COUNCIL REPORT Executive Committee Report No. PDS 105-2019 Date: December 10, 2019 File No: 6520-20 To: Mayor and Council From: Mitchell Comb, Senior Planner Subject: McKee Neighbourhood Plan - Additional Resources for WeTown RECOMMENDATION 1. THAT Council consider the additional resources needed to review the WeTown proposal through the McKee Neighbourhood Planning process, as outlined in Report PDS 105- 2019; and 2. THAT Council direct staff to prepare a budget amendment for $675,000. REPORT CONCURRENCE General Manager City Manager The Acting General Manager concurs with the The City Manager concurs with the recommendation of this report. recommendation of this report. PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to outline the additional resources and timeline required to consider the WeTown proposal through the McKee Neighbourhood Planning process. SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE On October 7, 2019, staff introduced to Council a development concept called WeTown. Council directed staff to outline the resources required to undertake additional work to consider the WeTown proposal through the McKee Neighbourhood Planning process. Given the scale and complexity of the WeTown proposal, there are both neighbourhood and city-wide implications to consider, leading to the need for additional resources and an extension to the timeline. This report provides a summary of the additional work, resources and time required, for Council’s consideration. BACKGROUND Auguston Town Developments Inc. has submitted a proposal for a development concept within Report No. PDS 105-2019 Page 2 of 8 the Auguston neighbourhood, called “WeTown”. WeTown is a high density, mixed-use, tech- oriented development concept within the Auguston neighbourhood. The proponent estimates that WeTown will accommodate 18,000 new jobs and 28,800 residents within a total built floor area of 15.5 million square feet, and predicts full build-out in 20 years. Staff introduced the WeTown proposal to Council at the Executive Committee meeting on October 7, 2019 (PDS 082-2019) and concluded that WeTown is a considerable departure from what is contemplated for this location in the current Official Community Plan (OCP). The OCP envisions a mixed-use neighbourhood centre intended to meet the daily needs of future and nearby residents. This is envisioned at a height of 4 storeys, in order to fit with the overall neighbourhood scale. The entire McKee neighbourhood population is envisioned to be 15,000 people. The WeTown concept, in essence, creates a second ‘City Centre’ that is currently not connected to the City’s primary transit corridor and in a location that would require significant municipal infrastructure upgrades and amenities not anticipated in the OCP or recently completed master plans. Council directed staff to consider the WeTown proposal through the McKee Neighbourhood Plan, and to outline the resources required to undertake the additional work for the McKee Neighbourhood Planning process. Staff have since prepared a revised scope for the planning process, and have identified the required additional resources and time, which are outlined in this report. DISCUSSION Neighbourhood Plans are planning documents that guide development in key areas of the city. These documents provide direction to Council, staff, the community, and land owners as to what the land can be used for and how it will be serviced. A typical planning process to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan involves four stages of work over 18-24 months, including: (1) background research; (2) exploring options; (3) preparing a draft plan; and (4) revising the draft plan into a final plan. Through each stage, staff reports to Council to review the work completed and to present a summary of feedback from the community. To date, Council has adopted three Neighbourhood Plans including City Centre, Historic Downtown and UDistrict. 2. McKee Neighbourhood Plan a. Introduction The study area for the McKee Neighbourhood Plan (NP) includes lands designated “New Neighbourhoods” within the Official Community Plan (OCP). The “New Neighbourhoods” area is located in the northeast corner of the Urban Development Boundary and is mostly undeveloped. The McKee NP is intended to help transform the area into a complete community for up to 15,000 residents, with vibrant neighbourhoods and a mixed-use Neighbourhood Centre that are integrated into the natural and mountainous landscape as envisioned in the OCP. A planning process to prepare the McKee NP is currently underway following a similar approach to the City’s previous NPs. Report No. PDS 105-2019 Page 3 of 8 The following sections (b) through (e) provide a summary of the four-stage McKee Neighbourhood Planning process, including the original scope