Proposed Chuka Creek Business Park Concept Plan (16-CP-01)

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CONCLUSION

The proposed Chuka Creek Business Park Concept Plan (Chuka Creek CP) provides land-use and servicing framework for guiding the development of a new industrial park on the southeast periphery of Regina. The proposed Chuka Creek CP conforms with Design Regina: The Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 2013-48 (OCP), which provides broad policy direction for the city as a whole and the Southeast Regina Neighbourhood Plan (SENP), which provides policy direction for the southeast part of the city. The use of land will be further refined through the rezoning, subdivision and development processes.

The proposed Chuka Creek CP servicing strategy (servicing strategy) is in accordance with the SENP, which supports privately operated systems as an interim measure, until such time that municipal services are extended to this peripheral location. As water pressure in the southeast is a potential issue, until such time as the City of Regina (City) systems are upgraded, it will be necessary for the City to monitor development on a case-by-case basis to ascertain cumulative impacts on the City system. The City is in the process of preparing a Water Master Plan, which will identify a solution for this issue.

Preparation of the Chuka Creek CP has included a review of the site conditions and proposed servicing solutions and the process has involved public and stakeholder engagement, including an open house and regional consultation. As the Chuka Creek CP conforms with the OCP and SENP, will enhance employment opportunities and expand the tax base, City Administration recommends approval of the proposed Chuka Creek CP.

BACKGROUND

The plan area of the Chuka Creek CP is 152.4 hectares and is situated in the southeast section of the city, between the Regina Bypass and the City’s east boundary (Appendix A, B). The plan area remains largely undeveloped, other than three existing industrial operations, and is bounded by the Regina Bypass to the north and west, the city limits of Regina to the east and Highway

No. 33 (Arcola Avenue) to the south. A railway corridor abuts the east boundary and Chuka Creek transects the southern portion of the plan area. A Government of Saskatchewan (Province) service road is the main access route and transects the plan area from north to south.

In 2016, City Council adopted the SENP, which provides high-level policy direction for lands in the southeast part of the city, including the Chuka Creek CP area lands. In accordance with the SENP, lands north of Chuka Creek are identified for Light and Medium Industrial and lands south of Chuka Creek are identified for Prestige Industrial (Appendix C). Applying the industrial designation east of the Regina Bypass was deemed to be appropriate due to the proximity of the Regina Bypass and railway corridor and due to the existing industrial development.

DISCUSSION

Land Use and Design

The Chuka Creek CP area will include a combination of Light, Medium and Prestige Industrial development. Lands north of Chuka Creek are identified as Light and Medium Industrial and lands south of Chuka Creek are identified for Prestige Industrial (Appendix D). The floodway of Chuka Creek will not be developed and will be kept in a natural state, as per SENP requirements.

The Light and Medium Industrial areas will support general industrial uses, whereas the Prestige Industrial area will be oriented more towards warehousing, wholesale and various types of commercial retail and services. The Light and Medium Industrial areas are further differentiated from the Prestige Industrial area by allowing for more outdoor storage and manufacturing opportunities. Heavy Industrial uses, which include developments that may have noticeable off-site impacts relating to noise, odour, etc., are not permitted by the SENP or Chuka Creek CP. Through the SENP review process, Prestige Industrial was determined to be a more appropriate designation for the south portion of the plan area, as these lands form a gateway into the city.

Transportation Servicing

The primary access for the Chuka Creek CP area will be the Bypass Service Road, which intersects Arcola Avenue and then transects the plan area from south to north, connecting to Highway No. 1 (Victoria Avenue) east of the Regina Bypass. This road will be owned and managed by the Province and will be designed as a rural cross-section, consisting of one lane of travel in either direction with a third left-turn lane added where necessary. The construction of traffic signals will be required at the intersection of the Bypass Service Road and Arcola Avenue.

