Nanaimo OCP Community Consultation November 18, 2006 Cheeying Ho, Smart Growth BC
Outline Problems with conventional development patterns Smart growth principles Plan Nanaimo 5 goals Progress and areas for improvement Suggestions to advance Plan Nanaimo goals Examples of intensification
Smart Growth BC Founded in 1999, Smart Growth BC is a non-profit, nongovernment organization with a mandate to create more livable communities in British Columbia Education and assistance Research Community Engagement Implementation Advisory Services
Smart Growth is development that enhances the quality of life, protects the environment, uses land efficiently, and uses tax revenues wisely for the benefit of all.
The where and how of growth What is Smart Growth? More transportation choices and less traffic Vibrant cities, suburbs and towns Wider variety of housing choices Well-planned growth that improves quality of life Not against cars and roads Not anti-suburban Not about telling people where or how to live Not against growth
Why is Smart Growth a Good Thing?
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What s Wrong with the Current System? Segregation housing, retail, businesses all separated Automobile oriented development necessitating driving; poorly suited for walking, bicycling or transit the S word
What s Wrong with the Current System? Segregation housing, retail, businesses all separated Automobile oriented development necessitating driving; poorly suited for walking, bicycling or transit SPRAWL
Financial Impacts Costs to individuals to buy, insure, maintain, and gas up: CAA estimates about $8,000/year Costs to taxpayers of building and repairing roads, bridges, parking lots, stormwater systems.sprawl is expensive! Infrastructure costs per unit: $23,520 for low density development $4,408 for compact development
Environmental Impacts Air pollution Excess pavement and habitat loss Impact on streams and groundwater Disposal of used cars/parts
Social Impacts Loss of community identity and uniqueness Lack of housing and transportation choices
Health Impacts Air pollution Traffic accidents Lack of access to services and amenities Lack of physical activity, obesity
In the last 20 years, child obesity rates have quintupled in Canada (Centre for Health Promotion Studies). Almost 50% of Canadian adults and 37% of Canadian children are now either overweight or obese. Car-dependent Canadians get far less physical activity and are at increased risk of being overweight or obese.
Smart Growth Principles 1. Mix land uses. 2. Build compact neighbourhoods. 3. Provide a variety of transportation choices. 4. Create diverse housing opportunities. 5. Encourage growth in existing communities. 6. Preserve open spaces, natural beauty, and environmentally sensitive areas. 7. Maintain agricultural lands. 8. Utilize smarter, and cheaper infrastructure and buildings. 9. Foster a unique neighbourhood identity. 10. Nurture engaged citizens.
Plan Nanaimo Goals 1. Build complete, viable communities 2. Protect the environment 3. Manage urban growth 4. Improve mobility and servicing efficiency 5. Ongoing planning and community involvement
Plan Nanaimo enough approved land available today to accommodate about another 50,000 people (estimate is 33,000 people in next 25 years). growth rates between 2% and 4% per year - enough residential zoned land to accommodate growth for the next 14 to 28 years.
Plan Nanaimo fill up the existing areas now serviced and zoned for development. protect rural lands from urban sprawl with an Urban Containment Boundary. encourage significant additional development to occur inside Growth Centres - Town Centres and Neighbourhood Villages.
Plan Nanaimo does not support rezoning of existing agricultural lands for subdivision and development. does not support significant increases in the density of existing residential neighbourhoods by allowing rezoning for medium or high density housing in these areas.
Plan Nanaimo: progress Urban containment boundary in place Plans for creating complete, mixed use growth centres (town centres, regional shopping centres and neighbourhood villages) Improvements in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure Some alternative stormwater management practices Riparian protection policies in place Planning for transit along growth centre nodes DCC planning to reflect land use designations
Needs improvement Residential densities are low (4 units per hectare / 12 people per hectare) Segregated residential development still occurring Too many designated growth centres has diffused development interest Still lots of new development taking place outside designated growth centres 89% of commuters drive to work, despite the fact that commuting distances are very short (4.4 km) Transit service remains inefficient (3% trips)
Suggestions for OCP Review
1. Build complete, viable communities Focus on fewer growth centres and strengthen investments and incentives for development. Priorize infill development over new undeveloped sites. Ensure increased density, mixture of land uses, and connectivity of streets. Strengthen local economic development opportunities.
Residential Infill PROJECT DATA Site Area: 50 x 122 = 0.057 Ha. 6 condominium town houses. Two loft style, one 2 storey, three 2.5 storey. Unit size: 720 1195 sq. ft. 105 uph, 0.95 FSR 63.6% site coverage $185,000 to $280,000
Small lot duplexes
Intensifying corridors, arterials
Connectivity and mixed use The three most important factors linked to increased walking were density, land use mix and connectivity.
