Gross Floor Area Exclusion Council Presentation June 21 st 2016
Overview 1. Background 2. Monitoring Results 3. Recommendations
Background May 15, 2012 Council adopted Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Gross Floor Area Exclusion Amendments) No. 1992, 2012. Resulted from the work of the Council-appointed Illegal Spaces Task Force (ISTF). Proposed as a significant first step towards addressing floor area constructed and occupied in residential buildings without permits and contrary to maximum permitted densities. Unpermitted basement areas in single-family and duplex dwellings identified as the most common situation and priority to address. Applied to all single family and duplex dwellings within the municipality, not just those dwellings with non-permitted basement floor areas. Building permit required to legalize existing unpermitted excluded GFA or construct new excluded GFA.
Background Bylaw amendments sought to address these basement areas by excluding them from the calculation of gross floor area: Permit basement floor areas to be excluded from the calculation of gross floor area for all detached and duplex dwelling buildings: Basement floor area must be a minimum of one metre below the average level of the finished ground along the exterior walls of the building Maximum area that may be excluded is 125% of the floor area of the storey immediately above. Remove the ability to construct over height crawls spaces and void spaces and have them excluded from the calculation of gross floor area by registering a covenant prohibiting the use of such areas for any purpose. Such areas are provided for through the proposed basement floor area exclusion. Permit a gross floor area exclusion for exterior walls that are thicker than 6 (152 mm) in support of energy efficiency and conservation.
Background Monitoring Program Three areas identified that to assessing the success of the GFA exclusion regulations: 1. The number of property owners with existing non-permitted spaces who would bring their property into compliance. 2. Potential impacts of the proposed changes on the community in general with regards to energy consumption, built form and design characteristics. 3. The impact on RMOW infrastructure capacity. Two year trial period to monitor and report back to Council annually on: 1. The number of detached and duplex buildings submitted and obtaining proper permits for existing illegal or unauthorized floor area. 2. The amount of excluded GFA in basement floor areas. 3. The number of DVP applications for setback and height variances as a result of designs which maximizes the permissible GFA and the new floor area exclusion area. 4. The change in energy consumption patterns based on construction methods used for the renovations or new builds. 5. The impact on RMOW infrastructure capacity.
Monitoring Results: Building Permits Total Building Permit Activity May 2012-May 2016 391 building permit applications to renovate or construct duplex and single-family units 151 (39%) were for new dwellings and 240 (61%) for renovations to existing dwellings. 182 building permits included excluded floor area, representing 47% of the total number of building permit applications (391). Of the applications for new dwellings (151), 82 (53%) included excluded floor area Of the applications for renovations (240), 100 (47%) included excluded floor area.
Monitoring Results: Building Permits Permits with Excluded Floor Area May 2012-May 2016 Of all the applications including excluded floor area (182), 81 (45%) included legalizing existing floor area previously unauthorized. Large majority of permits with excluded floor area were to renovate or construct new single-family dwelling units (176 permits or 97%), Small number of renovations of duplex units with excluded space (6 permits or 3%). No applications were received to construct new duplex units with excluded floor area.
Monitoring Results: Building Permits Amount of Excluded Floor Area Dwellings with excluded floor area (182 in total) had a combined total floor area of 77,593 square meters: an average of 427 square metres per dwelling. Maximum permitted gross floor area for these dwellings (182), without exclusions, was 61,408 square metres: average of 337 square metres per dwelling. Total incremental floor area that would not have been permitted under previous zoning regulations was 16,185 square meters or an average of 89 square metres per dwelling. The total incremental floor area (16,185 square metres) represents 20% of the combined total floor area for all applications with excluded GFA (77,593 square metres, 182 applications). Incremental floor area that was permitted beyond the existing maximum gross floor area provisions (16,185 square metres), represents a 26% increase from what the zoning bylaw permitted prior to adoption of the excluded floor area regulations (61,408 square metres). Applications that legalized existing unauthorized space (81 applications) accounted for 7,373 square metres of excluded floor area, an average of 91 square metres per dwelling. The amount of space for applications that included legalizing existing unauthorized space (7,373 square metres) represented 46% of the total incremental floor area permitted under new excluded space regulations (16,185 m 2 )
Monitoring Results: Building Permits Permits for Excluded Area by Neighbourhood All neighbourhoods in Whistler had building permit applications with excluded floor area qualifying under the new floor area exclusion regulations, ranging from 2 to 35 permit applications. The greatest number of applications were associated with new subdivisions under construction including Rainbow/Baxter Creek (35) and Alta Vista/Lakecrest (23). The amount of excluded floor area and average per dwelling has not been calculated by neighbourhood.
Monitoring Results: Building Permits Other Trends Requiring Further Review Dwellings with excluded floor area appear to be more likely to contain auxiliary suites. Dwellings with excluded floor area are most often located on sloped lots. Data suggests that it is unlikely property owners are demolishing existing homes to build homes with excluded floor area.
Monitoring Results: Variances Variances Resulting from Excluded Space May 2012-May 2016 79 DVP applications. none of these arose from or were attributable to the GFA Exclusion regulations. 79 BOV applications. One application to vary height regulations to allow a larger excluded basement floor area than would otherwise be permitted. Board of Variance approved contrary to staff recommendation.
