The City of Delta is considering several more residential subdivision applications that would see single-lots split into two where one new house would be constructed on each.
One is for a property in the 8400-block of Brooke Road, an application that had already been submitted prior to the provincial small-scale multi-unit (SSMUH) regulations which permit up to four units on the majority of single detached and duplex zoned lots in Delta.
Council approved those bylaw amendments earlier this summer, and soon afterward gave final approval to sweeping updates to the Official Community Plan as well.
A staff report notes the SSMUH options for the Brooke Road property was reviewed with the applicant, however, the applicant chose to proceed with their proposal. Should the application be approved, the owners could build additional units on each of the proposed lots, to have up to a total of eight units, without further consideration by council.
It’s a similar story for the other applications including a proposed two-lot spilt for a property in the 11100-block of Kendale Way, where the applicant has also chosen to stick with applying for one new house on each not. A public hearing cannot be held for that zoning amendment bylaw, either, as it adheres to the OCP.
A rezoning application for two side-by-side properties in the 11000-block of 74A would enable the subdivision of the properties from two to three single-detached residential lots, each having a new single-detached dwelling. Should the application be approved, the owners could build additional units on each of the proposed lots as well, to have up to a total of 12 units for all three lots combined.
Meanwhile, the city’s planning department is currently reviewing an application in Tsawwassen to build even more housing units on a residential lot than what the new SSMUH rules permit.
The application for the property at 6525 3rd Ave. is for an OCP amendment to redevelop the site into a 12-unit residential development.
Submitted around the same time council approved the new SSMUH zoning amendments, it is the first application to build more than four units on a residential lot.
Requiring a public hearing because the proposal does not adhere to the new OCP, the application includes two three-storey townhouse buildings on the west side of the site, each with four units, as well as two two-storey detached garage buildings on the east side of the site, each with two apartment units above the garages.
It has not gone to council for consideration. When council briefly discussed the newly submitted application back in June, Mayor George Harvie expressed concern about such proposals in single-family neighbourhoods. Staff acknowledged that four units could be built on the property under the new regulations.
Staff also noted that under the previous OCP, an amendment would have still been required to change the land use designation for the site.
At the time, staff said the applicant had only submitted an OCP amendment, with a rezoning application and further approvals to be obtained should the OCP amendment be approved.