Strengthening local economic development
Other elements to include in goal Include specific goals and strategies to ensure affordable housing and a diverse range of housing options, especially for an aging demographic (173% growth in 65-74 age group) Incorporate health goals into land use planning and consider aging demographics
Create diverse affordable housing options A variety of housing types and tenures accommodates people in different economic strata, family types, life stages or conditions.
East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan Inclusionaryzoning for a range of densities and diversity of housing types Permits both secondary suites and coach houses
Healthy communities Plan for walking, cycling and transit Plan and design with people in mind, not the car (e.g. interconnected streets) Implement urban design that encourages walking (e.g. sidewalks, storefronts that face the street)
2. Protect the Environment Create compact developments to preserve greenspaces and protect environmentally sensitive areas Ensure development that respects natural systems and hydrological cycles Reduce automobile-oriented development to reduce traffic congestion
Respect natural systems Water sensitive land use planning Green infrastructure LEED design standards Permeable surfaces
Seattle Street Edge Alternatives Before After Natural drainage systems SEA reduced impervious surfaces to 11% less than traditional suburban street
Use Existing Drainage Systems so Runoff Infiltrates Naturally Result: 90% reduction in impact to stream hydrology, more greenspace
3. Manage urban growth Maintain and strengthen urban containment boundary Protect agricultural and rural lands Create industrial reserves or ensure designated space for industry within UCB
Urban Containment Boundaries Maximize use of existing infrastructure before making additional investments Help to create vibrant neighbourhoods and centres by concentrating human activity Preserve agricultural, rural and habitat lands Land is a finite resource. Undeveloped lands are required to sustain ecosystems and provide land for farming.
Use the ALR, green spaces, forested lands and open spaces as urban containment boundaries.
4. Improve mobility and servicing efficiency Focus should be on improving access, not necessarily mobility Urban development should be guided primarily by compact, efficient land use planning rather than the expansion of transportation capacity to meet increasing travel demand. Efficient walking, cycling and transit only become viable when a community achieves a level of compactness. Efficient transit requires residential densities of at least 10 units per acre (25 units per hectare). INVEST in pedestrian / bicycle infrastructure!
Density and transit usage
Transit service and density Source: BC Transit
Annual petrol use vs density Dr. Jeff Kenworthy
4. Improve mobility and servicing efficiency Create compact developments and priorize infill to use existing infrastructure more effectively, reducing new servicing costs Explore strategies such as eco-industrial networking Implement a green building standard or policy such as LEED to reduce solid, liquid waste and energy requirements
Per capita service cost Residential density
5. Ongoing planning and community involvement Ensure early citizen engagement Provide meaningful opportunities for ongoing involvement Use collaborative and integrated visioning, design and planning processes
Smart Growth on the Ground
8 Guiding Principles
Process
Charrette Collaborative Integrated Multi-disciplinary Community-based Proactive Research-based Inclusive Representative Consensus-based Flexible
Charrette Team Business Developers Landowners Educators Community Recreation Environment Residents Industry District staff Council Squamish Nation Government Transportation Market / cost analysis Other experts Designers Facilitators
Project Results Research (e.g. green infrastructure costing; market opportunities) Policy alignment and revision (e.g. zoning and OCP changes, environment by-law) Developer and partner interest Capacity building Institutional change
Squamish on the ground! Community support changing mind set; shifting community identity The District is preparing a Downtown Sub-Area Plan for the OCP New downtown developments are being reviewed against the recommendations of the Concept Plan Land owners involved in creating the plan Capilano College is exploring their options for an expanded downtown Squamish campus West Coast Environmental Law will assist Squamish with new by-laws and engineering standards The Bridging to the Future project will assist Squamish with energy planning for a growing population
Infill: Before and After
Selkirk Waterfront
Healthy by Design Any busy downtown sidewalk will reveal the mystery of why Vancouverites are an uncommonly vigorous and healthy bunch and why their city is so widely admired. Stand on Robson Street for five minutes on a weekday afternoon. Count the people walking past: 346. Note the number who are obviously overweight: 2. Estimate the number wearing backpacks: 100. Now take another five minutes to count the cars moving steadily and easily past: 74 (plus two trucks and three buses). Reach for your calculator: 4.5 pedestrians for every car. There you have it. Not exactly scientific proof, but an insight into Vancouver s formula for health residents and urban vitality: more walking, less driving. More than any North American city, Vancouver has intentionally merged public health with city planning. The goal is not just to promote recreation (there are plenty of bike trails and tennis courts), but to design physical activity into the daily routine, to build a city so compelling that people will leave their cars at home, strap on a backpack and take up walking as their primary mode of travel. Steve Berg, Star Tribune (Minneapolis/St Paul)
Smart Growth BC Thank You! www.smartgrowth.bc.ca