Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: Extended Driveways – update on the implementation and effectiveness of By-law 2006-96 and alternative parking arrangements available to residents.
PREPARED BY: Sally Campbell, Senior Planner – Zoning & Special Projects
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the
THAT Staff continue to
enforce the current By-law in the manner set out in the report and continue to advise
residents of alternative parking arrangements available to them;
THAT Staff report back to
Development Services Committee later this year with a further update on
the Extended Driveway Enforcement Programme;
AND THAT Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Since June 2006 the Extended Driveway By-law 2006-96 has been in force together with several initiatives to assist current homeowners, prospective purchasers and contractors to understand the implications of the By-law. The By-law is aimed at controlling the proliferation of front yard paving for the purpose of vehicle parking and limiting the negative impacts associated with excessive front yard parking, such as visual impact, loss of soft landscaping, reduced opportunity for infiltration of stormwater, etc.
Enforcement of the By-law has been working well with staff working to ensure that new or extended driveways are being constructed in compliance with the By-law by licenced contractors. In addition, enforcement of the new standards has focused on bringing the worst offenders into compliance, with considerable effectiveness to date.
It is to be expected that property specific issues and constraints will arise relative to compliance with the relevant By-law requirements. With regard to the Extended Driveway By-law, the Owner of 292 Ridgecrest Road told the Committee that he is unable to extend his driveway to create an additional parking space in compliance with the By-law.
Options available to homeowners seeking to increase or better utilize parking areas include using a garage for parking rather than as storage, park one vehicle across the end the driveway (in the section of the driveway that crosses the boulevard) or seeking Town approval of overnight / on-street permit parking (subject to availability of permit parking programme and/or permits), or applying to the Committee of Adjustment for consideration of the merits of a possible minor variance from By-law requirements.
Having considered the options, Staff recommend that By-law 2006-96 remains in place in its current form and that the work of the By-law Enforcement and Licencing Department as it relates to said By-law continue.
PURPOSE:
This report describes how the
Town’s Extended Driveway By-law, By-law 2006-96, an amendment to By-law 28-97,
as amended, together with several complementary initiatives have been
implemented over the past two years. The
report also discusses how the Extended Driveway By-law applies to
BACKGROUND:
The amending By-law 2006-96 was passed by Council in June of 2006 following an extensive public consultation process. The public consultation process included five public information sessions, input from a citizens' Working Group, and the Statutory Public Meeting.
No appeals to the Ontario
Municipal Board were filed following notice of the passing of the By-law, as
provided for under the
The passing of the By-law was accompanied by several complementary Town initiatives to assist homeowners and contractors to understand the implications of the By-law, including; a communication programme, licencing of contractors and an incentive programme to assist homeowners to achieve compliance. In addition, enforcement of the new standards on new or modified driveway construction has been ongoing, as well as enforcement action to bring worst offenders into compliance.
This report follows a resident’s
deputation to the Development Services Committee on
Communication Programme
On
Licencing of Contractors
Driveway contractors must be
licenced by the Town of
Incentive Programme
At the meeting of the General
Committee on
· on-site by-law compliance assistance
· removal of landscaping and driveway materials from the municipal boulevard where reconstruction is taking place to bring an existing driveway into compliance
· curb cut adjustments to bring an existing driveway into compliance
· $500 minor variance fee rebate where applications to retain existing driveways on unusually shaped lots are brought before the Committee of Adjustment for approval
· design assistance and landscaping tips from Town staff
· Street tree replacements where re-construction frees up space within the boulevard to accommodate a new tree
· An annual awards programme to recognize the best projects where existing non-conforming driveways have been reconstructed to be compliant.
Five (5) homeowners have taken advantage of the incentive programme to have landscape or driveway materials removed. In the majority of cases however, By-law Enforcement Officers have observed that the contractors have generally been willing to remove such materials as part of the job.
Enforcement Programme
At the time of the passing of the By-law, Council agreed with the Working Group recommendation for an amnesty on enforcement of the new standards on existing driveways, except for the worst offenders. The main focus to date has been to ensure that new driveways or driveway alterations are constructed in accordance with the By-law.
During this period Enforcement Officers have investigated properties where violations were observed or reported and have provided copies of the information brochure to those households in order to allow people to make driveway alterations or alternative parking arrangements on a voluntary basis. Officers have prioritized efforts on the worst offenders such as where 100% front yard paved parking area exists.
Of the 244 Violation Notices issued during 2008, there are 46 outstanding matters, which relate to cases where homeowners have been given notice to comply with the regulations or face charges. However, given the current inclement weather conditions no further action will be taken until early summer 2009 when contractors remobilize.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The Extended Driveway By-law was developed in response to concerns from Town residents about the number of front yards that were being covered over with asphalt, concrete or decorative paving to provide additional parking areas. The majority of residences, throughout the Town, have a sufficient number of parking spaces to meet the requirements of the Parking By-law without paving the front yard. The minimum requirement for a single, semi-detached dwelling or townhouse is two (2) parking spaces per dwelling unit.
