Port Stanley Harbour Secondary Plan Update
Consultants from Dillon Consulting Limited reviewed the draft Port Stanley Harbour
Secondary Plan with Council. Items on the agenda were Project Update, Status of
Technical Documents, review of Draft Secondary Plan, Real Estate Pro forma, Traffic
Operations Assessment, review of Fiscal Impact Study, and the Next Steps.
STATUS OF TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS
- Technical Support Documents:
- Natural Heritage Report (Final)
- Transportation Report (Final)
- Servicing Report (Final)
- SWM Report (Final)
- Environmental Soils Review (Final)
- Archaeological Memo (Final)
- Residential Market Review (Final)
- Community Improvement Plan (Draft)
- Fiscal Impact Study Report (Draft)
POLICY PLANNING IN CENTRAL ELGIN
Central Elgin Official Plan provides the municipal-wide vision and policies guiding
land use planning in CE.
Secondary Plans as part of the CE OP provide more detailed land use plans & policies
to guide investment & development in specific areas in CE.
- Secondary Plan Vision and Place- Making Principles
- Land Use and Urban Design
- Natural Heritage
- Municipal Servicing
- Transportation
- Community Improvement Plan
- Market Opportunities and Financial Impact
- Consultation + Communication
MUNICIPALITY OF CENTRAL ELGIN OFFICIAL PLAN (2013)
- OP recognizes "Harbour and Adjacent Harbour Lands are underutilized, contaminated,
and require long-term remediation and regeneration" while , at the same time offering
an unique opportunity for "private sector investment and re-purposing"
- OP establishes permitted uses: tourism oriented & recreation uses; existing commercial
fishery & industrial; and residential
- Secondary Plan to lay-out long-term plan for re-purposing harbour lands & integration
with adjacent waterfront areas
HARBOUR VISION
Today, Port Stanley is a vibrant community with a unique character, beautiful landscapes
and beaches, and a strong sense of community. It is an active commercial fishing
village that is valued by its residents and enjoyed by its visitors.
Into the future, the waterfront will continue to be publicly accessible, with a
range of facilities that support passive and active recreational uses which serve
the existing and future residents and visitors. Important views of the lake will
be maintained and enhanced through the sensitive design and careful siting of new
development on the Harbour lands.
The repurposing of the Harbour lands will leverage the assets of the Port Stanley
community while providing new opportunities for year-round amenities that can be
enjoyed by people of all ages. New facilities will be provided to support healthy,
active lifestyles of the existing and future residents and visitors. Port Stanley
Harbour will celebrate its history as an industrial port and will maintain and support
its active commercial fisheries.
New uses will support sustainable options for people to live, work, shop and play
in Port Stanley. New uses will enhance the choices available for accommodations
within Port Stanley, including housing encompassing a range of affordability, shorter
stay accommodations for visitors, and new retail uses to serve the needs of the
community and visitors. The development of the Harbour lands will be planned with
a range of uses to be financially self-sustaining with revenue generation as a focus
for the long term. The Harbour Plan area has the potential to accommodate ±1600
people by 2041.
HARBOUR PLACE-MAKING PRINCIPALS
(creation of public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and well-being)
- 1. Maintain public access to the waterfront and views of the lake.
- 2. Promote healthy active lifestyles.
- 3. Ensure new development celebrates and honours the unique history and character
of Port Stanley.
- 4. Provide enhanced port services.
- 5. Facilitate the development of new year-round public amenities.
- 6. Support long term mixed use development that enhances the liveability and sustainability
of the community.
LAND USE PLAN - SCHEDULE A
HARBOUR MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL
- Permitted uses include:
- Street townhouses
- Stacked townhouses
- Low rise apartments
HARBOUR MIXED USE 1
- Provide a compact, mix of uses in an apartment built form
- Main St extension include ground floor commercial, office or institutional to enliven
street and animate public spaces
- West Harbour include ground floor tourism related commercial
- Permitted uses include:
- Low rise apartments
- Retail, restaurants, personal & business services
HARBOUR MIXED USE 2
- Provide a mix of uses in an apartment built form
- Siting of development at the base of the bluff to be sensitive to existing views
of northern neighbours and slope stability considerations
- Permitted uses include:
- Low & mid-rise apartments
- Retail, restaurants & personal services on the ground floor to enliven the street
COMMERCIAL
- In support of the Commercial policies in the CE OP, continue to encourage core commercial
uses that meet both local needs and tourist function on Main, Bridge and William
Streets and the harbour
- Permitted uses include:
- Retail, personal and business services, offices
- Restaurants, hotels, places of entertainment, meeting places
HOTEL/CONFERENCE CENTRE
- A hotel with conference facilities in a landmark building on the waterfront that
supports the development of Port Stanley as a 4-season destination.
- Hotel/conference centre will include a residential ownership component reflecting
the seasonality of the tourism/recreation market and the need for housing choice.
HARBOUR COMMUNITY FACILITIES
- Harbour Community Facilities designation recognizes that community access to the
harbour waterfront will be protected through public ownership
- Permitted uses include:
- Indoor & outdoor recreation facilities, community centre, park, walking trails,
amphitheatre, open air market, splash pad & change room, washrooms, marina, public
works facilities
- Commercial fishery activities.
