Topic: Land use and Transportation

Using zoning bylaws for climate action

Zoning bylaws define how specific areas of land can be used. For example, land can be zoned for residential, commercial, industrial or recreational. Zoning bylaws can also specify the nature of these uses in more detail (eg. multi-family residential, mixed residential) and regulate characteristics such as lot size, placement, density and height of structures.

Zoning shapes smart land use by implementing sustainable land use policies set out in the Official Community Plan and Regional Growth Strategy. The rezoning process is a powerful tool local governments can use to take climate change action. Nearly all of British Columbia’s communities use zoning, although some exceptions do exist. Local government’s core zoning authority is set out in the Local Government Act.

Climate Action through Zoning

Zoning can play a strong role in developing a compact and complete community, to the extent that directly impacts GHG emission and energy use in the following ways:

• Lower emissions from transportation: Zoning for concentrated development and mixed land uses means shorter distances among residents’ destinations – work, home, shop, play – that are accessible by walking, cycling and transit.
• Lower emissions and lower energy requirements by buildings: Compact and connected built form uses less energy and facilitates alternative energy systems.
• Creating incentives for green development: Zoning can include density bonuses which encourage good practices and design by using incentives.

In addition to direct climate benefits, co-benefits of zoning for complete and compact land use are:

• Strengthened local economy
• Convenient access to goods and services
• Improved human health through reduced air pollution and more active transportation
• Reduced infrastructure costs and lessened property tax burden
• Increased housing choices that meet changing demographics and demand
• Cut costs on rising energy expenditures

Learn more about land use and transportation.

Diverse Zoning Strategies for Diverse Communities

Approaches that can be combined for infusing a zoning bylaw with climate action strategies include:

• A comprehensive review of the zoning bylaw with the goal of integrating regulations and incentives to support smart land use and buildings
• Zoning bylaw amendments for high-priority strategies like more housing choice, transit-oriented development, protecting agricultural lands, and low carbon building features.
• Incremental changes with the goal of advancing climate action objectives

More Housing Choice

Single detached housing comprises the single biggest infrastructure component of most BC communities.[1] New zoning classifications or changes to existing categories can broaden the permitted housing types in existing areas, maximizing the return on infrastructure investment while reducing emissions and energy use.

With a combination of strategies that includes infill housing, smaller lots, and secondary suites, benefits of compact communities can be realized, including viable local shops and improved transit service.

For example, bus service can generally be justified with a residential density of as low as 10 units per acre which translates to 50-by-120 foot residential lots with a duplex or secondary suite on 50 % of the lots, and single-family house on 50 % of the lots [2]. Frequent bus service can be supported with a mix of low-rise apartments, townhouses, and small-lot single-family.

Infill: More Housing Choices in Existing Single Family Areas

• Identify locations where infill will improve the neighbourhood, e.g. front/back duplexes on ½ block can improve the look of both streets and make them safer with “eyes on the street”
• In existing single-family areas, zone for medium-density housing where opportunities exist. For some ideas on how to build more support for infill, see A Guide to Green Choices.
• Zone for ground-oriented dwellings with street entrances (e.g. duplex, triplex, fourplex, row house, townhouse) and ensure their design and character (see Development Permit Area Guidelines) is complementary, and retrofit the neighbourhood to be more compact.
• To encourage infill, local governments can strategically pre-zone key sites to provide certainty for developers and catalyze infill, while also ensuring that amenities and infrastructure upgrades from new development will be secured.

Small Lot Zones

• In areas that are contiguous to existing single family neighbourhoods and areas identified for infill, zone to permit lots that are smaller than standard single family lots. If desired, small lot zones can be created with incentives for building duplexes (instead of single family) and secondary suites to further increase density.
• Smaller lots yield more units per hectare, and can lower costs for single family lots.

Secondary Suites

Many local governments support secondary suites, which comprise 34% of the BC rental stock. A secondary suite is additional to the principal dwelling unit on a lot. The suite is often allowed in the principal dwelling (e.g. single family, duplex, townhouse) and some local governments allow a suite to be located in an accessory building (Garden Suite, Granny Flat, or Coach House). Secondary suites are an opportunity to offer more housing choices in neighbourhoods, while maintaining “single-family” character. Typically, 20% of single-family homes in BC already have a suite, legal or not.

