Zoning changes in the Hillcrest neighbourhood could prevent

homeowners from doing any major roofing repairs if their house is more than nine metres tall.

At Monday's council meeting, Coun. John Streicker confirmed with planning staff that if council approves the zoning changes that were outlined in the Hillcrest Neighbourhood Plan, major repairs to roofs that are more than nine metres high would not be allowed.

Minor repairs such as patching is about all that could be done, planning manager Pat Ross said.

As he noted, putting properties into non-conforming zoning basically freezes the property to the zoning it has in place.

However, any major alterations must conform to the new zoning requirements. If 75 per cent or more of the building is damaged by fire, it must be rebuilt to the newer zoning regulations.

In this case, two buildings that are more than nine metres in the neighbourhood would be affected by the change, though several other structures would be put into non-conformance in other ways.

"Several Hillcrest properties would be placed into non-conformance as a result of the proposed zoning amendments,” city planner Erica Beasley stated in her report to council.

"While the new requirements would apply largely to the ‘new development' scenarios, some implications of non-conformance relate to the city's issuance of development and building permits for significant modifications/renovations to non-conforming properties.”

Among the changes, Residential Single-zoned properties would decrease from a 10-metre height limit to eight metres in the Steelox duplex area and nine metres in other areas.

Rooflines would need to start at six metres in the Steelox area and seven metres in other areas, with second-storey floor caps at 3.5 metres in the Steelox area and 4.5 metres in other areas.

There are also proposed regulations around landscaping, roof design and building facades.

All driveways would require hard surfacing and "internal sidewalks” would be required for all single and duplex housing in the neighbourhood.

The requirement, Beasley explained when questioned by Coun. Mike Gladish, is part of the city's efforts to encourage improvements to properties for more manicured developments that are aesthetically pleasing to pedestrians and others in the area.

More stringent requirements would also be in place for multi-family developments, including density restrictions of 35 units per hectare, a four-metre front yard setback, site coverage of 45 per cent or 55 per cent where there is a terraced amenity and materials, and trim and colour restrictions would have to be met for building facades.

As Beasley summed up in her report: "Two changes would occur in terms of allowable uses for the RM (Residential Multiple) sites.

"If amended to RCM (Comprehensive Residential Multiple Family), supportive housing would be a potential conditional use on the subject lots and child care centres would change from being an allowable principal use to being a conditional use.”

The zoning changes are part of the work to implement the Hillcrest Neighbourhood Plan, along with changes to the speed limits in the area (see separate story below).

Hillcrest Community Association president Jim Gilpin was at last night's meeting.

He praised the city's efforts in working with residents to both come up with a plan and implement the changes coming from it. However, he also stressed the need for more consultation on planned improvements to the neighbourhood's infrastructure.

"There's a lot of work to be done yet,” Gilpin said.

While he appreciates the workload being faced by the city's engineering department, he said, for there to be a successful vote on the Local Improvement Charge that will be posed to benefitting property owners, "a lot of consultation” is needed first.

Gilpin also stated his surprise that there are homes higher than nine metres, noting he would be happy to measure them himself to confirm if any exceed that height.

While the city's engineering department continues to work on the planned upgrades to infrastructure in the neighbourhood, council will consider the zoning changes over the next week prior to voting on first reading.

If first reading goes ahead, a public hearing on the amendments would be held at council's April 7 meeting with a report on the input coming forward on April 14 before council votes on second and third readings at its April 22 meeting.