Salt Spring General Plan Amendment

Fieldstone Homes wants to change the General Plan designation on 13.32 acres of property located at approximately 500 East 950 South from Very Low-Density Residential Agriculture (VLDRA) to High Density Residential (HDR).

VLDRA has a minimum half acre lot size or density of 2 units per acre. The High Density Residential allows for up to 12 units per acre. These could be 8,000 sq foot lot single family homes or include townhomes, twin homes, or duplexes. The applicant’s narrative explains their intention is to build small-lot single family detached homes. They believe this type of product would help to transition from the existing larger lot single family homes to the west to potential future commercial and light industrial to the east.

It should be noted how changing the General Plan Designation affects the potential density of this parcel. The VLDRA designation allows for a density of 1.75 units an acre, while the HDR designation allows for 12 units an acre. Under the current VLDRA designation, the 13.32-acre parcel could support 23 lots. If the amendment were approved to HDR, the maximum number of lots that could be built on this parcel would be 159 lots. The applicant has expressed an interest in working with the City to limit the number of lots that would be approved, but that would require them to sign an agreement with the City Council.

General Plan amendments do not have to be approved by the City Council. The public can express their support or concerns with the proposal, not just code requirements.