Considerations for crafting zoning to allow secondary suites include:

• Zones in which secondary suites are allowed – single family, rural, townhouse, etc., and lot requirements (size, parking)
  Process to legalize existing suites
• Maximum gross floor area and size of secondary suite, proportionate to the principal dwelling
  Density Bonus if a secondary suite is included in construction, e.g. exclude suite floor area from floor area ratio calculation
• Utility fees that reflect a suite’s additional use of infrastructure
• Management of perceived traffic and noise impacts, and management of suites

Creativity with Comprehensive Development Zones

Comprehensive development zones (CD zones) are ‘one of a kind’ zones, usually created when rezoning larger sites and a mix of proposed land uses that do not match up with existing zones. Climate action opportunities include:

• Creative negotiation between the local government and developer to create a feasible development plan that meets local climate action objectives (e.g. neighbourhood parkland, access to waterfront, tree retention, innovative stormwater management, energy-efficient building forms and systems, and transit oriented development. Specific commitments for contributions can be secured with separate agreements connected to rezoning approval, inclusion in the CD zone, or density bonusing.
• Detailed and unique zoning regulations (e.g. street pattern, land use) to shape development to its context; e.g. connect new development to active transportation routes and transit. [3]
• Cluster development: Concentrate buildings and site disturbance on one part of the property, and leave a more environmentally sensitive remainder undisturbed or rehabilitated. A compact pattern creates a compact form to make active transportation routes and transit connections work, and may also increase opportunities for alternative energy and more efficient buildings. [3]

Zoning for Transit Oriented Development and Active Transportation Choices

• Transit oriented development relies on coordination of transportation and land use planning. Zoning is a key tool:
  Neighbourhood scale: Zoning can increase density and mixed uses that facilitate transit and active transportation.
  Site-specific / block scale: Zoning can strengthen layout and design for transportation choices.
  Zoning for Transit Oriented Development in a Neighbourhood
  The objective is to link transportation and land use objectives by linking a concentration and mix of uses that generates vibrancy and viable transit service:
• Zoning for neighbourhood commercial and downtown areas can allow complementary land uses on a single parcel and within a small area (office, retail and residential). Local governments can retain development finance experts to review and help to fine-tune zoning (and other complementary measures) so that transit oriented development is an attractive opportunity.
  Zone for uses that generate significant transit demand (e.g. concentrated employment, entertainment, apartments, schools) closest to available (or planned) high-quality transit service. More information on density requirements, and options for built form of densities.
  Along current and planned transit corridors, a careful mix of land uses generates transit demand in daytime and evening and creates a vibrant pedestrian environment.
  Strengthen transit oriented development and active transportation choices by not allowing automobile-oriented developments (e.g. drive-through restaurants, large-format retail, low density residential) along key transit corridors and in areas designated for higher density uses.
  See Smart Bylaws Guide, Part 3, ‘Compact Complete Communities’ – contains sample bylaws for Transit Oriented Development

Zoning to Encourage On-Site Transportation Choices

Enabling reduced on-site vehicle parking is critical to an enjoyable pedestrian environment, reduced construction costs, and reduced transportation demand.

• Require and regulate bicycle parking on properties. See City of Portland Oregon’s bicycle standards.
• Lot layout zoning regulations can result in less conflict between cars and pedestrians/cyclists. For example, limit the number of driveways that enter a property and require buildings to locate close to the front property line.
• Require ground floor uses that create a vibrant street frontage (e.g. retail, restaurant) and building entrances along the sidewalk.

Zoning for Low Carbon Buildings

Zoning regulations can be tweaked to encourage energy efficient buildings to be built and retrofitted. A zoning bylaw with attention to smart buildings includes:

Floor area ratio exclusions

• More highly energy efficient apparatus tend to occupy more space than the less efficient, so spaces occupied by heating and cooling apparatus from FSR are excluded.
• Thick walls and shading devices provide insulation and save energy. These features are encouraged by excluding the width of exterior wall width from FSR calculations [4].
• Ventilation shafts support improved air flow and provide internal light access.

