Information for Applicants – Fairfield Gonzales Community Association

COVID 19 UPDATED PROCESS

If you are planning to rezone in Fairfield Gonzales , one of your first steps will be meeting with the neighbourhood Community Association Land Use Committee (CALUC). Gaining community support is an important part of any development approval process.

The process for applicants is to attend a Preliminary Meeting to review their plans with members of the CALUC. Members of the community are invited to attend to access information about the application; however discussion is between the applicant and the CALUC. The next step is to attend a Community Meeting, where members of the community are invited to ask questions of the applicant. Meetings may be offered in person, via Zoom, or both.

Additionally, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, community members are invited to comment on the application once it has been submitted to the City, via the Development Tracker. Once the plans are posted, community members have 30 days to comment; these comments will be shared with the applicant, CALUC, and the City.

In addition to more traditional questions about developments, such as site plans, floor plans and elevations, applicants should be prepared to discuss how their proposal addresses the climate emergency, and the goals and targets in the City of Victoria’s Climate Leadership Plan. Examples include:

Building energy sources and efficiency:

Methane gas (“Natural gas”) contributes to climate change and indoor cooking with gas creates health risks. Is the space heating (and cooling) system, and the water heating system, a low-carbon or zero-carbon system, e.g. an electric heat pump? Do any of the building systems require the use of fossil fuels?
Does the building meet or exceed current applicable BC Energy Step Code standards, Passive House standard, or LEED Gold standards? Please provide details.
What is the estimated annual energy use of the building (or units) for heating and cooling? What is the estimated annual energy bill?

Sustainable transportation:

For buildings where parking space is required, are all spaces provided with Level 2 or higher electric vehicle (EV) chargers? If not, are they all at least wired (ready) for chargers?
Is there convenient, secure, sheltered bike parking provided, sufficient for the needs of all residents (bearing in mind that potentially all residents in a unit will have one or more bicycles)?
What is the Walk Score, Transit Score and Cycle Score for the building? What has been done to maximize resident use of walking, transit and cycling?
(For larger buildings) Have you provided shared vehicles – e.g. Modo/EVO vehicles, or shared vehicle parking, memberships and usage credits for residents – in order to reduce the need for motor vehicle parking?

GHG emissions from waste

Does the building have a convenient and accessible place for separate waste, recycling and compost collection?

Location-efficient development

Building residences near key destinations (employment areas, grocery stores, schools, restaurants and other amenities) reduces the need for driving and results in low emissions. How does your proposal help achieve this?

Further information can be found on the City of Victoria website here.

To get in touch with the CALUC, please contact us.