Opportunities for active transportation (e.g. walking and cycling) and transit will be considered as the plan area is developed. Although active transportation opportunities are somewhat limited, as the plan area is separated from the residential area to the west by the Regina Bypass, sidewalks will be expected within the Prestige Industrial area. Opportunities for multi-use pathways in the plan area and connecting the plan area to lands west of the Regina Bypass, will be considered as development is phased-in. The provision of transit service will respond to demand/need and will be contingent on budget support and conformity with transit strategies.

The full buildout of the Chuka Creek Business Park will place additional traffic on Arcola Avenue; however, the Regina Bypass will accommodate a significant amount of traffic volume to the plan area, especially heavy goods vehicles. Through-traffic affecting residential neighbourhoods will not be an issue, as the plan area has direct access to major roadways.

Water Servicing

The servicing strategy requires that the plan area eventually incorporates full municipal, piped water services; however, the servicing strategy allows the Light and Medium Industrial area to proceed with private systems (e.g. wells, cisterns, etc.) with the proviso that full municipal services are provided when the Prestige Industrial area is developed. The Prestige Industrial area must include full municipal services at the outset and rezoning of these lands will be contingent on the submission of a servicing strategy for that area. The rationale for this approach is that:

·         Full municipal water service cannot be provided until the city-wide water system is upgraded; however, there are immediate demands for industrial development and opportunities exist to accommodate these developments via private systems.

·         The developers will need to demonstrate how the provision of water service, for the purpose of fire-fighting, will be provided to the City’s satisfaction.

·         The Prestige Industrial area will include a more concentrated “urban” form of development that will require a higher level of service at the outset.

·         This approach is fully consistent with the SENP servicing strategy, which anticipated this servicing situation and solution.

The City is in the process of preparing a city-wide water master plan, which will, amongst other tasks, identify a solution for addressing the water pressure issue. Until such time as the city-wide systems are upgraded, development in the plan area will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to ascertain implications for water pressure, as per recommendations 3-4 of this report.

Wastewater Servicing

The servicing strategy allows the Light and Medium Industrial areas to utilize, as either an interim or permanent solution, privately owned and managed wastewater systems

(e.g. septic fields, holding tanks, etc.); however, the Prestige Industrial area must include full municipal services at the outset and rezoning of these lands will be contingent on the submission of a servicing strategy for this area. The rationale for this approach is that:

·         Full municipal wastewater service cannot be provided until major upgrades are undertaken, including a new pump station in the southeast; however, there are immediate demands for industrial development and opportunities exist to accommodate these developments via private systems.

·         The developers will need to demonstrate how proposed private systems will meet all regulations and applicable health and safety codes.

·         The Prestige Industrial area will include a more concentrated “urban” form of development that will require a higher level of service at the outset.

·         An opportunity may exist in the future to extend a trunk from the Light and Medium Industrial area to the Prestige Industrial area, should this be supported.

·         This approach is fully consistent with the SENP servicing strategy; which anticipated this servicing situation and solution.

Nearby development in the SENP area will have an impact on the timing and location of connections to City sanitary sewers. A significant implication for timing will be the construction of a new pump station in the southeast, which is required to service SENP development.

Stormwater Servicing

Stormwater runoff currently flows naturally within the plan area. In order to contain stormwater flows during development, the plan area will have four constructed stormwater detention ponds. Three ponds will be located in the Light and Medium Industrial lands and one in the Prestige Industrial lands. Each pond will be sized to accommodate flows resulting from a major storm event.

North of Chuka Creek, drainage flows from north to south. Individual lots will discharge stormwater flows into the shallow road-side ditches of the Bypass Service Road. Major rainfall events will be managed by allowing the excess flows to accumulate in the detention ponds before being released downstream at a controlled rate. Ultimately, these flows will be discharged at a controlled rate into the natural water system of Chuka Creek. Lots within the plan area will be required to detain a portion of the runoff volumes consistent with the City’s policies for commercial and industrial lots and must also demonstrate the ability to meet requirements for water quality improvement prior to discharge into the road-side ditches.