Building setbacks, height restrictions

• Minimal building setbacks where possible. Buildings setbacks may discourage the construction and retrofit of thicker and more energy efficient walls / cladding. Zero setbacks coupled with design guidelines encourage buildings with much more efficient shared walls.
• Solar collectors allowed to project into setback areas [4].
• Passive solar heating and natural ventilation features are not prohibited, and solar rooftop equipment is excluded from building height measurement [3].
• In addition to zoning, a policy that encourages green building features, and anticipates variance applications for reduced setbacks that are justified by green building features [4].

Energy generation as a permitted use

• Where wind power generation may be possible, zoning allows small scale wind generation in appropriate areas, e.g. rural residential.

Zoning to Protect Agricultural Lands

Strong local agricultural production and market means that less food for the community is shipped from away; the result is lower GHG emissions from transportation and greater self-reliance. Zoning can protect local agriculture with the following regulations:

• Large lots and contiguous areas zoned for agriculture
• If multiple uses are allowed, allow those that do not interfere with primary agriculture use and support those that complement and make primary uses more viable
• Buffers and setbacks, especially where agricultural uses interface with non-agriculture uses

Leveraging the Rezoning Process

Local governments have considerable influence and opportunity for climate change action ‘wins’ through discretionary rezoning decision-making. Creative and proactive opportunities with rezoning include:

• Density bonusing: Secure amenities that advance goals for developing a complete community and green buildings (e.g. public spaces, green building features) in exchange for a higher density of development.
• Covenant opportunities: As a condition of approving a specified number of units or floor area ratio, require registration of a Section 219 covenant on title to guarantee green building performance features, requirements for alternative energy. [5]
• Policies and Incentives to raise the bar for building performance: Bowen Island encourages all residential buildings to incorporate energy efficient and green building practices. Local governments can use Sustainability Checklists to rate and raise the bar on rezoning applications for triple bottom line criteria. Fast-track the processing of rezoning applications that meet climate action targets.
• Local government initiated rezoning (“pre-zoning”): Local governments can rezone private properties to encourage new uses that are aligned with the OCP, and eventually phase out existing uses that are contrary to current local government goals. For example, a local government can rezone for medium density mixed-use infill.
• Reduce development costs in central locations: Regulations that reduce costs in central locations, such as reduced parking requirements and relaxed setbacks, can encourage development and revitalization.

References

1. Natural Resources Canada, 2004. Energy Use Data Handbook August 2006: Secondary Energy Use and GHG Emissions, Residential Sector
2. Local Government Commission and Steve Tracy, 2003. Smart Growth Zoning Codes: A Resource Guide
3. Community Energy Association, 2007. Energy Efficiency and Buildings. Community Action on Energy and Emissions
4. Susan Rutherford, 2006. Green Buildings Guide. West Coast Environmental Law Foundation.
5. Deborah Curran, 2004. Smart Bylaws Guide, West Coast Environmental Law.

Looking closely at your bottom line

Life cycle costing (LCC) helps local governments look beyond initial capital costs and assess infrastructure strategically over its entire life. LCC can significantly strengthen fiscal performance as well as contribute to large greenhouse gas reductions.

Barrier: first cost orientation

A major barrier to advancing premium efficiency infrastructure and renewable energy is that consumers, including many sophisticated private and public institutions, focus on the initial capital cost and simple payback. Taking this perspective, an infrastructure investment with slightly lower capital costs but high long term costs may be preferred over one with slightly higher capital costs, significantly lower long term costs, and potentially significantly lower emissions.

Looking Long Term

Rather then evaluating projects on initial cost, LCC considers the total cost of owning, operating and maintaining infrastructure over its useful life (including fuel, energy, labour, and replacement components).

LCC is particularly useful for evaluating premium efficiency infrastructure and renewable energy opportunities since their initial costs are often higher, but they tend to have lower operating and maintenance costs over the life of the project.

By overlooking the purchase of premium efficiency products because of their initially higher costs, local governments may save money in the short term but end up paying more for the project through higher energy costs and other operating costs over the life of the project.

