By Justin Brisbane
Justin@canmoreleader.com
Wednesday May 07, 2008
After nearly a year of asking developers to justify their projects, the contentious sustainability screening report process is set to fall under the microscope after council directed staff to conduct a review.
Council directed staff to draft a sustainability evaluation checklist to be used for sustainability screening reports. They also asked staff to review four aspects of the SSR process that have caused concern or confusion during the past year.
While the process has produced numerous potential developments and donations, (not to mention headaches for developers and councillors) Planner Steve deKeijzer said the SSR process was to be reviewed a year after it was introduced. Since it was introduced last July, the SSR process has led to the potential development of 836 residential units, 72 attainable units, 78 perpetually affordable housing units, 245 visitor accommodation units, an educational institution and 24,500 square metres of commercial space.
DeKeijzer said that there has been a “challenge of understanding” surrounding the SSR process, which has led to a “lack of clarity and predictability” for those involved.
“From administration standpoint, not surprisingly, there has been an emphasis on the social fabric, an issue the town is struggling with, than on the other areas,” he said, noting that several applicants expressed frustration over determining the social benefits of their projects. Other developers, DeKeijzer said, skewed their proposals heavily towards including perpetually affordable housing as opposed to balancing economic, environmental and social fabric aspects. In order to address some of these issues, the town invited Kim Fowler from the City of Port Coquitlam to speak.
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She shared the B.C. town’s experiences with sustainability, focusing on the benefits of triple bottom line accounting.
Port Coquitlam has developed a sustainability checklist for developers to adhere to. The city weighs development applications based on its social, environmental and economic impact, and provides a score for each.
Council directed staff to review four specific aspects of the SSR process: the threshold to where SSR should apply, examine if change of use permits require an SSR, the size of residential developments that require an SSR and situations where applicants change their application on the fly. DeKeijzer said there have been concerns centred around each of those issues. He said the town could increase the size of subdivisions that require an SSR.
“Currently, anything beyond a duplex requires an SSR,” deKeijzer said. “Council may wish to increase that threshold.”
Mayor Ron Casey said while the limits are arbitrary, there was rationale behind their application.
“Could you really show the social benefit of a duplex? How small does it get before you can’t apply the SSR in a meaningful way,” Mayor Casey said.
Developers who change their contributions midway through their application are also a problem, the planner said.
“There have been suggestions made on the fly, which has resulted in confusion about what exactly is being proposed,” he said.
Coun. Jim Ridley asked if established standards could be set for the SSR process to determine what exactly is sustainable.
DeKeijzer said that is easy with certain standards, but more difficult with others, as each project is different.
Coun. Jim Ridley proposed an amendment to the motion asking for staff to review the possibility of another SSR- type process for smaller developments in town. He used the example of a large house being built on a double lot .
“A rather large home has an impact on the community. If for example we approve the residential development of an 8,000 square-foot house, what impact will that have? I’m interested in having a look at it all.”
Council defeated the motion by a 4-2 margin. The review is expected to come back before council on May 20.
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