Why Bella Terra Steep Slope Development is a Bad Idea
This steep slope development appears to be designed to maximize developer profits and is inconsistent with many of the objectives in the Anmore Official Community Plan (March 2014). This is why.
1. Lack of criteria for assessing development proposals. In their response to Anmore's Regional Context Statement, Metro Vancouver planners said, "Metro Vancouver still remains concerned about the limited indication of steep slope policies to support the proposed higher density of 1.5 lots per acre on steep slopes."
After this qualified approval relative to the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy, Anmore Council raised the density to 1.8 lots per acre in Comprehensive Development Zones.
"According to the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy, the intent of the 'Rural' land use designation (in Anmore) is to 'help protect rural landscapes and character' and 'to protect areas unsuitable for urban development due to topographical and other environmental constraints and help to prevent small-lot subdivision outside of the Urban Containment Boundary."
2. This one proposal alone exceeds the entire annual growth target for Anmore. The Anmore Official Community Plan (OCP) calls for a Medium Growth Scenario until 2034 of 61 people and 21 lots per year.
The proposed Bella Terra steep slope development by Christen Luxury Homes, north of Eagle Crest Drive on 22.9 acres, has 34 mostly 1/4 acre lots. This proposal on its own exceeds the OCP target by 13 lots without consideration to further developments underway Anmore. When an earlier iteration of this development proposal came forward to Council, it was, for 12 one acre lots. The current proposal is for
a. one lot smaller than a quarter of an acre
b. 21 lots between a quarter and a half an acre
c. nine lots between a third of an acre and a half an acre, and
d. three half-acre lots.
http://christenluxuryhomes.com/data/media/pdf/bella-terra-proposed-site-plan-final-march-26-2015-landscape-print.pdf
3. The OCP says “Respect riparian and watercourse protection areas.“ (OCP–RLU-6). Anmore Creek with its sensitive riparian environment crosses the property not once but twice.
“The approving authority should be encouraged to:
a. avoid grades greater than 12°
b. avoid crossing Anmore, Schoolhouse, and Mossom Creeks where possible.”
4. There appears to be limited tree retention and permeable surfaces in the proposed development.
The Christen Luxury Home house-size coverage for Bella Terra has proposed lot sizes as follows:
1/4 acre lot – 3700 ft.² house. [Not including garage and driveway.]
1/3 acre lot – 4650 ft.² house. [Not including garage and driveway.]
½ acre lot – 6500 square-foot house. [Not including garage and driveway.]
Consultant for Bella Terra, Mr. James Pernu, explained that the footprint coverage for a one quarter acre lot would be 2700 ft.² and up for other acreages.
The stated purpose of cluster housing is to avoid steep slopes and "site development in close proximity to existing infrastructure, services and access to maintain natural spaces and features."(OCP-RLU-6)
The OCP (March 2014) also requires:
RLU-3 “reduction of the development footprint, towards maximizing the amount of retained green space.”
RLU-4 “minimize impermeable surface areas.”
RLU-8 “ proposed development does not exceed 1.5 lots per acre.”
E-21 “encourage tree retention and replanting in new subdivisions.”
S-3 “the village will consider development applications that pose innovative and affordable housing for renters and people with special needs.”
5. Access to this proposed development requires the extension of Leggett Drive [East Hemlock]. This requires access over the Anderson, Posnikoff, Anderson properties and their cooperation in paying for the extension of the road. At the All-Candidate’s Meeting for the November 2014 Anmore municipal election, former Mayor Anderson indicated that her family’s development company Merida has two properties with a total of 31 acres of land.
"The continued extension of Leggett drive as new subdivisions are developed is anticipated to serve as a minor collector to access properties to the northeast of Sunnyside road. Area specific development cost may be used to help finance the construction and make sense of this road.” (OCP T-19)
6. Need to protect environmentally sensitive lands, trees, wildlife, habitats, and watersheds. When this proposal came before Council in an earlier iteration, neighbours were concerned about the endangered red legged frog habitat and the need for riparian preservation in this area. Using his fingers to indicate quote signs, Bella Terra consultant Mr. Pernu told Council that the Bella Terra environmental consultant had found absolutely no evidence of this endangered species. Anmore resident, biologist Ann-Marie Oktaba subsequently photographed this endangered amphibian on Academy Trail close to the proposed subdivision and the Village works yard.
Mr. Pernu explained that there would be French drains, swales, settling ponds and wildlife corridors on private land to protect the steep slopes. 35 per cent of the land in the Bella Terra proposal is dedicated to open space, however, much of this land is on steep slopes with very limited public access. 7% of this land is protected by the provincial Riparian Area Regulation.
A key recommendation in the Anmore Parks Master Plan is that in the future Anmore should only accept high quality usable land from developers to satisfy the 5% provincial requirement for parkland. The report stated that in the past, the parkland contributed to the village was largely marginal, inaccessible and unusable, and in many cases could not even be sold or used for development. The report states that “steep terrain, often over 25% limits park development on many park sites in the Village.”