Given the importance of fiscal performance, LCC analysis has made some of the most important contributions to advancing local government climate change programs. LCC has applications across a wide range of sectors:

• Fleets, decisive in determining new vehicle acquisitions
• Civic Buildings, relevant for premium efficiency targets for new and existing stock
• Equipment, relevant for office equipment and machinery
• Land use and transportation planning, notably as it pertains to infrastructure needs and costs
• Residential and commercial Buildings

Community Examples

• City of Dawson Creek: Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool 1
• City of Dawson Creek: Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool 2

The first tool provides an example of how the tool can be used to compare three vehicles that use different fuel types. The second tool is an actual analysis that the City did when deciding which vehicle to purchase.

Clear Savings

Buildings

The potential savings from investments in green buildings is 10 times the initial investment according to a US state sponsored Sustainable Building Task Force. For example, an initial upfront investment of up to $100,000 to incorporate green building features into a $5 million project would result in a savings of $1 million in today’s dollars over the life of the building. [1]
Construction accounts for only 8% of a civic building’s cost over its 30-40 year life; operation and maintenance accounts for 92%, according to a study by the City of Hamilton. [2] LCC takes operation and maintenance costs into account, revealing the true cost of the investment over its useful life.

Vehicles

After conducting a life cycle costing analysis, the Township of Langley replaced older high emissions vehicles with newer different models. The 5% reduction in fuel and repair costs more than offset the additional capital investment.

Development

In low-density, single-use developments, local governments often generate less in development fees and property tax than they spend in services like emergency and waste removal, and infrastructure costs such as roads, water mains and sewers. A Southwestern Ontario analysis found for every $1 dollar raised in development fees and property taxes $1.40 needs to be spent on servicing. This problem is more thoroughly explored under asset management. [3]

Life Cycle Analysis vs. Life Cycle Costing

LCC is complementary but not the same as life cycle analysis (LCA). LCA is used to estimate the wide range of environmental impacts or costs of a project over its entire life, literally from cradle to grave. LCA is particularly useful in selecting projects with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

[1] Kats, Greg et al. (2003). The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: Report to the California Sustainable Buildings Task Force.

[2] City of Hamilton, Corporate Buildings & Real Estate Department. (February 20, 2001). State of the City’s Infrastructure (Council Presentation)

[3] Diamond, Jack. (May 18, 2008). “Sprawl is our ‘inconvenient truth:’ Increasing densities do not have to compromise livability,” in Globe and Mail.

A blueprint for a healthy, sustainable community

The Local Government Act authorizes the development of Official Community Plans (OCPs) in BC (Sections 471 to 478). An OCP is a local government plan that provides objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management within the area covered by the plan. OCPs are significant because, after their adoption, all bylaws and works undertaken by a Council or Board must be consistent with the plan. Every OCP will be slightly different but each will address core aspects of a community such as:

• Proposed land use and density
• Transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure
• Environmentally sensitive areas, parks and open space
• Housing needs and policies
• Public facilities, including schools, health care, etc.
• Neighbourhood character
• Social policies
• Economic development
• Targets, policies and actions for the reduction of emissions
• Development permit areas
• Building and landscape design guidelines

In a small community, an OCP will typically have more information and play a more central role in governance with policies, regulations and guidelines, including extensive detail on many issues. For a larger community, an OCP will more often be an overarching, vision and policy document that is accompanied by a wide range of policy, plans and regulatory documents that cover each issue in more detail.

Tackling climate change through an OCP

An OCP is possibly the most important plan in a community for reducing emissions. It establishes:

• Key policy goals for a community, including climate goals and targets
• Land use patterns throughout the community that will shape how complete any neighbourhood is
• The transportation network of a community that will influence whether people walk, cycle and take transit or drive their car – and associated emissions implications
• Housing types available in each neighbourhood that will affect transportation options and quality of life
• Commercial and industrial development that is the foundation of a community’s economy and influences where jobs are located throughout a community
• The policy foundation for infrastructure planning that will determine how efficient and sustainable water, waste-water and energy systems are, based on the OCP’s land use patterns
• A key focus point for community engagement and education where climate and community issues can be linked and discussed
• Community-wide emissions reduction targets, policies and actions to help mitigate the impacts of climate change
• The network of greenways, vegetation and park spaces that influence local neighbourhood lifestyles, vegetation to reduce the heat island effect, and promote walking and cycling
• Design objectives and guidelines for buildings and landscape proposed within prescribed Development Permit Areas. These can include objectives and requirements for energy efficiency and emissions reductions.
• Development information requirements including information required regarding energy efficiency, emissions for a proposed project
• Incentives that the municipality may offer to encourage emissions reductions including policies for density bonusing
• Many other aspects of a community, including the leadership role a local government will play in its own operations around fleet management or premium efficiency building targets.

