Delta council will consider a new zoning designation now that the cities updated Official Community Plan (OCP) has been approved.
At their July 22 meeting, council will consider a recommendation to introduce an Apartment Residential 6 (RA6) zone for residential apartment buildings up to a maximum of six-storeys in areas designated Neighbourhood Centres and Corridors (NC) in the new OCP.
The RA6 zone would regulate height, density and setbacks for the multi-unit apartment buildings.
The new NC designation is among the OCP’s 10 land use designations, which are more generalized and provide a high level, long-term vision for land uses.
According to the city, NC permits up to six-storeys along key corridors and in smaller neighbourhood centres.
The designation is to support mixed-use and residential buildings that contribute to engaging pedestrian experiences. The buildings can be low-rise apartment buildings, commercial or mixed-use buildings with retail mostly on the ground floor, as well as townhomes.
A report on the new OCP states that under the previous OCP, there were limited areas for townhouse or apartment developments. That made the process to construct those forms of housing more difficult, as each project required a lengthy process to apply for an amendment to the OCP.
