Years in the making, a plan to build upland and float homes along a stretch of River Road, moved a step closer to conclusion recently.
Council on March 27 granted preliminary approval for a zoning amendment for 11 side-by-side vacant waterfront properties of various sizes at 6291 to 6351 River Rd.
It was back in 2017 when council gave final approval to close a portion of River Road and consolidate it with a property, listed as 6303 River Rd. at the time, in order to subdivide and construct 11 single-family dwellings on upland lots with 11 float homes on proposed water lots fronting them.
Back in 2013, when the application was originally made, a large number of recreational users of Deas Slough showed up at a public hearing to voice their opposition to the proposal to build float homes on the Deas Slough waterway.
Council chambers at Municipal Hall was packed with residents, the majority speaking against the rezoning plan by Kyan Management Corporation and Grove Crest Stables.
Located in proximity to Deas Island Regional Park, the float homes were proposed at the time to be ranging in size to a maximum of approximately 2,400-square-feet each.
According to a report by the applicant in 2013, the proposal scored well across all three “sustainability categories” of social, integration with natural environment processes and green construction and building technology.
However, recreational users of the waterway, including the Delta Deas Rowing Club, said allowing water lots would give the new homeowners rights over a public waterway and block some activities from taking place.
At the hearing, most also expressed concerns about the safety of narrowing the area for rowing, kayaking and other activities, including regattas, that take place on the waterway.
Council granted preliminary approval that year, but the owners were still required to apply to the Port of Vancouver for water lot leases as a condition of final consideration and adoption of the bylaws.
However, following council’s preliminary approval, jurisdiction for water lot leases in Deas Slough was transferred from the port to the province.
Receiving several extensions from the city, the owners, subsequently received an investigate licence from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development in 2015, requiring them to satisfy technical issues prior to the submission of an application to establish the water lots. The owners subsequently entered into a covenant with Delta that stated that no float homes may be constructed on the water unless water lot lease tenure had been granted by the province.
In 2017, the city’s planning department reported that the owners were still working with the province, but recommended final approval for the subdivision be granted, as the covenant not to proceed with any works extending beyond the upland lot area was in place.
In 2019, the province announced it would not be accepting any more applications for floating home communities.There's no indication when that policy will change.
The owners recently submitted a new application to the city requesting changes, including setback requirements, that would see larger upland houses and, if they are eventually permitted, smaller float homes fronting them.
A planning department report notes the owners requested the latest amendments because the site conditions have changed as a result of the road design, lot servicing, dike design, environmental restrictions and the provincial policy change when it comes to floating homes.
The Delta Deas Rowing Club conveyed opposition to the latest proposal, also raising their concerns to Metro Vancouver.
“Staff followed up with the president of the rowing club to explain that the properties are currently zoned to allow floating homes as a permitted use and that the proposed text amendment to the zone would likely result in smaller floating homes on the water area and would not change siting criteria for float homes,” the report noted.
The report added that a public hearing would not be required because the application, which still needs provincial and federal approvals, complies with the Official Community Plan.
