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11. SANDY
HILL INTERIM CONTROL BY-LAW RÉGLEMENT DE RESTRICTION PROVISOIRE À CÔTE-DE-SABLE
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Committee recommendationS as
amended
1.
That Council approve an amendment to
former Ottawa Zoning By-law, 1998 to replace exception [87] in the area shown
in Document 1, with a new exception that will:
i)
Carry forward the existing exception
of permitting a dwelling unit as an additional use under Column II, Part XV
–Exceptions;
ii)
Retain the provision under Column IV
Provisions, Part XV – Exceptions, permitting a rooming house limited to 50 per
cent of the gross floor area of the building; and
iii)
Reduce the size of a permitted
special needs house from 30 to
10 residents.
iv)
Apply a separation distance to this exception zone that states: “Where
located within or abutting this zone, a special needs home must be separated
from any other lot containing a special needs home, a distance of 300 metres
from each property line of the lot on which the special needs home is located”,
and;
That no further notice be provided pursuant to
Section 34(17) of the Planning Act.
2.
That following adoption of the
implementing zoning by-law, the interim control by‑law 2005-253 be
repealed.
RecommandationS modifiÉes du Comité
1. Que
le Conseil approuve une modification à l’ancien Règlement de zonage de
1998 de la Ville d’Ottawa, afin de remplacer l’exception [87] dans le secteur
illustré dans le Document 1 par une nouvelle exception qui permettrait ce qui
suit :
i)
Reporter
l’exception existante autorisant une unité résidentielle en tant qu’utilisation
supplémentaire, figurant à la colonne II, partie XV – Exceptions;
ii)
Conserver
la disposition figurant à la colonne IV Dispositions, partie XV – Exceptions,
autorisant une maison de chambres limitée à 50 pour cent de la surface de
plancher brute du bâtiment;
iii)
Réduire
la capacité d’accueil d’un logement pour besoins spéciaux autorisé de 30 à 10
résidents.
iv) Appliquer une marge de recul à cette
zone d’exception stipulant ce qui suit : « S’il est situé à
l’intérieur de cette zone ou s’il est contigu à celle-ci, un logement d’accueil
pour besoins spéciaux doit être séparé de tout autre lot où se trouve un
logement d’accueil pour besoins spéciaux, par une distance de 300 mètres de la
limite de chaque propriété où se trouve un logement d’accueil pour besoins
spéciaux »;
Qu’aucun autre avis ne soit donné
conformément au paragraphe 34(17) de la Loi
sur l’aménagement du territoire.
2. Qu’à la suite de l’adoption de la mise
en application du règlement de zonage, le règlement de restriction provisoire
2005-253 soit abrogé.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report Planning,
Transit and the Environment dated
15 February (ACS2007-PTE-POL-0007).
2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 27
March 2007.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
15 February 2007 / le 15 février 2007
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/
Directrice municipale adjointe,
Planning Transit and the Environment / Urbanisme,
Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Richard Kilstrom, Manager, Community Planning and
Design
Planning, Environment and Infrastructure
Policy/Politiques d’urbanisme, d’environnement et d’infrastructure
(613) 580-2424 x 22653,
Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
That the Planning and Environment
Committee recommend that Council approve an amendment to former Ottawa Zoning
By-law, 1998 to replace exception [87] in the area shown in Document 1, with a
new exception that will:
i)
Carry forward the existing exception
of permitting a dwelling unit as an additional use under Column II, Part XV
–Exceptions;
ii)
Retain the provision under Column IV
Provisions, Part XV – Exceptions, permitting a rooming house limited to 50 per
cent of the gross floor area of the building; and
iii)
Reduce the size of a permitted
special needs house from 30 to 15 residents.
2.