Park and Open Space

As no residential development will occur in the Chuka Creek Business Park area, the City will not require any park development and all outstanding municipal reserve (MR) will be taken as cash-in-lieu of land. The floodway of Chuka Creek Business Park will be protected through the regulations of the Zoning Bylaw and the City has the option of claiming the Chuka Creek Business Park floodway area as environmental reserve (ER).

RECOMMENDATION IMPLICATIONS

Financial Implications

All projects internal to the plan area will be funded by the developer and will not receive any reimbursement by the City from Servicing Agreement Fee (SAF) funds or City contributions. The municipal infrastructure that is built and funded by the developer will become the City’s responsibility to operate and maintain through future budgets. Private infrastructure identified in the plan area will be the responsibility of individual property owners to operate and maintain.

The Chuka Creek Business Park will include developments that utilize private servicing systems; however, the City’s Administration and Calculation of Servicing Agreement Fees and Development Levies Policy does not presently entertain a situation whereby a development is not obtaining a full array of City services. As such, City Administration will be bringing forward a report in Q4 of 2017 that will create a policy for this circumstance. The report will also include recommendations regarding SAFs and Development Levies (DLs) for industrial development in general. These forthcoming policies will guide the terms of the servicing agreements for the future subdivision and development of the Chuka Creek Business Park lands.

Environmental Implications

The proposed land-use is not expected to result in environmental issues, as “heavy” industrial uses are not permitted and all uses will be subject to City regulations and all applicable federal/ provincial codes. The use of privately serviced sewage holding tanks in the plan area in relation to aquifer sensitivity is a public health concern that has been considered by the City. As holding tanks age, there is always risk of degraded infrastructure resulting in sewage infiltrating into ground water. The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) expressed their concerns with the proposed private servicing strategy in their letter to the City dated January 17, 2017. 

Nevertheless, private sources of water and wastewater facilities (e.g. wells and septic tanks) are a common servicing solution for commercial and industrial areas in other municipalities, such as the Sherwood Industrial Park. The proposed development is also separated from any nearby residential area or areas of natural environmental sensitivity. All significant nearby residential development is serviced by City water sources, which are not known to be affected by aquifer or subterranean water conditions. The aquifer sensitivity area is located in the southernmost part of the Chuka Creek CP, which is where the Prestige Industrial land-use is designated. This development requires full public servicing, including sanitary sewers, thus minimizing risk of aquifer contamination. These systems would be regulated by the municipal government in accordance with provincial standards.

Strategic Implications

The Chuka Creek CP has the potential to create a significant center of employment on the eastern side of the city with close proximity to both road and rail transportation links which provides a competitive advantage for businesses that locate in the plan area.

The proposed Chuka Creek CP complies with the OCP Growth Plan, which identifies the plan area as a “New Employment Area” and supports a key objective of the OCP, which is to enhance employment opportunities. (OCP Policy 7.2.1 - Ensure an adequate supply of serviced industrial land to maintain a diverse range of development opportunities).

Other Implications

None with respect to this report.

Accessibility Implications

Paratransit service may be provided depending upon future analysis and development of transit routes.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communication with the public has been summarized below:

Administration received thirteen public comments regarding the proposal. A more detailed accounting of the respondents’ comments and concerns and the Administration’s response to them is provided in Appendix F.

Consultation has included engagement with affected landowners, the general public, regional stakeholders and experts internal and external to the City that influence the planning process (e.g. school authorities; various ministries of the Province; utility providers, etc.).

Public Engagement

An open house was held for the proposed Chuka Creek CP on June 12, 2017 with approximately 65 attendees. Response was mixed with some expressing support and others opposition. In addition to the open house, the draft plan and supporting information was made available through the City website. Should this item proceed to City Council, the City Council date will be advertised.

Regional Engagement

The plan area is located within the Joint Planning Area (JPA) with the RM as identified by the OCP. In following the principles of the JPA, the City:

1.      Provided the RM with an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed plan.

2.      Notified the RM of both the open house and the Regina Planning Commission (RPC) meeting date.

No issues were brought forward by the RM.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY

The recommendations contained in this report require City Council approval.