Town of Sidney Downtown / Downtown Waterfront Loc al Area Plan A Blueprint for Building a Complete Community Schedule A Consolidated for Convenience March 27, 2017
Acknowledgements The Town of Sidney Downtown / Downtown Waterfront Local Area Plan (LAP) is the end result of an intensive and collaborative planning process spanning over 14 months. The residents, business owners and other stakeholders are truly passionate about their community and this was reflected in the high level of participation at every stage of the public consultation process. The LAP is the first of its kind for Sidney. Mayor Don Amos and Council should be congratulated for having the vision and foresight to advocate a proactive planning strategy for the future of downtown Sidney. A benchmark of the entire LAP process was the decision by Mayor and Council to establish the LAP Steering Committee. commitment, energy and enthusiasm displayed by this group of volunteers was instrumental in the creation of this plan. The Town of Sidney Council: Mayor Don Amos Councillor Tim Chad Councillor Garry Crispin Councillor Larry Cross Councillor Bob Jones Councillor Marilyn Loveless Councillor Peter Wainwright Local Area Plan Steering Committee: Mel Rinald, Chairperson Mel Satok, Vice Chair, Vision Advisory Committee Mark Dickinson, Advisory Planning Commission John Bell, Advisory Planning Commission Deborah Gray, Advisory Planning Commission Jane Hall, Vision Advisory Committee Debbie Sherwood, Vision Advisory Committee Municipal Staff: Murray Clarke, Chief Administrative Officer Randy Humble, Director of Development Services Alison Myerscough, Manager of Planning Wendy Taylor, Corporate / Human Resources Assistant Robin Pallett, Senior Planning Technician Consultant Support: Norm Hotson, Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Jennifer Kay, Landeca
Executive Summary The Town of Sidney Downtown / Downtown Waterfront Local Area Plan (LAP) was initiated by Council in August 2007 in order to establish a development framework plan to direct and guide the future growth and evolution of downtown Sidney over the next five to ten years. Considered a Blueprint for a Complete Community, the LAP establishes goals and policies that will be utilized by planning staff, the development community and Council when assessing major development proposals and municipal capital improvement projects within the study area. Through the process of developing the LAP, several key goals were established: 1. Facilitate the development of Sidney s downtown / downtown waterfront areas as a vibrant and sustainable community where people can live, work and play; 2. Promote an improved urban form by applying the principles of exceptional urban design, providing enhanced building frontages, integrated streets, squares and parks and establishing intensive day and night time uses; 3. Strengthen and diversify the local economy through the support of local business; 4. Encourage the provision of appropriate community and cultural facilities to enhance the character and diversity of the downtown; 5. Provide high quality civic spaces within the downtown and establish enhanced linkages to the waterfront; and 6. Ensure that buildings are appropriately scaled according to their setting and combined with a proper network of streets, squares and civic spaces that enhance the downtown. The Downtown / Downtown Waterfront Local Area Plan is broken up into four main sections: Land Use Policies; Movement Policies; Built Form Policies and Development Opportunity Sites. The plan is an integral component of the Town s Official Community Plan and subsequently strives to provide direction and support to the development of a future downtown that has been endorsed by the community. In many respects the LAP represents a new benchmark for public consultation and the establishment of a plan that focuses on high quality development, environmentally sustainable practices and sound planning principles.
Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the LAP 2 1.2 Public Involvement 3 1.2.1 LAP Steering Committee 3 1.2.2 Community Involvement 3 Downtown Urban Design 3 Workshop LAP Design Charrette 4 Presentation of Draft LAP 4 Public Hearing 4 1.3 The Vision 5 The Vision Statement 5 Goals of the LAP 5 1.4 The LAP Document Structure 6 2.0 Context 7 2.1 Location and Size 8 2.2 Historical Development 9 2.3 Existing Development Context 10 Dwellings and Population 10 Business and Employment 10 Waterfront 11 Civic and Cultural Spaces 12 Public Open Space and Green Space 12 2.4 Urban Design Context 13 3.0 Land Use 15 3.1 Existing Land Use 16 3.1.1 Official Community Plan Bylaw 1920 16 3.1.2 Zoning Bylaw 1660 17 3.2 Land Use & Density Goals 18 3.3 Mixed Land Use Policies 19 Mixed Uses 19 3.4 Residential Land Use Policies 20 Residential Uses 20 Residential Density 21 3.5 Commercial Land Use Policies 22 Commercial Uses 22 Office Uses 22 3.6 Institutional Land Use Policies 23 Community/Institutional Uses 23 3.7 Waterfront Land Use Policies 24 Waterfront Uses 24 4.0 Movement 25 4.1 Current Circulation 26 4.2 Movement Goals & Objectives 27 4.3 Street Network Policies 28 4.4 Pedestrian Network Policies 29 Through-Block Connections 30 Reducing Obstructions Along Pathways 30 4.5 Alternative Transportation 31 Bicycles 31 Micro-Transit 31 4.6 Vehicular Parking 32 Parking Nodes 33 Other Parking Options 33 4.7 Wayfinding 34 5.0 Built Form 35 5.1 Existing Built Form 36 5.2 Built Form Goals 37 5.3 Policies for Buildings 38 Building Heights 38 Building Facades 39 Building Setbacks 39 Building Entries 39 Building Architecture 40 Materials, Colours and Finishes 40 Historical Elements 40 Privacy and Security 41 Renewable Energy Resources 41 5.4 Policies for Public Space 42 Public Space 42 Seating 43 Street Furniture 43 Lighting 44 Public Art 44 Landscaping and Trees 44 Gateways 45 Safety in the Downtown 45 Signage 45 6.0 Opportunity Sites 47 6.1 The Memorial Park Society Lands 48 6.2 The Safeway Parking Lot 49 6.3 Third / Fourth Street North Block 50 6.4 The Seaport Place Site 51 6.5 Beacon Wharf and Waterfront Plaza 53 7.0 Implementation 55 7.1 Implementation 56
Image Index Page Section Description Courtesy Of Page Section Description Courtesy Of 1 1.0 3 1.2 3 1.2 4 1.2 4 1.2 5 1.3 7 2.0 9 2.2 9 2.2 10 2.3 10 2.3 11 2.3 11 2.3 12 2.3 12 2.3 13 2.4 15 3.0 16 3.1 16 3.1 17 3.1 17 3.1 18 3.2 19 3.3 19 3.3 20 3.4 20 3.4 21 3.4 21 3.4 22 3.5 22 3.5 23 3.6 23 3.6 24 3.7 24 3.7 25 4.0 26 4.1 27 4.2 28 4.3 28 4.3 Glass Beach and the Cannery Building, seen from Beacon Wharf The Beacon-Pat Bay entrance sign in Sidney Fourth Street & Beacon Avenue Town of Sidney OCP cover page Participants of the Design Workshop Attendees at the Public Open House Bevan Fishing Pier Seaport Place and the Port Sidney Marina, from the roof of The Pier Hotel Bird's-eye view of the Saanich Peninsula unconfirmed source Aerial view of Sidney Detail aerial view downtown Sidney Bird's-eye view of Sidney circa 1948 Sidney Archives Cars lining up for the ferry on Beacon Wharf circa 1953 Sidney Archives Illustrative Map: Existing residential densities in the study area Outdoor café seating along Beacon Avenue Port Sidney Marina Glass Beach, The Cannery Building and The Pier Hotel Activity along the waterfront walkway The Mary Winspear Centre Sunrise over Beacon Avenue Activity at Diver's Point and along the waterfront walkway Illustrative Map: OCP Bylaw 1920 designation map Retail along Beacon Avenue Beacon Park and the Fish Market Illustrative Map: Zoning Bylaw 1660 designation map Illustrative Map: Land use illustrative