Notice of Public Hearing
Pursuant to Section 464 of the Local Government Act RSBC 2015, the Council of the Village of Gold River gives notice it will hold a Public Hearing:
Date: May 3, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: via Zoom
To consider the proposed Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 706.3, 2021.
The proposed bylaw is a text amendment to permit modular homes (CSA A277) in all residential areas and to change lot coverage for accessory buildings and structures in the Fee Simple Half Duplex Residential Zone – R.M.1.A. All persons who believe their interest in property may be affected by the proposed bylaw and wish to register an opinion may do so by:
- Appearing before Council at the said Public Hearing; and/or
- Forwarding written submissions for Council’s consideration, prior to 5:00 pm April 30, 2021, to Village of Gold River, PO Box 610, Gold River, V0P 1G0; Fax: 250-283-7500 or email: .
The bylaws and other written information pertaining to this matter may be viewed at the Village of Gold River office located at 499 Muchalat Drive, Gold River, BC between the hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday inclusive, excluding statutory holidays, from April 23, 2021 to May 3, 2021.
Any inquiries should be referred to the Village of Gold River, Telephone: 250-283-2202, Fax: 250-283-7500 or .
Background for proposed Bylaws No. 706.4, 2021:
The purpose of the proposed Bylaw No. 706.4, 2021, if adopted, is to amend the zoning bylaw to permit modular homes (CSA A277) in all residential areas and to change lot coverage for accessory buildings and structures in the Fee Simple Half Duplex Residential Zone – R.M.1.A.
Currently the zoning bylaw does not identify specific CSA standards and the definition for manufactured/mobile home includes “meets or exceeds applicable Canadian Standards Association standards”. In addition, the single family dwelling definition excludes manufactured homes, which is what is listed as a permitted use in several of our residential zones.
Other communities on Vancouver Island do permit manufactured homes in their residential zones, but do set a minimum width of 21 feet. This minimum width effectively eliminates the placement of single wide manufactured homes. The two CSA classifications that are generally recognized by municipalities are CSA Z240 and CSA A277. Portions of the Z240 standard deal with special requirements for mobile homes related to the fact that these buildings are intended to be periodically moved over roads.
The CSA Z240 is in effect a building code for manufactured/mobile homes while CSA A277 is a certification standard used to certify a building complies with the building code required in the jurisdiction where the building will be sited. Every building that comes from a CSA A277 factory is not inspected to be built to the BC Building Code, but the factory is inspected that they are building units to meet the BC Building code.
The use of CSA A277 standard manufactured homes may provide a more cost-effective solution for new homes to be erected in the Village of Gold River. Factory built homes also can be faster to build as site work can be done while the building is being built in the factory.
The proposed changes would still be in alignment with the Official Community Plan for residential use policies by permitting manufactured homes in residential areas and keeping mobile homes to the Mobile Home Park and Mobile Home Subdivision areas.
To allow CSA A277 standard manufactured homes to be placed in residential zones, the zoning bylaw would need to be amended by deleting current definitions for ‘Manufactured/mobile home’ definition and replacing with a ‘Manufactured Home’ definition; modifying the definition to exclude mobile homes; and to add definitions for ‘Mobile Home’ and ‘Modular Home’. Mobile Home would be homes built to the CSA Z240 standard and Modular Home would be homes built to the CSA A277 standard.
In addition, a Manufactured Home section would be added to the general provisions of the Zoning Bylaw which would set a minimum width for the manufactured home and not permitting individual, single-wide dwelling units in the community except for the M.H.P. or M.H.S. zones. With the definition change, the bylaw would also make amendments to the wording in 16.1.1 and 17.1.1 of the bylaw to match terminology used in the definitions.
Further, when going through the bylaw it was noted that there was an error in the RM.1A section 11.2.3 for lot coverage. This section set a minimum lot coverage requirement for accessory buildings and structures. This would have the impact of requiring that accessory buildings be built to meet the requirement for the zone, which is not consistent with other zones where the maximum lot coverage for accessory buildings and structures has been established. So, while we are going through the process of amending the zoning bylaw, staff is taking the opportunity to correct this error.