort St. John, Province of BC 2021.
CONCEPTUAL DRAWING
 CITY OF FORT ST. JOHN

BYLAW NO. 2559, 2021

A Bylaw to amend City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019

Council of the City of Fort St. John in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows:

1. Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 and Schedule ‘A’ attached thereto and
forming part of this bylaw are hereby amended in the following manner:

LOT 4 SECTION 6 TOWNSHIP 84 RANGE 18 WEST OF THE SIXTH MERIDIAN PEACE RIVER
DISTRICT PLAN 4252

as shown hatched on Schedule ‘A’ attached to this Bylaw is hereby rezoned from RM-2
Multiple Dwelling Housing (High Density) to C-2 Downtown Core Commercial.

2. If any section, subsection sentence, clause or phrase of this Bylaw is for any reason
held to be invalid by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid
portion shall be severed and the part that is invalid shall not affect the validity of the
remainder.

3. This Bylaw may be cited as Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2559, 2021.

READ FOR A FIRST AND SECOND TIME THIS DAY OF 2021

Notice of Public Hearing Advertised in the Alaska Highway News on 2021 and
posted to the City’s website on 2021

PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON THIS DAY OF 2021

MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS APPROVAL RECEIVED THIS

DAY OF 2021

READ FOR A THIRD TIME AND ADOPTED THIS DAY OF 2021

LORI ACKERMAN BONNIE MCCUE

MAYOR CORPORATE OFFICER
Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2559, 2021 Page 2

Schedule A