aligning with the OCP and revised scope considering the WeTown proposal. A summary is included in Section 3. b. Stage 1 – Background Research Original scope and timeline: Stage 1 is currently underway, and environmental, geotechnical and archaeological studies have been conducted within the McKee NP area. The intent of this work is to identify lands that should be protected and lands that may be suitable for development. The findings of Stage 1 are intended to inform the exploration of options in Stage 2. The original timeline for Stage 1 to be completed is anticipated to be six months. With the majority of the analysis completed, staff are on schedule to bring a completed Stage 1 report to Council in early 2020. Revised scope with additional resources and time: Further environmental, geotechnical and archaeological analysis should be conducted by the consulting team in order to consider the WeTown proposal. This additional work is required given the detailed nature of the WeTown proposal, to ensure that there is an adequate understanding of the developable area of the WeTown site. Staff will also undertake a procurement process to engage additional consultants for planning and design work in Stages 2 and 3. The additional work is anticipated to add approximately three months to the Stage 1 timeline. c. Stage 2 – Explore Options Original scope and timeline: Stage 2 will focus on exploring options for the McKee NP area. This work will include the preparation of concepts (i.e., land use, servicing, and parks, recreation and culture) and neighbourhood-focused engagement. Stage 2 will conclude with the preparation of a preferred concept to be further refined in Stage 3. The original timeline for Stage 2 to be completed is anticipated to be six months (late 2020). Revised scope with additional resources and time: A number of additional items for Planning & Development Services (PDS), Engineering, Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC), and Fire Rescue Service (FRS) should be added to the original Stage 2 scope of work in order to consider the WeTown proposal. Key additional items are as follows: PDS – Prepare concepts and options for a Neighbourhood Centre (including photorealistic renderings for each concept) and conduct enhanced community engagement including interactive events and/or online engagement that reach a broader, city-wide audience. In order to accomplish this additional work, staff require additional budget for consulting services and the reallocation of existing internal staff resources from other work plan priorities to the McKee NP. Engineering – Conduct additional conceptual-level infrastructure and transportation studies for each Neighbourhood Centre concept, and prepare order of magnitude cost estimates that address the neighbourhood and city-wide implications of the WeTown proposal. PRC – Analyze the park, recreation and cultural needs for each Neighbourhood Centre concept, including potential neighbourhood and city-wide implications of the WeTown Report No. PDS 105-2019 Page 4 of 8 proposal. Additional budget is required for consulting services to undertake this Needs Analysis, as well as engaging an external PRC specialist. FRS – Analyze the Fire Rescue Service needs for each Neighbourhood Centre concept, including potential neighbourhood and city-wide implications of the WeTown proposal. Additional budget is required for consulting services to undertake this Needs Analysis. The additional work outlined above is anticipated to add approximately six months to the Stage 2 timeline. d. Stage 3 – Draft Plan Original scope: Stage 3 will focus on preparing the draft McKee NP using findings and direction from Stages 1 and 2. The scope of this work includes land use, urban design, neighbourhood- level trails and parks, and neighbourhood-level infrastructure (including modeling and preparation of Class D cost estimates). Neighbourhood-focused engagement on the draft NP would also be completed in this stage. The original timeline for Stage 3 to be completed is anticipated to be six months (mid 2021). Revised scope with additional resources: A number of additional items for PDS, Engineering, PRC, and FRS should be added to the original Stage 3 scope in order to consider the WeTown proposal. Key additional items are as follows: PDS – Prepare a draft NP with added complexity due to the inclusion of WeTown (e.g., prepare additional land use categories, policies, design guidelines, etc. to address the uniqueness of WeTown) and conduct enhanced city-wide engagement on the draft NP. In order to accomplish this additional work, staff require additional budget for consulting services and the reallocation of existing internal staff resources from other work plan priorities to the McKee NP. Engineering – Conduct additional infrastructure modeling