concept plan Through-block connections with retail in San Louis Ibispo, CA Mel Satok Residential density in Fort Worth, TX dfwi.org Lane Housing in London, U.K. Rabichan (Flickr) Retail in along Beacon Avenue Retail and office space, at Fifth St. & Bevan Ave. A Town Square & Municipal Hall concept sketch The RCMP station in Sidney Illustrative Map: Waterfront concept map Port Sidney Marina Beacon Avenue, looking west from Fourth St. Angle parking at the foot of Beacon Ave. Beacon Avenue, looking west Illustrative Map: Illustrative street hierchy concept map Illustrative Map: Reconnecting the southwest sector to the street grid Illustrative Map: Potential pedestrian network concept map Pedestrian-priority street in Nottingham, U.K. Stephen Rees (Flickr) Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA Joel Mann (Flickr) Brevard Court & Latta Arcade, Charlotte, NC Payton Chung (Flickr) 4-way through-block connection concept 31 4.5 31 4.5 32 4.6 32 4.6 33 4.6 34 4.7 34 4.7 35 5.0 36 5.1 36 5.1 37 5.2 38 5.3 38 5.3 39 5.3 39 5.3 40 5.3 40 5.3 42 5.4 43 5.4 43 5.4 44 5.4 44 5.4 47 6.0 50 6.3 50 6.3 52 6.4 53 6.5 53 6.5 55 7.0 56 7.1 56 7.1 XinTianDi, Shanghai, P.R.C. The Langford trolley Bike parking along Beacon Avenue Example of shielded parking structure sketch, as per policy 4.6.4 Example of half-basement parking sketch, as per policy 4.6.6 Illustrative Map: Potential parking node map Wayfinding in DesMoines, IA Concrete map wayfinding in Grand Rapids, Ill Looking east up Beacon Avenue Bird s-eye view of downtown Sidney, with the study area bound in yellow Third St. & Beacon Ave., looking north Illustrative Map: Illustrative public realm concept Example of heights/stepbacks along Beacon sketch, as per policy 5.3.1 Illustrative Map: Proposed building height concept plan Building façade in Portland, OR Streetscape in Hamburg, Germany Row housing in Victoria, B.C. Colours & architecture in Montevido, Uruguay LEED-Platinum development in Victoria, B.C. Local wildlife in Sidney Solar panels Sidewalk along Beacon Ave. design bicyle parking in Winnipeg, MB Public seating in Santa Cruz, CA Artistic seating in Hobarts, Australia Artistic bollard lighting in Canberra, Australia San Diego's gateway to the Gaslamp District Stamped concrete signage in Vancouver, B.C. Signage in Carmel, CA Aerial view of downtown Sidney and its opportunity sites Aerial detail of the Memorial Park Society Lands Conceptual site development of the MPS Lands The current site, looking southeast from the roof of the Mary Winspear Centre Aerial detail of the 'Fifth/Seventh St. Block South' site Conceptual site development of the' site The current site, looking southeast from Beacon Avenue Aerial detail of the 'Third/Fourth St. Block North' site Conceptual site development of the site Aerial detail of the Seaport Place Lands Conceptual site development of the Seaport Place Lands The current site, looking northeast from Seaport Place Concept sketch from the Design Charrette for the waterfront Aerial detail of the 'Beacon Wharf & Waterfront Plaza' site Conceptual site development of the 'Beacon Wharf & Waterfront Plaza' site Construction of the roundabout at First St. & Beacon Ave. Construction of the Pier Hotel in Sidney 'GreenArcher04' (Flickr) The City of Langford Taunton Deane Town Centre Area Action Plan Matt Blackett (Flickr) 'Eridony' (Flickr) ttcopely (Flickr) 'jowrites365' (Flickr) Eric Firley (Flickr) 'pnrwa' (Flickr) mirianpnam' (Flickr) 'elryerson85' (Flickr) 'evillagesolar' Flickr) 'Zadi' (c/o Flickr) anbg.gov.au westcoastroads.com 'Eridony' (Flickr) Larry Cross 'sodium nightlife' (Flickr)