OCPs are typically updated every 5 to 10 years, but their long-term vision means they set a course for many decades.

Cross cutting actions

• Community vision is strengthened with climate action initiatives. Congestion, air pollution, community livability, community economic development and local government fiscal performance are all part of integrated framing that ensures climate action plans support other fundamental community priorities.
• Climate planning through an OCP or climate planning plus an OCP. Under the Local Government Act, local governments are required to include targets, policies and actions for the reduction of emissions in their OCPs. Many local governments undertake more extensive, energy and emission planning processes independently that would then be integrated into an OCP. Ultimately, some concerted energy and emission planning following by action is important to make significant reductions and ensure communities are protected from energy price volatility. High level climate change targets, goals and actions can be acknowledged in one section of an OCP. These targets and goals, then, should be integrated into other parts of the OCP. Some of the cross cutting opportunities include:
  • Establish climate protection and energy sustainability as fundamental considerations in meeting the community’s economic, social and environmental goals
  • Set a target to inform development of more detailed policies and actions
  • Establish a climate and energy working group to advise council or board on opportunities and build relationships with key partners in the community, utilities, neighboring communities, and senior levels of government
  • Establish some innovative financing measures to hurdle a major barrier to taking action.

Land use actions

Land use planning is at the very top of an energy planning hierarchy. Over the medium to long term, land use decisions are likely to have a cumulative impact on energy use and emissions. A climate-friendly OCP can be achieved by addressing land use patterns to ensure the following:

• Development is directed to areas of existing infrastructure to maintain compact development that supports a diversity of transportation choices from walking, cycling, transit as well as the car
• Mixed use neighbourhoods that include a wide diversity of housing, amenities, schools, open space, commercial / retail development and job opportunities. Mixed use is a primary building block for a healthy community.
• Addressing the evolution of current single use areas (such as single-detached unit subdivisions) to include a greater mix of uses in key areas
• A nodes and corridors structure focusing density in village/urban centers connected by corridors of denser development to support the most sustainable transportation options. These corridors should be easily accessible by a range of transportation options and ideally serviced by convenient and frequent transit. This structure can be set out far in advance of growth into various areas with appropriate phasing based on infrastructure.
• Densities that support convenient frequent transit service in a local transit network, where applicable. As a rule of thumb, 20 to 40 units/hectare or 50 to 80 residents and jobs combined typically supports basic (every 30 minutes) and frequent transit service (every 15 minutes or less). [1]
• Support for infill and redevelopment, including brownfield redevelopment
• Office, institutional, educational and other high employment density areas that are located only in central areas that can be easily connected by transit and active transportation networks to most residential areas (to shift commuting trips to non-auto modes)
• Industrial lands that are located to support green (and innovative district) infrastructure systems and that are easily accessed by transit where job densities are higher
• A network of green areas that link parks and greenways with agricultural or sensitive and protected natural areas, providing a network of paths, local food opportunities and recreation potential. Putting ecological targets in the OCP enables benchmarking and can contribute to a better understanding of ecological resilience.

Transportation actions

Transportation is responsible for close to 50% of emissions in many communities. An OCP will establish a policy and land use framework for a community’s transportation system – often supported with detailed transportation plans. Transportation patterns in a community are primarily an outcome of land use patterns – people travel between areas of activity – but major transportation investments can also shape land use.

“Compact development can result in a 7 to 10% reduction in total transportation CO2 emissions by 2050 relative to continuing sprawl.” [2]

The transportation elements of an OCP need to establish vision, policy and investment commitments that will significantly change the amount and mode of travel from higher emission patterns to those that will support a significant reduction in emissions.

For instance, for a community growing at 1.5% per year between now and 2020, the transportation plan needs to be built around a scenario of a 50% reduction per person if the community plans to meet a 33% reduction overall by 2020 (growth ~ 17% over 11 years + 33% reduction target = 50%). Reductions can be achieved through increased fuel and vehicle efficiencies, but also through support of pedestrian, cycling and transit infrastructure as well as careful planning and development.