Summary of Adverse Impacts
Problems do occur when households own more than two vehicles and do not utilize available garage space for parking, using it for storage instead. In these circumstances homeowners have often opted to pave over large areas of their front yards to create additional parking spaces, which frequently leads to a sea of unsightly parking across the fronts of houses along residential streets. To summarize, the negative impacts of front yard parking are:
· Adverse impact on the attractiveness and visual amenity of streets due to the expanse of paving, loss of soft landscaping and “sea of cars”;
· Loss of soft landscaping, which reduces opportunity for infiltration of stormwater and melt water. This puts more pressure on the municipal storm sewer system, affecting the capacity of infrastructure and storm ponds, increasing the risk of localized flooding and affecting the quantity and quality of water being discharged into streams, rivers and lakes;
· Reduction in availability of front yard area for snow storage;
· Potential to encourage the parking of commercial vehicles and vehicles in disrepair;
The cumulative impact of these effects can result in a decline in the streetscape character and liveability of residential streets where the need to accommodate automobiles is put above quality of life and the environment.
The Intent of the By-law
The Extended Driveway By-law is aimed at controlling the proliferation of front yard vehicle parking and to reduce the amount of hard surface paving. In circumstances where a homeowner considers it necessary to have an additional paved parking area, and where property dimensions allow, the By-law does permit minimal increases to typical driveway widths, provided the required proportion of soft landscaping is maintained.
The By-law provides that the maximum driveway width permitted shall be equal to the greater of:
i) the garage door width plus 2.0 metres provided:
a) in the case of a lot with a lot frontage less than 10.1 metes, a minimum 25% soft landscaping is provided in the front or exterior side yard in which the driveway is located; and
b) in the case of a lot with a lot frontage 10.1 metres or greater, a minimum 40% soft landscaping is provided in the front or exterior side yard in which the driveway is located; or
ii) up to 6.1 metres, provided a minimum 40% soft landscaping is provided in the front or exterior side yard in which the driveway is located.
At 292 Ridgecrest Road the maximum driveway width permitted in accordance with these By-law provisions is 6.1 metres (existing driveway width of 2.75m plus 3.35m), which can be achieved while providing a minimum of 40% soft landscaping in the front yard.
In most cases the By-law allows two vehicles to be parked side by side on a driveway in front of a single garage; and three vehicles to be parked side by side on a driveway in front of a double garage, provided the required minimum soft landscaping is maintained within the front yard. The potential to widen a driveway, in keeping with the By-law, and park on the permitted driveway apron beyond the garage is also dependent on there being no porches, steps or other structural impediments on site.
The Extended Driveway By-law does not provide homeowners the ability to extend a driveway without regard to Town regulations. Rather it permits limited alterations where the physical layout of a property can accommodate such alteration in accordance with By-law requirements.
Options for Homeowners
In cases where a homeowner finds it necessary to provide additional front yard parking, but cannot achieve a driveway extension in accordance with the By-law, there are a number of alternatives to consider:
- Use a garage for parking, not storage. Where storage space within a garage is needed, consider providing this in a more efficient manner through shelves and high level racking whereby sufficient space is left for a vehicle.
- Provide a small shed or accessory building to house mowers and garden furniture (in accordance with relevant zoning by-law and building permit requirements).
- Park one vehicle, parallel to the street, across the end the driveway in the section of the driveway that crosses the boulevard without obstructing the sidewalk. This was supported by the Working Group in 2006 provided such parking space can be accommodated within the permitted width of the driveway.
- Rent a self storage unit.
- Overnight / on-street permit parking where allowed (see below).
- Apply
to the Committee of Adjustment for a site specific minor variance. Such applications are considered on their
merits, having regard to the four tests outlined in the
·
The
variance from the provisions of the by-law must be minor in nature;
·
The
variance must be desirable for the appropriate development or use of the
applicable lands, building or structure;
·
The
general intent, purpose and spirit of the by-law must be maintained; and
· The general intent and purpose of the official plan, if any, must be maintained.
On-street Permit
Parking
There are a few areas within the Town where overnight on- street parking is permitted by Town issued permit. These arrangements are being piloted in several parts of Town and are more prevalent in communities where rear lane-ways are a common feature, such as Cornell. It also occurs where there are enclaves, cul-de-sacs or short streets where the limits of any permit parking area can be delineated without difficulty and confined to shorter lengths of road. Where on-street overnight permit parking has been allowed there has been considerable consultation with those residents affected and local support expressed.
During the development of the Extended Driveway By-law the Working Group unanimously recommended that the Town’s general prohibition of on-street overnight parking be maintained.
In June 2007 Council approved the establishment of a Parking Advisory Committee to review and advise Council on all matters relating to parking throughout the municipality, including on-street parking permits and prohibitions. This Committee of Council should consider developing an on-street permit parking policy containing criteria to be used to assess requests for these parking arrangements on a case by case (i.e. street by street) basis.