“Where feasible, a desirable park gradient will be in the range of 0 to 5% for the majority of the site. Lands up to 10% slope may be considered, but only if they can be graded 25% to accommodate park uses. Undevelopable /unusable land should only be considered for parkland acquisition where it protects ecosystems systems not otherwise represented in the system…Parks should be safe and accessible”.
7. Instead of consideration of multi-lot steep slope developments on new infrastructure, many long-time Anmore residents want to refocus development on sub-dividing existing lots of one acre and larger on existing infrastructure. Infrastructure on steep slopes is five times more expensive to maintain.
“Anmore’s settlement pattern has historically been residentially focused with a tendency towards individual homes on large lots. Today, about half of the properties are one (1) acre or larger, with some capacity for further subdivision. The residential policies set out below are intended to provide a framework for future residential development that will prioritize environmental protection, enhance the semi-rural character of the Village and minimize infrastructure costs. Beyond these fundamental elements, the Village welcomes the potential to explore new and innovative development approaches: to address the challenges of developing on hillsides and protecting riparian areas; and to accommodate the various housing needs of existing and future residents, as well as the changing needs of residents who wish to age in place.” (OCP)
In Mayor Heather Anderson's Report in the May 2014 Anmore Times, she says "the majority of the flat land in Anmore has been developed, so the lands on the hillsides will be the focus of future developments. The Financial Sustainability Plan highlighted that when the Village takes over the responsibility for infrastructure then we have to plan for the replacement of that infrastructure. One acre developments tend to have longer road lengths, water lines and if they are located on hillsides they often require water booster stations. This infrastructure will have to be replaced by Anmore taxpayers in the future. If we can find a way to cluster housing developments so the infrastructure is more efficient, then we will put our Village in a better financial position in the years to come."
The October 2013 Village of Anmore Financial Sustainability Plan by Vann Struth Consultants indicated that although there is blanket RS-1 zoning throughout Anmore (1 acre) "Only 47% of the 637 developed lots are 1
acre or larger in size. The other 53% are less than 1 acre, including 35% that are less than .5 of an acre..."
OCP Policy RLU–1 - New residential subdivisions will be directed to those areas designated Residential and Hillside Residential on Schedules B1 and B2 — Land Use Map. Note: This includes former Mayor Anderson’s land.
8. Using Pinnacle Ridge Development as a proxy, there are considerably more risks in developing on steep slopes than on developing on the valley floor.
There have been two washouts on Pinnacle Ridge. The first in 2009 damaged six houses, a septic system and many of the Mossom Creek Hatchery chum salmon eggs were destroyed. As well, last summer, Anmore Manager of Public Works, Kevin Dicken, requested an unexpected $25,900 additional funding from Councill to restore a failing retaining wall near the top cubes in a Sierra slope retention system at the bottom of pinnacle Ridge on Kinsey Drive. Since two years had passed the developer had already transferred this infrastructure on to the village, the developer did not want to pay for the repairs.
9. The current Bella Terra appears to favour developers at the expense of long-term residents.
During the summertime, there are already large problems for residents from traffic to Bunzen Lake. The addition of 34 new lots will likely make this problem considerably worse.
Anmore residents on properties of 1 acre and larger on existing infrastructure are being held to a different standard than the developers. They are not allowed to subdivide, while developers are making proposals for lots of one quarter acre and smaller on new infrastructure which is five times more expensive than the existing infrastructure. Yet long-time residents will need to pick up the infrastructure costs of these developments after two years.
The Official Community Plan stresses maintaining the semi-rural environment, encouraging policies for long-time residents to age-in-place, and preserving hillside habitat and riparian areas.
10. While Anmore Advisory Committees have been asked to give their advice on this Bella Terra proposal, it appears that this may be a rubber stamp request by Council.
The Bella Terra development builder Christen Homes is already advertising this Anmore development for presale. http://christenluxuryhomes.com/projects/bella-terra.html
At the joint meeting of the Anmore Advisory Planning Commission, the Environment Committee, and the Parks Committee, held on May 11, 2015, members of the committees expressed concern about such issues as: the limited public access to dedicated parkland; protection of riparian areas and large lot coverage by impermeable surfaces; potential traffic problems, including turnaround areas and on street parking; tree preservation and wildlife habitat management, including that for the endangered red legged frog; wildlife corridors on private land; and large luxury homes on small lots. At the Environment Committee Meeting held on June 3rd, Councillor Froese presented a new configuration of the lots that he had done. The discussion, rather than focusing on if the development should go ahead as committee members appeared to prefer, he focused on the details of the proposal.
The Village planning consultants reported to Council that, from a survey of residents who received the Bella Terra invitation and attended their Open House, a large number of people in the community support the Bella Terra development proposal. However a review of the sheets submitted show a large proportion of the forms were from people with development interests in this area.