That following adoption of the
implementing zoning by-law, the interim control by‑law 2005-253 be
repealed.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
1. Que
le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil
d’approuver une modification à l’ancien Règlement de zonage de 1998 de la Ville
d’Ottawa, afin de remplacer l’exception [87] dans le secteur illustré dansle Document 1 par une nouvelle exception
qui permettrait ce qui suit :
i) Reporter l’exception existante
autorisant une unité résidentielle en tant qu’utilisation supplémentaire,
figurant à la colonne II, partie XV – Exceptions;
ii) Conserver la disposition figurant à la
colonne IV Dispositions, partie XV – Exceptions, autorisant une maison de
chambres limitée à 50 pour cent de la surface de plancher brute du bâtiment;
iii) Réduire la capacité d’accueil d’un
logement pour besoins spéciaux autorisé de 30 à 15 résidents.
2. Qu’à la suite de l’adoption de la mise en application du règlement de zonage, le règlement de restriction provisoire 2005-253 soit abrogé.
BACKGROUND
Council passed Interim Control By-law 2005-253 on May 25, 2005, to prohibit special needs housing, as well as retirement homes and shelter accommodation in that area of Sandy Hill zoned R5C[87], identified in Document 1, such area of which is bounded by Laurier Avenue East, Chapel Street, Somerset Street East and Henderson Avenue. The direction to undertake a study was identified following the application for a building permit for 433 Nelson Street to house a 30-resident group home.
The purpose of the interim by-law is to allow a review of the land use planning policies for the area, excluding 433 Nelson, to assess the implications of those housing forms, and to establish appropriate standards for regulating these land uses. Pursuant to the Ontario Planning Act, Interim Control By-law 2005-253 is to expire on May 25, 2007, after an amending by-law 2006‑195 granted a second and final year to conclude the study.
The review of the various current zoning regulations of the former municipalities, for special needs houses, including both group homes and shelters, as well as retirement homes has been undertaken concurrently with this project as part of the new Comprehensive Zoning By-law project. The proposed zoning approach for these uses will be reflected in the revisions to the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law to be released in May 2007, and will affect both the size and separation area requirements of each use.
During the consultation on the draft new Zoning By-law, questions were raised as to the efficacy and fairness of having separation areas between group homes applied differently between inner and outer urban areas. As a result, the current and proposed regulations were reviewed with the aim of creating one city-wide urban minimum separation area for all group homes.
This was considered during the course of this interim control study as well as during the current preparation of the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law.
The Ward Councillor, as well as representatives of Action Sandy Hill, indicated that the inclusion of retirement homes within the Interim Control By-law was an anomaly and that there is no issue with respect to the zoning permission of this use. As such, it is recommended that no change be made to the current zoning approach applied to retirement homes, both purpose-built and converted, within the study area.
Recommendation 1
For roughly 30 years, both the Province and local Ontario municipalities have maintained a policy on group homes that requires the use to be permitted wherever a dwelling is permitted. This policy is reflected in the former Ottawa Zoning By-law 1998, and this policy continues in the City’s new Official Plan.
The Official Plan contains separate policies applicable to large-scale shelters and to group homes.
While the Official Plan permits group homes virtually everywhere, shelter accommodation is permitted in most, but not all, designations including General Urban, Developing Community, Central Area, Mixed-Use Centre, and Village. In addition, it requires that the use be designed in a manner compatible with the general surroundings. The Official Plan also notes that the zoning by-law may include area-specific provisions to regulate the type, size and location of both group homes and shelters.
The policy on shelter accommodation is intended to apply to large-scale shelters that provide temporary housing to the homeless. Data indicate that these shelters provide accommodation to more than 100 people per night. Shelters, such as those for the abused and their children, are small in size, and are intended to be located in an unobtrusive manner within neighbourhoods. Small shelters function more as group homes and are proposed to continue to fall within that term in the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law.
The area that is subject to the Interim Control By-law 2005-253 comprises six blocks currently zoned R5C [87] in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood. The R5 zone is the second highest density residential zone applicable in old Ottawa, allowing all residential dwelling types up to and including low-rise apartments of a maximum of four storeys, or 13.5 metres in height; special needs houses with a maximum of 30 residents; and retirement homes, both purpose-built and converted. The neighbourhood contains a mix of dwelling types permitted in the R5 zone. The [87] exception zone dates back to the 1960’s and essentially permits rooming houses to occupy a maximum of 50 per cent of the gross floor area of a dwelling.
