TYPE: Zoning Bylaw Amendment Application — Electoral Area ‘C’
Purpose: To allow for the finalisation of a long-term lease between the Town of Oliver and the Provincial Government related to an expansion of the Town’s cemetery.
Owner: Crown land Agent: N/A Folio: C-12-05676.500
Civic: Unknown Legal: Plan 1789, Block J, District Lot 2450S, SDYD
OCP: Resource Area (RA) Proposed OCP: part Administrative, Cultural and Institutional (AI) Zoning: Resource Area (RA) Proposed Zoning: part Parks and Recreation (PR)
Proposal:
It is proposed to amend the zoning on part of the subject parcel in order to allow the Town of Oliver to finalise a long-term lease (i.e. 30 years) on a section of Crown land in order to expand their cemetery through the creation of a “scattering ground”.
Specifically, Administration is proposing to amend the land use designation of an approximately 0.7 ha area of land under the Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw from Resource Area (RA) to Administrative, Cultural and Institutional (AI), and to amend the zoning on this same area of land from Resource Area (RA) to Parks and Recreation (PR).
Administration favours the PR Zone as it does not specify a minimum parcel size, permits “cemeteries” as a principal use and is generally consistent with the “Major Park (P2) Zone” that the Town of Oliver has applied to that part of the cemetery within the Town’s boundaries.
Site Context:
The subject property is approximately 26 ha in area, and adjoins the Town of Oliver boundary adjacent to the residential development at Morningstar Road and Eveningstar Crescent and is comprised of steep hillside. The Town’s cemetery adjoins the parcel at its south-west corner.
Background:
The Town has previously advised that it has been seeking to acquire this land from the Crown since 1995 and had previously applied for a Free Crown Land grant, but that the Crown was not prepared to grant this request and issued a three-year licence of occupation in 2009. When this licence expired in 2012, the Town was offered a 30-year lease by the Crown and is now seeking to finalise this agreement.
Under Section 73(1) of the Land Title Act, “a person must not subdivide land into smaller parcels than those of which the person is the owner for the purposes of leasing it … for a term exceeding 3 years.” When the term of a lease exceeds three years, the lease is deemed to be a de facto subdivision and must comply with the relevant bylaw provisions of the local government, including servicing and zoning.
Under the Electoral Area ‘C’ Zoning Bylaw No. 2453, 2008, the subject property is zoned Resource Area (RA), which requires a minimum parcel size for subdivision of 20 ha. As the area the Town is seeking to lease is approximately 0.7 ha in area, an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw is required.
Under the Electoral Area ‘C’ Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw No. 2452, 2008, the property is also the subject of an Environmentally Sensitive Development Permit (ESDP) Area.
At its meeting of October 18, 2012, the Regional District Board considered a request from the Town of Oliver to reduce the fees associated with the subdivision of this area of land. The Electoral Area ‘C’ Director subsequently offered to cover these costs through a Grant-in-Aid.