Monitoring Results: Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions Total incremental energy consumption and incremental GHG emissions associated with incremental excluded floor area (16,184 square metres): Energy Consumption: Approximately 4,661 GJ/Year GHG Emissions: Approximately and 69 Tons/Year respectively. Incremental energy consumption associated with new excluded floor area built since the adoption of the bylaw: Approximately 0.24% of Whistler s total annual energy consumption Approximately 0.60% of Whistler s annual residential energy consumption. Estimated to be the equivalent of approximately 30-35 single-family homes in Whistler. Incremental GHG emissions: Approximately 0.06% of Whistler s total GHG emissions Approximately 0.58% of Whistler s total residential GHG emissions. Due to percentage of home energy used in the form of electricity
Monitoring Results: Infrastructure Capacity and Utilization Capacity and utilization ties to population Online survey sent to homeowners: Building permits for excluded floor area between May 2012 and September 2015 (153 homeowners in total, 42 responses) Just 15% of respondents indicated that more people were (or were expected to be) living or staying in their home as a result of having excluded floor area Just 6 % indicated that additional people were living in their home full time as a result of having excluded floor area. Supports conclusion that the excluded floor area regulations will not impact municipal infrastructure.
Monitoring Results: Form and Character Assessments February 18 th 2014 Council report: Stacking excluded space below other excluded spaces, i.e. mechanical spaces or subbasements developed below excluded areas such as garages or basements. The cumulative effect of multiple excluded spaces within a given building. Currently basements, crawl spaces, void spaces, parking areas, and mechanical spaces can all be excluded, leading to the potential for considerable massing on the site. Manipulation/ raising of existing grade to achieve the requirement to develop excluded floor area. This can result in the new home not complementing the surrounding landscape and fitting the existing streetscape. Council authorized the preparation of zoning bylaw amendments to address these issues Draft amendment bylaws went through a number of iterations Never brought forward for Council s consideration due to their complex nature and interactions with other parameters
Monitoring Results: Form and Character Assessments New impacts identified: Deviation from established building lines. Larger or a perceived larger building massing in comparison to neighbouring properties.
Monitoring Results: Form and Character Assessments Analyzing and addressing form and character impacts has proven challenging. Influenced by a number of factors, (not all are directly related to excluded GFA) trends in housing construction and architecture, home sale and migration trends, lot grading and topographical characteristics, redevelopment and infill trends, others yet to be identified. Comprehensive review and analysis of this issue in a broader context of residential neighbourhood character and development trends is required.
The ISTF Met regularly since 2012 to review monitoring information from staff. Discussed at length many of the Form and Character considerations not directly related to excluded GFA Noted these considerations influence the impacts of excluded GFA and may not specifically be within the scope in the ISTF s terms of reference. May 11 th 2015 ISTF meeting, passed a resolution to recommend that Council to: Modify the scope and structure of the ISTF to reflect a broader spectrum of issues. Change the name of the committee. Extend the term of the committee.
Proposal Undertake a comprehensive review of neighbourhood character considerations and development trends for residential neighbourhoods : Housing construction and architecture, (e.g. extensive rock removal and large retaining walls). Home sale and migration trends (e.g. residents selling homes to second homeowners). Lot grading and topographical characteristics. The supply of developable lots and their characteristics (e.g. the number of undeveloped lots, and their topography and soil conditions) Redevelopment and infill trends (e.g. demolition of existing homes to build new ones and infill housing such as suites and detached auxiliary dwellings) Zoning regulations pertaining to density, setbacks, height calculations, lot grading and floor area exclusion. Other considerations that may be identified during the course of the monitoring program.
Proposal cont. Supporting actions to carry out the proposed new focus: Retaining the services of a qualified consultant: Review and recommendations related to considerations affecting neighbourhood character. Unique combination of expertise is required (e.g. architecture, planning, drafting zoning regulations, graphics etc.) Bring forward for Council s consideration amendments to the terms of reference for the ISTF: Align with the change in project focus. Will likely include: Adding additional members to the taskforce to provide expertise in areas such as affordable housing, property management, and sustainability. Amending the purpose of the committee to align with the new project focus Modifying the term of the Task Force s to reflect the timeframe of the new project focus. Changing the name of the Task Force to better reflect the new role.
Discussion Outcomes of excluded GFA regulations: Relatively small and acceptable impact on infrastructure capacity and energy consumption Positive impact on legalizing illegal space. Impact of on neighbourhood form and character has proven difficult to define and analyze: Broader influences on form and character Evolving nature of Whistler s residential neighbourhoods. New focus of monitoring program. Shifts focus to unresolved issues. Accounts for broader influences not specifically associated with excluded GFA. Focus on neighborhood character.
Recommendation That the results of the monitoring program for the excluded gross floor area regulations in Report No. 16-065 be received; and That Council endorse expanding the focus of the monitoring program for excluded gross floor area to include a comprehensive review of neighbourhood character considerations and development considerations for residential neighbourhoods as described in this report. That Council be advised of staff s intention to retain the services of a qualified consultant to prepare a comprehensive review and recommendations regarding neighbourhood character considerations, development trends and inform potential regulatory changes; and further That staff be authorized to bring forward for Council s consideration amendments to the terms of reference for the Illegal Spaces Task Force to extend the term of the Task Force, rename the Task Force, expand the Task Force s role to align with the above-noted focus of the monitoring program and provide advice on the neighbourhood character study referenced above.