Of importance is that other than 433 Nelson Street, there are no group homes within the study area. Furthermore, there are no large shelters within the study area, as the use is not permitted, nor is it proposed to be permitted under the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law. Unlike group homes, which are permitted in all residential zones, as well as in non-residential zones, shelters, as proposed, will be limited to the highest density Residential, as well as to non-residential, zones, reflecting the current approach in old Ottawa.
The area with the highest number of large-scale (homeless) shelters is the Central Area, with four of the eight shelters in the City. Centretown contains one shelter, as well as six group homes. Dalhousie houses five group homes; Forbes, Canterbury, the Glebe and West Ottawa, each contain four group homes, with one shelter as well in West Ottawa. The whole of Sandy Hill contains three group homes. Queensway Terrace North houses two group homes and a shelter and finally, Lowertown East and West each contain one group home, with Lowertown West containing a shelter as well. Group homes are located throughout the suburbs, but are limited in the rural area to a few villages, located solely within old Cumberland.
Zoning Definition
Special needs houses are defined in the former City of Ottawa Zoning By-law 1998 as follows: means a supervised group-residence used for residential purposes by three or more persons, exclusive of staff, where the residents live as a group in a single household living arrangement and where the residents, as a condition of their residency, require and accept support or supervision on a daily basis such that, at a minimum, staff is responsible for providing or arranging meals, or supervising the preparation of meals. The use is permitted in all residential and mixed-use zones, in all dwelling types, and is subject to size limits and separation distances. The former City of Ottawa’s zoning strategy for special needs housing was meant to incorporate, not only group homes, but homeless shelters, small scale crisis shelters for the abused and their children, hospices, domiciliary hostels and at one time, retirement homes.
In all but former Ottawa, group homes were defined to include between three and ten residents, exclusive of staff, with Vanier setting the upper maximum at 15 residents. No zoning by-law created a distinct term for shelter. As there is no current land use term for the latter use, it would have had to fall under the term “group home” or an institutional use. However, since a group home is generally limited to ten residents, no large-scale homeless shelter is currently permitted in any residential zones of the former municipalities as-of-right, other than in old Ottawa, where the definition had no upper resident limit in the higher density Residential, as well as non-residential zones. Where a general “institutional” land use term was created, a shelter could have been permitted but limited to institutional zones only.
Because of the all-inclusive special needs housing term applicable in old Ottawa, the regulations were created to meet the needs and requirements of all of those land uses. This included size limits that ranged from eight to 30 residents, with no maximum size limit in the highest density residential and mixed-use zones. This meant that group homes could be as large as 30 residents in the R5 zone, with no size limit in the R6 and R7 and commercial zones. The large numbers of residents permitted were included to ensure that these other types of group housing, particularly domiciliary hostels and homeless shelters, were permitted. However, the larger size permission for a “special needs house” does not reflect the overall concept of a group home, as the existing term “special needs housing” was drafted. The existing definition states its function is to house a group of people living and functioning as a single household living unit – or indeed, living as a family.
Under the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law, group homes and shelters are proposed to be regulated based on their anticipated land use impact. The sheer size and function of a large shelter is much greater, along with its pedestrian and vehicular traffic, than that of a group home. Separate definitions and regulations are proposed for these two land uses in the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law.
The proposed group home definition in the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law remains essentially the same as in existing zoning by-laws, with three modifications:
1) The upper resident cap of 15, exclusive of staff;
2) A change in wording as to whether the residents require or merely receive support; and
3) References to various legislation delineating type of resident or funding has been deleted from those few zoning by-laws that contained those limitations.
It is recommended that the current “special needs house” term be retained in the zoning for the study area, to keep matters simple in the wake of the adoption of the new Comprehensive Zoning By-law. There is no reason to delete the current term and have it replaced, as the proposed definitions do not have any substantive differences from the current special needs house term, other than the exclusion of shelter; and in the case of the study area’s zoning, shelters are not permitted in any event. Moreover, the creation of new terms has no effect on the crux of the reason for this Interim Control, which is to reduce the size of special needs houses in the study area.
