Revelstoke’s zoning bylaw rewrite was the focus of a Wednesday, Dec. 4 information session held by the City of Revelstoke at the community centre. A crowd of roughly 50 in-person attendees and over 100 online viewers listened as Kenny Gipps, city manager of development services, Shannon Hogan, city planning technician and Paul Simon, director of development services explained the main changes in the proposed zoning bylaw comprehensive rewrite.
Gathering community feedback
Community input was gathered through various means since the project was announced in February 2023. Since then, 14 coffee chats, one community open house, six different workshops with an advising planning commission and mailouts to community members have been used to reach as much of the community as possible.
“I’m really proud of how much feedback we have gotten from the community on this and the changes that have been made,” Simon told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “We’re at least a couple dozen changes now based on direct feedback we’ve gotten from the public.”
Some changes made with community feedback include regulations around beekeeping opportunities in Revelstoke, which community members worried would be hindered by proposals in an early draft. Revelstoke city staff toured various beekeeping operations around town, sifted through over 40 letters from community members and used input from beekeeping experts within the city to rewrite the proposed regulation to allow beekeeping in all zones within Revelstoke.
“It’s a good example of where, if this bylaw gets adopted in its current form, [community beekeepers] are going to be able to look at that and say, ‘I came up with that regulation’,” Simon said.
While deadlines are approaching to finalize the updated document and get it in front of city council, Simon emphasized changes like this based on community feedback are still possible. It is estimated that the draft will be the focus of a January or February general council meeting before going up for a formal public hearing. Final consideration is depending on feedback provided during the public hearing.
Density needs and provincial expectations
Revelstoke’s various low-density zones could be consolidated into one specific zoning regulation that also meets the province’s new zoning density legislation. If approved, the zoning rewrite would allow four dwelling units per low-density lot, restricted to only two buildings.
An example that came up frequently was developing two duplexes on a lot, maxing out the amount of dwellings and buildings allowed on a single low-density lot.
Regulations for medium and high-density zones are also up for a rewrite, with a focus on on floor area ratio instead of a standard number of units per hectare. The move is an effort to incentivize developers to focus on smaller units within the build. Medium-density zones could see a maximum of four storeys per building and high-density zones could max out at six storeys per building.
Commercial uses would also be permitted in the zones depending on current and planned saturation, capping how many office spaces, stores and other commercial uses could develop in a primarily residential area.
B.C.’s Bill 44 density requirements for municipalities changed some plans for Revelstoke, Simon admitted. When asked by attendees if the city should brace for another large-scale shake up from the province, Simon mentioned that it was a unique move from the province.
“This would be the most substantial change we’ve had in probably four decades in this province,” Simon told the audience. “This is the result of communities being very opposed to gentle densification.”
Cleaning up an outdated document
While there are major changes proposed, such as the zoning densification and parking regulations, a bulk of the changes are an effort to streamline definitions, clear out redundancies and help bring Revelstoke’s zoning regulations into a 21st century framework.
“We haven’t updated our zoning since 1984,” Simon explained to audience members. “We’ve never gone through a project like this.”
Attempts have been made to try and clean up Revelstoke’s zoning bylaws, with updates approved in 2022 around housing density in an effort to ease Revelstoke’s part in an international housing crisis.
“The rule of thumb is you keep on these big community documents every five years,” Simon told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “You’re doing targeted amendments every three-to-five years that are addressing the change in needs of the community.”
Budgeting for targeted updates throughout the years and retaining staff at the city level for longer periods of time will aid in avoiding another major overhaul, Simon explained.
“If we lose staff, we lose all that previous institutional knowledge, and it becomes really challenging to stay on top of these bylaws. When I look at the history of the city, staff turnover in the 2010s definitely was a factor in it taking a little bit longer to get this zoning bylaw rewrite over the finish line.”
While current updates in the zoning bylaw could see the need for things like variance permits reduced, with owners and developers given clearer frameworks for what can happen within a property, Simon is under no illusion that staff will see a wealth of time free up.
“The focus will go elsewhere.”
Tasks such as developing new minimum biking requirements for multi-unit, commercial and industrial developments will mean new administration work, along with other pieces of regulation included in the bylaw rewrite. Still, Simon is certain the rewrite will give clearer direction to staff, easier access for owners and developers and lay some key groundwork for other major projects that have been in waiting.
The staff resources needed for the comprehensive rewrite has put various other projects on the backburner, including the Johnson Heights neighbourhood project. Still, Simon expects a much larger project to be the main focus in 2025. Staff have been working since January to update and clarify short-term rental (STR) regulations within the city, in part a response to the province’s Bill 35.
“There’s going to need to be a lot of community engagement on [STRs]. So, we’re anticipating that that one will eat up the bulk of our extra time in 2025.”
Revelstoke’s downtown and surrounding heritage conservation areas, a key portion of the city, will also need its own zoning rewrite as it is excluded from the current project in an effort to streamline the process and keep from overwhelming residents. These spaces will be in staff sights for 2026 with plans to develop a full-scale downtown master plan and engage with the community.
As the comprehensive zoning rewrite project comes to an end, Simon cautions rushing through the final stages.
“You’re not going to see us rush it through, give it adoption as quickly as the council can. We’re probably going to go in and say, give it that first reading and then direct a public hearing. Let’s hear what the community has to say.”
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