City to sell extra density

By John MoorhouseTuesday, November 7, 2006 http://www.pentictonherald.ca/article_2376.php
Penticton developers could soon be able to "buy" increased zoning density from city hall.City council voted unanimously Monday to establish a new reserve fund created through fees developers would pay the city to allow higher density developments than zoning regulations allow.The "amenity contribution capital reserve fund" would then allocate funding for such things as park improvements, community centre improvements, parkland acquisition, affordable housing and high-rise servicing equipment.One of the first areas expected to be affected by the proposed new regulations is the newly-developed CT-8 (High density resort) zone, unveiled at Monday night's council meeting.With a floor area ratio of 2.0 the bylaw would allow for a building height of a maximum of eight storeys. However, if the developer pays an additional density bonus of $15 per square foot, a floor area ratio up to 2.5 would be permitted. "The approach proposed in Penticton at this time, is to encourage higher density residential and commercial development as an important strategy in accommodating growth," stated city planner Donna Butler."With higher density comes the need to upgrade the level of public amenities in the community and to establish funds to assist in the provision of affordable housing."Coun. Garry Litke said although the density bonus concept is new to Penticton, it has been in place in other B.C. municipalities for some time. It was introduced in Burnaby more than 20 years ago."It's simply a compromise between the developers who would like to build to the maximum capacity . . . and those who would like to stop growth altogether," he said.Litke said Penticton is expected to have a two per cent annual growth rate and this could help direct that growth."We can't close the gates," he said. "On the other hand, we want to control where development is going to take place and make sure the community benefits in some way from this development."He noted since developers stand to benefit from higher density use of their land, this allows the city to benefit as well."I don't consider that we're reducing the quality of life by 'selling' a bit of airspace or density to a developer," added Coun. Joanne Grimaldi. "What we are doing is allowing other people to move to this community and I feel that a change is good."Coun. John Vassilaki noted Penticton is the first Okanagan municipality to introduce such a bylaw. He urged council to be cautious when setting the fee rates."We can't be too greedy to the point where we are chasing developers away," he said. "But by the same token, it's going to really help the community a great deal."Vassilaki said he would like to see much of the money earmarked for affordable housing projects.The new bylaw could be adopted by Nov. 20. Introduction of the new reserve fund will coincide with a review of the city's development cost charges in 2007. DCCs are paid by developers for all units constructed, regardless of whether they exceed zoning regulations.