APPROVED

As to Form ______

CITY SOLICITOR

Bylaw 12800

The Edmonton Zoning Bylaw

WHEREAS the Municipal Government Act, S.A. 1994, c. M-26.1, as amended, requires the Municipal Council of the City of Edmonton to enact a land use bylaw;

NOW THEREFORE the Municipal Council of the City of Edmonton duly assembled enacts as follows:

1.  Bylaw 5996, the Edmonton Land Use Bylaw is hereby repealed;

2.  Bylaw 12800, the Edmonton Zoning Bylaw, consisting of the following parts:

a)  Part I, comprising Section 1 to Section109 inclusive and all appurtenant Schedules and Appendices to those Sections;

b)  Part II, comprising Section110 to Section999 inclusive, and all appurtenant Schedules and Appendices to those Sections;

c)  Part III, comprising the Zoning Map; and

d)  Part IV, comprising all Direct Control provisions adopted by City Council;

is hereby enacted.

READ a first time this day of , A. D. 2001;

READ a second time this day of , A. D. 2001;

READ a third time this day of , A. D. 2001;

SIGNED and PASSED this day of , A. D. 2001.

THE CITY OF EDMONTON

______

MAYOR

______CITY CLERK

ATTACHMENT 2

Bylaw 12800 - Proposed Edmonton Zoning Bylaw 12800

Recommendation:
That the following report be received for information.

Report Summary

Work began on a new Zoning Bylaw in January 1998.

On January 26, 2000, the Executive Committee reviewed a report that presented the opinions of Edmontonians about what the new bylaw should look like and set the parameters for the remainder of the project.

A draft bylaw was circulated to civic Departments and agencies and members of the Public in July of 2000. The Department has worked through comments from this circulation and prepared a Proposed Zoning Bylaw which is now ready for a Public Hearing and Council's consideration. This report summarizes the process and the Proposed Bylaw.

Previous Council/Committee Action

The budget for the preparation of a new bylaw was approved on December 9, 1997.

At the August 26, 1998 meeting of the Executive Committee, the Planning and Development’s report entitled “Directions for a New Zoning Bylaw” was received for information.

At the January 26 2000, meeting of the Executive Committee, the Planning and Development Department report entitled “Progress Report on the Development of the New Zoning Bylaw” was received for information. This report reviewed public input to the Department’s earlier report and set the parameters for the remainder of the project.

At the July 12, 2000 meeting of the Executive Committee the Planning and Development Department presented a report entitled "Circulation of the Draft Bylaw" which was received for information. This report summarized the major changes proposed in the Draft Bylaw.

Report

In fall 1997, City Council agreed that the Land Use Bylaw would be renewed in conjunction with the adoption and implementation of the new Municipal Development Plan, Plan Edmonton.

A new Zoning Bylaw flows naturally from Plan Edmonton, as zoning is an implementation instrument of policy. In addition, the new Zoning Bylaw will allow the Department to:

·  respond to public and industry concerns raised during the 1996 Planning Process Round Table;

·  address both Corporate (City ’97) and Departmental business objectives to provide customer-oriented service delivery; and

·  correct a number of major problems that have been identified in the existing 20-year old Land Use Bylaw, including the conversion of the zoning classifications for the lands annexed to Edmonton in 1982.

The original proposal for change submitted to the Executive Committee in August 1998 called for a radical reshaping of the system to focus on a performance based approach in place of the current use based approach.

The Executive Committee allowed the testing of this approach with stakeholders.

During fall 1998 and winter and spring 1999, the Department undertook a number

3

Bylaw 12800 - Proposed Edmonton Zoning Bylaw 12800

of focus group sessions with a broad range of individuals and interest groups.

At the January 26, 2000 meeting of the Executive Committee, the Department reported that, while opinions from the various groups differed, the response from the focus groups could be summarized as follows:

·  Stakeholders support the updating of the existing bylaw; however, they are much more supportive of the existing bylaw structures and processes than was anticipated;

·  Stakeholders support a customer service focus, but do not wish to change the balance between certainty and flexibility in the existing system nor the balance of influence between applicant and neighbour; and

·  Stakeholders support a limited addition of innovation (performance based approach).

