Delta council last week gave preliminary approval to a proposed residential subdivision in Ladner that staff had originally recommended rejecting.
Earlier this summer, council agreed to vote against the recommendation by planning staff to deny an application to rezone and subdivide the corner lot at 5055 Whitworth Crescent North to build two larger new houses, instead agreeing to direct staff to bring the rezoning application back without revisions.
The application, originally submitted three years ago, would see the 19,375-square-foot property, which currently has one older house to be demolished, split into two single-detached residential lots.
One of the new lots would have a 5,495-square foot house with a suite, while the other would have a 4,193-square-foot house with a suite as well.
The owners applied to rezone the property from Single Detached Residential 1 (RS1) to Comprehensive Development Zone 51 (CDZ5).
A public hearing can’t be held because the application adheres to the Official Community Plan (OCP).
A letter to council from the applicant's architect noted that, from the beginning, the motivation for the subdivision application was to allow for an extended family to stay together and age in place.
"If approved, the ultimate size of home would be adequate to house the owner, and their growing family, as well as provide dignified housing for their aging parents, who could be potentially accommodated in an above grade suite," the letter explained.
A report to council notes that public notification letter regarding the proposal was sent in October 2021, followed by the installation of a public notice sign.
Twelve neighbours on Whitworth Crescent North and South responded, with 11 people opposed to the proposal. Major concerns included the narrow lot widths and the sizes of the proposed buildings.
Staff provided a summary of public feedback to the owners in February 2022, however, the owners did not make any changes to the proposal to address the concerns, the report notes.
The CDZ51 Zone would enable the owners to construct their preferred house designs.
The report adds that should the application be approved, the owners could have up to four units on each of the proposed lots to the maximum floor area permitted in CDZ51 without further consideration by council.
“Future phases of Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) implementation may include work on updating and reducing the number of single detached residential (RS) zones in the Delta Zoning Bylaw to simplify house size and subdivision regulations consistently across Delta,” the report adds.