Applying the By-law to
The Owner of 292 Ridgecrest Road
addressed Committee on
The location of the property is shown
attached as Figure 1. The property is
located on the west side of
A site plan and detail, which is attached
as Figure 2, shows the general layout and proportions of the property. The driveway, garage, front yard area and the
owners’ proposal are also shown in detail.
Figure 3 shows an aerial photo of the street to provide context. The property has a single garage with a
garage door width of approximately 2.75m (9ft).
The driveway, which is generally the same width as the garage door, is
5.85 m (19ft) long, allowing sufficient space to park a vehicle in tandem with
a vehicle parked in the garage. The
driveway crosses the sidewalk and the boulevard, as is the typical arrangement within
the municipal right-of-way. By-law
Enforcement staff have inspected this property to investigate whether the owner
can extend the driveway in accordance with the By-law. In addition to putting forward the options
for homeowners listed above for the owner of
It should be noted that for the purpose of the By-law driveway means,
“a defined area that is paved or treated with a stable surface that provides access for motor vehicles from a public street to a private garage and that is used for the parking of motor vehicles”.
Extend driveway width by up to 3.35m (11ft)
As noted previously, the By-law will allow the driveway to be widened by the greater of 2.00m (maximum width = garage door plus 2 metres) or up to a maximum total driveway width of 6.1m (20ft) where 40% of the front yard is left as soft landscaping. Either of these options can be achieved at the subject property. However, given the location of the front porch and steps, the paved parking area will be approximately 4.00m (13.12ft) long, which is too short to park a typical car. A vehicle parked here, perpendicular to the street, will likely overhang the sidewalk, unless it is a very compact model. The detail attached as Figure 2 to this report illustrates how the driveway can be extended in accordance with the By-law. Also illustrated is the extent to which the owner would need to pave to create an additional parking space without overhanging the sidewalk or obstructing the existing driveway. The applicant’s proposal would result in a vehicle being parked diagonally across the front yard.
Soft landscaping requirement
The By-law does require that where
a driveway extension is permitted, that for lots with a lot frontage of 10.1
metres or greater, a minimum of 40% soft landscaping shall be provided in the
front yard in which the driveway is located.
The lot frontage of
Diagonal or parallel parking
The Owner of 292 Ridgecrest Road believes the By-law provisions are flawed and that he should be allowed to widen his driveway so that he can park diagonally or parallel to the street. In considering the amendment to refine the front yard parking provisions, staff, the Working Group and Development Services Committee considered parking in the manner proposed. At that time it was concluded that diagonal and parallel parking in the front yard would not conform to the proposed intent of the By-law. The Working Group was of the opinion that parallel parking in the front yard could not be supported for reasons of visual impact and head light glare affecting neighbouring dwellings. Staff still support the By-law provision that prohibits angled parking in the front yard.
The only circumstance where parallel parking was considered acceptable by the Working Group and the Town is where there is sufficient space for a vehicle to park across the end of the driveway in the section of the driveway that crosses the boulevard without obstructing the sidewalk and provided the permitted width of the driveway is wide enough to accommodate such an arrangement.
At
Application to Committee of Adjustment
In circumstances where a proposal
does not meet By-law requirements but maintains the general intent of the
By-law, a proponent is able to apply for a minor variance which is considered
by the Committee of Adjustment. For the
reasons discussed in this report it is unlikely that
Reaffirm Extended Driveway By-law
Through the passage of By-law 2006-96 and the authorization of certain actions and initiatives to give effect to said By-law, Council has acted completely within its purview to restrict the use of land for certain purposes and the location and proportion of an area that can be used for those specified purposes.
The public consultation undertaken and scrutiny of the issues during the formulation of the Extended Driveway By-law were extensive. Despite some concerns expressed during the process, the By-law has not proved to be unduly restrictive. Moreover, since its adoption By-law Enforcement and Licencing Officers have found that most homeowners have been compliant when converting existing driveways and during new construction.
Consequently, Staff are of the opinion that the By-law is appropriate and no further amendments are necessary.
Not applicable. The financial expenditures necessary for enforcement have been previously approved by Council.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The Strategic Priorities of Council supported include:
· Transportation - Parking Advisory Committee established to develop, among other things, an on-street permit parking policy; and
·
Environment - “Green Print”/ Community
Sustainability Plan; specifically indicators relating to quality of life,
healthier environment,
and the protection of land and water.
DEPARTMENTS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
By-law Enforcement and
Licencing, Corporate Communications, and, the Transportation/
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Jim Baird, MCIP RPP. Biju Karumanchery, MCIP RPP. Commissioner of Senior Development Manager
Development
Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure No.1 Location Plan
Figure No. 2 Site Plan [including Detail]
Figure No. 3 Air photo
Q:\Development\Planning\ZONING AND SPECIAL
PROJECTS\Extended Driveways\DCS Report part B MARCH 3rd extended driveways-v6
090209.doc