As a result of this input, the Department recommended that the new bylaw follow direction taken from the following:

  1. A pure system of performance based planning restricting Council’s role to policy formation is overly complex for the vast majority of development proposals and, therefore, should be limited to high level corporate objectives;
  2. The larger community is supportive of the existing bylaw and planning processes; and
  3. There is both policy and stakeholder support for limited innovations around an industrial land strategy and an intensification strategy.

Since January 2000 the Department has worked to prepare a bylaw that meets these directives.

The attached report entitled “Edmonton Zoning Initiative Final Report December 2000” presents a summary of the major initiatives included in the Proposed Bylaw. In brief, the work has focused on updating the existing bylaw, maintaining the balance of interest that exist between development proponents and neighbouring property owners, adding customer services initiatives, and presenting two specific innovations. These centre on industrial and inner city residential development.

The Proposed Zoning Bylaw process presents a number of changes. Some of the highlights include:

·  the incorporation of the regulation of land use in the annexed areas into the city system;

·  major changes to how Overlays are dealt with,

·  major changes to how restaurants are regulated;

·  up-to-date standards for parking;

·  revised sign regulations; and

·  several other matters that are reported in the attachment.

The Department has circulated the draft bylaw and background material to:

·  Civic departments and agencies for technical input;

·  Surrounding municipalities as called for in the Municipal Development Plan;

·  A broad list of Edmontonians who have registered an interest;

·  Public facilities such as libraries;

·  Placed a copy on the City’s Web page; and

·  Notices in Journal/Sun/Examiner with phone numbers

Since July 2000 the Department has worked through issues raised by other Departments

3

Bylaw 12800 - Proposed Edmonton Zoning Bylaw 12800

and agencies such that there are no technical or policy conflicts.

Major stakeholder groups including the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, the Urban Development Institute, and the Greater Edmonton Home Builders Association all submitted formal comments.

The Department also received many inputs from other groups, industry sectors and individuals.

The Department has made numerous changes to the proposal since release of the Draft Bylaw in response to these inputs. A full outline of these discussions with stakeholders is included in Attachment 1.

Background Information Attached

2a. Edmonton Zoning Initiative Final Report December 2000.

Background Information Available on Request

  1. Summary Report
  2. Issue Report
  3. Complete Summary of Formal Input to Draft Bylaw
  4. Circulation of the Draft Edmonton Zoning Bylaw. June 26, 2000.
  5. Progress Report on the Development of the Edmonton Zoning Bylaw. December 15, 1999.
  6. City Shaping Round I. Stakeholder Consultation Final Report. July 1999.
  7. Directions for a New Zoning Bylaw. May 11, 1998.
  8. Nine Background Reports.

3

ATTACHMENT 2a

Edmonton Zoning Initiative

Final Report

December 2000

Introduction

The Planning and Development Department began the review and development of the new Zoning Bylaw in January 1998. A draft of the bylaw was widely circulated on July 4, 2000. The Department then received input from a wide variety of sources, made changes to the draft and prepared the Proposed Zoning Bylaw. This report will summarize the process used to develop the Proposed Bylaw and highlight the differences between the existing Land Use Bylaw and the new Proposed Zoning Bylaw.

Purpose

The purpose of the Edmonton Zoning Initiative is to review various processes around land use, development, and occupancy; provide City Council with an updated zoning bylaw; and to introduce some specific innovations for the Administration and City Council to improve the implementation of Council approved policy.

Goals

The goals of the Edmonton Zoning Initiative are threefold:

1.  Review and update the existing Land Use Bylaw and correct problems identified with the existing regulations;

2.  Create a seamless, customer focused regulatory process that encompasses all of the municipal decisions around land use and the occupancy of land; and

3.  Provide innovative and effective solutions for the implementation of specific City Council land use policies, and assume a stronger role in the development of these solutions than occurs under the existing system.

These goals are founded on the principals of the Planning Process Round Table, City ‘97, City Council’s Vision for Economic Prosperity, the Municipal Development Plan (Plan Edmonton) and the Corporate and Departmental Business Plans.

