The most significant role of local government is making land use decisions. The Official Community Plan (OCP), the Zoning Bylaw and community feedback help to guide our decision-making in this regard.
One section of the OCP that hasn’t yet received much attention during the OCP review process is the Development Permit Area guidelines.
The Local Government Act provides municipal governments with the authority to establish Development Permit Areas (DPAs). DPAs are intended to give greater control over the form and character of developments beyond what is set out in the Zoning Bylaw and the Subdivision Bylaw. Squamish currently has 11 defined DPAs; the DPA of most interest to me as we finalize the OCP is the one that controls the form and character of multi-family developments.
Squamish is growing rapidly and will continue to expand. I have heard from the community that our policies need to manage growth in a way that protects our natural and recreational assets while also providing space for economic expansion (more jobs, less commuters) and new (affordable) homes.
In my mind, accommodating this growth will mean allowing for and facilitating different forms of housing and greater density in all of our neighbourhoods. I believe that thoughtful policy and DPA guidelines will enable Squamish to build higher density neighbourhoods while preserving and even enhancing a sense of community and livability.
However, our DPA guidelines for multi-family developments currently fall short. As someone who lives in one such development and spends time with friends who live in others, I see and hear about how developers got it right and how developers fell short in terms of creating great places to live. I wonder if developers have ever tried to live in a multi-family development with their family?
Let’s face it: the affordability crisis means that more people will be raising their families in condos and townhomes. We need to design higher density developments with the needs of families in mind: common play areas inside buildings to help create community, convenient onsite storage solutions for strollers and bikes so that we don’t have to put them in the bathtub, and outdoor spaces that provide a backyard experience so that kids can be kids and adults can socialize.
With this in mind, I invite those who live in a condo or townhome to send me feedback about what works and what doesn’t about where you live.
Think about what would make life more livable and convenient if something changed about the way we designed each multi-family building and the neighbourhood that surrounds it.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.Please send it to [email protected].