Recommended Size Limit for Group Homes
Over 70 per cent of all existing group homes within the city contain eight or fewer residents; with 20 per cent between nine and 15 residents; and only seven per cent between 16 and 30 residents.
The recommended approach under the Draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law is to limit the density to eight residents in the low and mid-density Residential zones, with an upper cap of 15 residents in all other applicable residential and non-residential zones. This reflects the eight- resident limit in old Ottawa, unlike the higher limit of ten in most other municipalities’ current zoning by-laws. The higher limit of fifteen reflects the current resident cap existing in the higher density residential zones of old Vanier, and also reflects a similar density limit in old Ottawa of 12 residents in the mid-density residential zones.
This approach reflects the original motion on this Interim Control, requesting a reduction in the size cap from 30 to 12, and as such, it is recommended that this reduction in size, from 30 residents to 15 residents, be implemented in the study area, in advance of the same regulation proposed to apply throughout the City with the passage of the new Comprehensive Zoning By‑law.
In addition to amending the zoning of the study area to reduce the maximum permitted size of a group home, the zoning exception would carry forward the existing exception of permitting a dwelling unit, and of limiting a rooming house to 50 per cent of the gross floor area of the building.
Recommended Separation Distances and Calculations
As proposed in the new draft Zoning By-law is proposing to split the zoning of group homes from shelters, there is no longer the need for such small separation areas in old Ottawa.
One standard separation area is being considered to be applied throughout the whole of the urban area, of 300 metres from all property lines between group homes, and a 500-metre buffer from all property lines between shelters. This separation area will be reflected in the revisions to the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law to be released this Spring. Existing legal group homes and shelters that do not comply with these new provisions will be given site-specific exceptions.
An additional regulation that will be proposed in the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law is that the separation areas between group homes and between shelters should not extend beyond natural or man-made boundaries, as the boundaries themselves create sufficient and effective separation. Included within these boundaries should be highways such as the Queensway and Highway 174, parkways, and waterways.
Although new separation distances will be recommended in the revised draft Zoning By-law that differ from both existing old Ottawa regulations and the initially drafted regulations noted in the May 2006 version of the draft Zoning By-law, staff are recommending that these new separation areas not be included as part of this neighbourhood-specific interim control study zoning amendment, but that they only come into effect following public hearings on the Comprehensive Zoning By-law, as this issue has broader implications across the city.
Recommendation 2
Once Council adopts the study area zoning amendment, it is recommended, for administrative reasons, that Council also repeal the study area’s Interim Control By-law 2005-253.
CONSULTATION
In addition to the required
notification of the passage of the interim control by-law, a web page was
created and kept updated as the study progressed. Meetings were held with both Action Sandy Hill and the Ward
Councillor, wherein an information package introducing the recommended zoning
approach was presented. Action Sandy
Hill generally supports the proposed zoning approach with respect to the size
reduction.
Comment was received by RES Policy Research Inc. on behalf of the Byward Market, Downtown Rideau and Vanier BIAs outlining concerns with the potential number of shelters within Ward 12; the proposed separation distances between shelters and group homes, amongst other matters. As explained to them, their concerns are not of direct relevance to this Interim Control study, but rather are relevant to the Ward 12 Interim Control Study, and to the draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law, as their concerns are with shelters and this report deals solely with group homes in one residential zone. This group has been identified as one that will be consulted in the early stages of the Ward Interim Control Study.
As part of the
Comprehensive Zoning By-law project, a letter was sent to all group home
operators indicating that changes in zoning regulations would be coming forward
in the new Comprehensive Zoning By-law, and that any existing legal group homes
(and shelters) that would not meet the new standards would be given
site-specific zoning to ensure continued conformity under the new Zoning
By-law. Numerous operators replied to
the letter, assisting staff in establishing an effective and comprehensive
list.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 – Location Map
DISPOSITION
Planning, Transit and the Environment to prepare the implementing by-laws, forward to Legal Services Branch and undertake the statutory notification.
Corporate Services, Legal Services Branch to forward the implementing by-laws to City Council.
LOCATION MAP DOCUMENT
1