Background

The report entitled Towards a New Land Use Bylaw, prepared by the Planning and Development Department in 1996, concluded that while the basic structure and foundation of Edmonton’s Land Use Bylaw was solid, there were some significant areas of the Bylaw that needed renewal and change. This fit well with the Provincial requirements that all municipalities review their land use bylaws in light of the new Municipal Government Act.

During consideration of the 1998 budget, City Council approved the recommendation of the Planning and Development Department allocating a budget of $200,000 a year, over a three year period (1998-2000) for the preparation of a new Land Use Bylaw.

The decision to embark on a project to develop a new Zoning Bylaw follows through many of the initiatives that Council has been involved with over the last few years, including the Municipal Development Plan and City Council’s Vision for Economic Prosperity. In this dynamic environment, the development of a new zoning bylaw is a contribution that the Planning and Development Department can make to the overall direction of the Corporation and City. It is also recognized that the project includes more than just a bylaw. The Administration has the opportunity to advance its customer service focus and adhere to the recommendations contained in the new Municipal Development Plan (MDP) for more aggressive approaches to implementing civic policy and achieving city goals:

“Adopt a Land Use Bylaw which reflects the land development philosophy of this Plan.” (Plan Edmonton Policy 1.1.19)

Early Background Work

To prepare the Proposed Bylaw the Department undertook a number of steps including:

·  Preparation of nine background reports;

·  Reviewed a proposal to shift from a use based zoning system to a performance based system with the Executive Committee in August 1998;

·  Tested the proposal with focus groups through spring 1999; and

·  Prepared parameters for the project based on feed back from the focus groups and presented these to the Executive Committee in January 2000.

The January 2000 presentation to the Executive Committee reported the following three points:

  1. Continued research into performance based zoning clearly indicated that it is a complex system and must only be used in connection with clearly established policy direction and

2

specific city needs. It was recommended that the focus should be narrowed and the extent of change in the system be limited to a few areas rather than the entire bylaw.

  1. The work done with stakeholders clearly indicated greater comfort with the existing approach to land use regulation than for major changes to the totally new performance based approach. Stakeholder input suggested the following:

a) The current bylaw should be streamlined and updated rather than rewritten.

The new bylaw should:

·  Ensure broadbased community objectives are being met.

·  Ensure a fair process that links matters of law (bylaw) and matters of policy (City and Community plans).

b) Parallel processes should be considered, where appropriate.

·  Parallel processes should be optional and a matter of choice for the applicant.

c) The proposed position of a Customer Service Advocate should be redefined to one of a facilitator, and stakeholders should be consulted in defining this position.

d)  The idea of a centralized appeal board should not be pursued. The current appeal processes should be reviewed for efficiencies.

e) Two specific objectives were selected for implementing the performance based zoning approach:

·  Managing industrial growth and transition.

·  Encouraging lowdensity residential infill in mature neighbourhoods to encourage investment in the innercity infill.

  1. Work on implementing the Municipal Development Plan continues, and a Corporate Business Plan and individual Department Business Plans have been developed. The highest priorities for the Planning and Development Department during the next three years will be the development of an Industrial Land Strategy and an Urban Intensification Strategy. Both of these strategies have a connection to the new Zoning Bylaw, have an established policy base, are supported by stakeholder groups and, therefore, probably represent the most positive areas to introduce the performance based approach.

These points provided the foundation for the development of the Zoning Bylaw.

3

The Department then prepared a Draft Bylaw which updated the text of the existing bylaw, reviewed potential customer information and service improvements, and looked in depth at two specific performance based innovations.

During the month of June, the Department reviewed the major proposals for changes with specific groups of stakeholders. This included:

·  A review of the ten major ideas for change with a group of fifteen invited stakeholders representing community interests, small business, homebuilders and land developers.

·  A review of the proposed sign regulations with the permanent sign industry, the billboard industry and the portable sign industry.

·  A review of the proposed parking regulations with a number of interest groups.

·  A review of the proposed new industrial zone with fourteen stakeholders representing industrial developers, land developers and real estate agents. In addition, two local consulting firms were retained to provide a critical analysis of the proposed regulations.