Application. Rezoning Amendment (Part 2)

On May 30, 2011, the City of Prince George received an application to rezone the subject property located at 5877 Leslie Road to facilitate development of a recovery centre for women.  The City approved Bylaw No. 8362 to rezone the property.  However, a local resident challenged the Zoning bylaw amendment in court—and won (Sevin v. Prince George (City), 2012 BCSC 1236).  Consequently, Bylaw No. 8362 was quashed.

After the court decision, City planning staff met with the Applicant; they confirmed their wish to move their application forward.

As the next step, all planning staff will meet to consider options that will facilitate development of the recovery centre.  As a Planner 1 for the City of Prince George, you have been invited to the meeting.  After this meeting, senior planning staff will meet with the Applicant to finalise plans to move forward.

To prepare for this meeting, you have been asked to write a brief report.  Your task is to review the decision by the Supreme Court of BC and consider possible changes to the Zoning Bylaw and to the Official Community Plan.  Your report must include the following:

• A range of options for the Applicant to consider
  • You should consider whether amendments be applied to the OCP and/or Zoning bylaws. You should also consider whether any new bylaws will be specific to the Leslie Road site or to a general zoning district.  Options include but are not limited to the following:
    • Zoning amendment(s).  Bylaw 8362:  keep the same, revise, or replace.
    • OCP amendment(s): keep the same; site-specific amendment; general amendment.
    • For all options you recommend, you must provide a level of detail appropriate for a Bylaw to be included in a motion presented to Council.
  • Your recommendation, and
  • A rationale to support your recommendation.

Your summary should be about 450-550 words.