Controversial legislation allowing Banff businesses to trade or sell existing built commercial space is one step closer to reality – but Parks Canada wants to make sure the commercial development cap is protected before signing off.
On Monday (July 8), council passed bylaw 321, which allows the transfer of existing, developed commercial floor area, and bylaw 320, which allows the transfer of development allotments won in the lottery from a developer that is not going to use them to one that will.
Parks Canada has the final say on all land use matters in the national park townsite, and while officials say they have no concerns with bylaw 320, they say bylaw 321 requires “further consideration and review.”
“Protecting legislated growth limits in the Town of Banff remains a top priority for Parks Canada,” said Dave McDonough, superintendent of Banff National Park, noting he had not yet seen bylaw 321.
McDonough said Parks Canada understands the Town of Banff’s phased-in approach of the Land Use Bylaw review, but in some circumstances proposed amending bylaws can potentially affect federal legislation.
“In these circumstances, Parks Canada must withhold execution of these amendments until such time as all phases of the bylaw are complete, allowing for a comprehensive review of the completed, revised Town of Banff Land Use Bylaw,” he said.
“Parks remains committed to reviewing all amending bylaws as they are received and, where it is clear that approval can in no way affect legislation, will execute them as requested.”
Banff has been subject to a commercial growth cap since 1998 and a lottery has traditionally been held to give potential developers a crack at getting the square footage they need for their developments.
The transfer bylaws aim to give property owners a way to acquire square footage through peer-to-peer transactions as the townsite approaches buildout under the cap and when there’s no more development allotments left.
Under bylaw 321, if commercial space is demolished, or if a building that was commercial is taken over for non-commercial purposes, that commercial space could be transferred to another site.
Town planners say tracking transfers of existing gross floor area under this bylaw is critical to ensuring compliance with the commercial cap, noting the bylaw contains several mechanisms to deal with this.
They say the Municipal Planning Commission will be the decision-maker on transfer applications, as opposed to a development officer in the planning department, to ensure greater public transparency.
“There’s a requirement for all applications to be public, all applications to be advertised through on-site signage, and that a restrictive covenant or other legal mechanism be placed on the property title,” said senior planner Darren Enns.
“We’re confident we’ve got procedures in place that assure we adhere to the cap.”
Councillor Leslie Taylor was the only councillor to vote against the legislation, even though she was successful in getting an amendment into the bylaw that requires a publicly available register of such development transfers.
“I just think there’s so much history about development rights being traded away and then re-granted 25 years later that I just can’t do it,” she said. “I remain concerned about that and I just don’t feel comfortable.”