Transportation elements for an OCP that can support emission reductions include:

• Establishing the overall transportation network plan of highways, streets, transit corridors, bicycle routes, greenways, pedestrian paths and others to ensure all residents have reasonable access to non-automobile modes of transport for commuting, accessing school and shopping
• Clearly establishing a low-emissions modal priority of pedestrians, bicycles, transit and goods movement over the automobile for policy, design and capital investment
• Establishing policies for complete street design that support narrower streets, traffic calming design, bicycle and pedestrian support, and ecologically sound stormwater management
• Addressing parking policies to keep parking ratios as low as possible to increase housing affordability and apply gentle pressure to use alternatives to the car.

Buildings actions

Local governments, with the exception of the City of Vancouver, do not have the authority to change building code requirements. Local governments are, however, able to indirectly and significantly influence energy efficiency through a variety of conventional policies and bylaws that can be addressed at a high level through an OCP. Building elements for an OCP that can support emission reductions include:

• Build capacity through education and recognition programs for staff, developers, builders and the public, including promoting incentives offered by utilities and senior governments
• Develop partnerships with developers interested in innovation to strengthen knowledge inside and outside local government
• Establish building efficiency and emissions targets to guide the design and performance of new development projects
• Encourage heritage preservation and re-use of existing buildings where possible
• Develop incentives for energy improvements such as density bonusing, revitalization tax exemptions, building permit rebates, development cost charge adjustments, and permit fast tracking
• Develop regulations for density and form, efficiency and renewable requirements through development permit areas.

For further information see Energy Efficiency and Buildings: A Resource for Local Governments.

Infrastructure actions

An OCP can provide the framework to determine where infrastructure development will occur and how it will be implemented. As such, the OCP can address a range of infrastructure issues related to supply, demand management, phasing, policies and inter-jurisdictional agreements for energy, water, wastewater and solid waste. Sustainable infrastructure delivery should consider full life-cycle costing, environment impact and natural resource depletion.

The OCP will primarily establish high level policies and strategies and subsequent infrastructure plans will be developed for each area.

Opportunities to address low emission infrastructure opportunities in an OCP include:

• Limit the outward expansion of the settled areas of the community (compactness) to reduce need to expand infrastructure networks
• Establish energy and emissions targets for infrastructure systems against which options can be evaluated
• Adopt practical analytical and decision making tools into infrastructure planning and procurement such as life cycle analysis and integrated resource management
• Integrate local renewable, low emission energy sources and systems into existing infrastructure such as micro-hydro, waste to energy systems, biogas recovery systems, sewer heat recovery, geo-exchange and geothermal systems and the distribution of energy through district energy systems. The OCP should include policies defining levels of support for energy efficient and renewable energy infrastructure and new utilities developed by the municipality, developers, large utilities and other levels of government within the municipality.
• Develop water supply policies and practices that support efficiency targets along with other sustainable water management policies
• Develop rainwater (stormwater) management policies and practices to reduce the burden on infrastructure and enhance ecological and amenity values, including reducing impermeable areas
• Develop wastewater policies and practice, including priorities for treatment and re-use, renewable/low emission energy sources, energy recovery/generation, resource recovery, and strategies for centralized or decentralized systems and siting
• Develop solid waste policies and practices that reduce emissions including waste reduction, recycling, composting, and managing landfill gas, as well as resource recovery and environmental protection.

Local government operations actions

An OCP does not frequently address local government operations directly. However, some OCP strategies can benefit areas of local government operations indirectly and vice versa. For example:

• Building capacity through leading by example: By taking a leadership role in green buildings, fleets and infrastructure, local governments build knowledge inside city hall and out in the community that can be extended to community wide programs. This leadership also raises awareness of the potential for innovation.
• Community water conservation: Conserving water can reduce energy consumption and emissions from water and wastewater infrastructure, and reduce the size of constructed systems.
• Greening the fleet: Compact community planning, community waste reduction and backyard composting programs can reduce emissions from fleet operations.

References

1. Transit Supportive Guidelines (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, 2012)
2. Ewing, R., K. Bartholomew, S. Winkelman, J. Walters, and D. Chen., 2008. Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. Urban Land Institute, 9.