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City of Mission looks to add growth management strategy to OCP

Policy would help add expectations and clarity to development applications
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The development application for this 152-unit apartment complex on Stave Lake Street brought out a large amount of community opposition at a public hearing on March 22, 2021. Council rejected the proposal, even though it was consistent with the OCP.

In a word, expectations is what the City of Mission’s new growth management strategy is all about. It should leave nobody feeling surprised when it comes to development – not developers, nor the neighbourhoods being developed.

The city is looking to incorporate the new policy into the Official Community Plan (OCP) when it is amended in the coming year. An interim policy was presented to council on March 21, but they sent it back to staff requesting more detail before it’s approved.

Recent large developments have been met with fierce opposition when their applications came before public hearings. Notably, an application for a 152-unit apartment complex on Stave Lake Street was rejected even though it was completely compliant with the OCP.

RELATED: Council rejects large apartment complex proposal, after public hearing brings out fierce opposition

As Mayor Paul Horn put it, the OCP has “blind spots,” especially when developments are a first of their kind. He said developers have been asking for a “set of walking orders.”

“They don’t know whether it’s a coin flip on public hearing night. There’s certainty and clarity that have value here,” Horn said. “Staff should be able to say this is what council expects you to do.”

There is currently a “disconnect” between the OCP and the city’s long-term goals, according to the planning department’s report.

The interim policy is meant to “bridge the gap” by improving communications with the development industry, and providing staff with a set of benchmarks to better inform council decisions.

When the strategy is fully integrated into the OCP, it will streamline growth with other long-term municipal strategies, such as affordable housing and transportation, according to the report.

It’s meant to formalize the broader goals the city has recently developed through community engagements, the report said.

Those goals are defined as developing around concentrated centres of mixed-use areas surrounded by lower-density areas, and ensuring new developments are located close to public services to allow for cost-effective capital projects.

Other aspects include increasing the network of walking and cycling paths, and protecting employment lands.

OCP compliant projects will still be supported by staff, but council will have a policy to point to if there are applications that are out of step with the city’s long-term strategy.

The interim policy had wide support across council, but most suggested more detail needed to be added around the specifics.

One example was the expectations around the community engagement process when a development type is new to a neighbourhood.

Coun. Jag Gill pointed towards the largely positive results of a public information meeting held by the developers of the once-rejected Stave Lake Street property, which is now being built as a 35-unit townhouse development.


@portmoodypigeon
patrick.penner@missioncityrecord.com

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