Representation of Secondary Plan
Long Term Representation of Secondary Plan
Buildings to Respect History and Character of Development in Port Stanley
- 36.6 meter height of silos on West Harbour
- 14 meter height of Wharf on East Harbour
- 14 meter height on Main Beach
MAXIMUM HEIGHT - SCHEDULE B
- Low-rise housing (3-4 sty) and midrise housing (5-6 sty) on the waterfront respect
the scale/height of development in Port
- Provide some opportunity for higher buildings (6 sty max) in strategic locations
while maintaining views and vistas:
- Landmark hotel/conference centre building at the West Harbour gateway
- Apartment block at the foot of the bluff has height variation to maintain scenic
vistas of the lake (6 sty on Main St; 4 sty in middle; 5 sty on Beach side)
View sheds and Vistas are Maintained
- Scenic Vistas of Lake are Maintained
- Main Street View shed is Maintained
- Future Carlow Road View shed is Maintained
RESIDENTIAL LAND USES
EAST HARBOUR
- Medium Density Residential
- - 2/3 storey townhouses - 53%
- - 4 storey condominium - 39%
- - 5 storey condominium - 4%
- - 6 storey condominium - 4%
WEST HARBOUR
- - 4 storey condominium - 100%
LAND USE
EAST HARBOUR
- Medium Density Residential - 35%
- - Street and stacked townhouses
- Mixed Use 1 - 20%
- - Apartments & ground fl. service commercial
- Mixed Use 2 - 12%
- - Apartments & ground fl. service commercial
- Community Facilities - 33%
- - Waterfront park, public open space & promenade
WEST HARBOUR
- Mixed Use 1 - 23%
- - Apartments & ground fl. service commercial
- Hotel/conference centre - 6%
- - Hotel with meeting/conference facilities
- Community Facilities - 71%
- - Waterfront park, public open space & promenade
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS SCHEDULE C
- Extension of Main Street into the East Harbour lands
- Connection of Carlow Rd and William St
- William St narrowed as a one-way road to provide increased public realm/pedestrian
walkways
- Extension of the pedestrian trail system along the waterfront
PUBLIC REALM - SCHEDULED
- Guidelines for public realm improvements to enhance the attractiveness and functionality
of the Harbour Area
- Public realm guidelines focus on:
- Gateways
- Streetscapes
- Public Spaces
- Pedestrian Connections
Public Realm Elements
- A Waters' edge walking trails with resting/viewing spots
- B Pedestrian promenade connecting Main and Little Beaches via Downtown
- C Active recreational boating and commercial harbour accessible to the public
- D Active and passive park with amenities
PLAN MEETS COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES
- A. Full public access to the waterfront with pedestrian promenade along East & West
Harbours connecting Main & Little Beaches via Downtown
- B. Public ownership of waterfront park, open space & pedestrian promenade
- C. Mixed use development with range of housing choices and services/ facilities
to serve the community
- D. New development respects the history and character of Port
- E. Important views and scenic vistas are maintained
HARBOUR PRO FORMA OVERVIEW
- What is a pro forma?
- Tool used to evaluate the financial prospects of a project based on a series of
assumptions around costs, revenues, and phasing
- Used by developers to choose between prospective investment opportunities
- Can provide some insight into actions a Municipality could take to encourage developer
interest in a Development Area
- What questions does the proforma address?
- Is the land use scenario in the Secondary Plan feasible/attractive to a developer
from a real-estate development perspective?
- What are some actions Central Elgin could take to attract developer interest?
- Not intended to tell Central Elgin if the Harbour should/should not be developed
PRO FORMA KEY FINDINGS
- What factors have the biggest impact on project feasibility?
- Parking requirements of less than 1.5 spaces per residential unit
- Residential unit sales prices of $450/sq.ft. or higher
- Incentives addressing brownfield costs and land purchase price
- What conclusions can we draw from the results?
- Harbour Plan (March 2018) land use, densities and height policies allow for development
that would interest land developers under the right circumstances
- Development needs to be higher quality in order to achieve required sales prices
- Progressive parking requirements must be implemented
- Incentives will play a role in attracting developer interest
TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ASSESSMENT
- Planning Context
- - At Wastell Public Meeting, questions raised regarding operating characteristics
of Carlow & William St intersections during peak summer weekend conditions
- Purpose of Assessment
- - Focused review of William St/George St and Carlow Rd/Bridge St traffic operations
- Methodology
- - Confirmation of peak weekend conditions
- - Microsimulation of George St/Bridge Street from Colborne St to William St
TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ASSESSMENT
- Confirmation of Peak Weekend Conditions:
- Observe traffic conditions on the July 2018 Long Weekend to confirm peak conditions
- Tasks:
- Collect turning movement data for Sunday, July 1 at the Carlow Rd and William St
intersections with Bridge/George St.
- Take video and pictures of prevailing conditions at both intersections to provide
a record of significant observations/ critical issues.
- Microsimulation of Bridge/George St, Colborne St to William St:
- Traffic Impact Study looked at forecast traffic operations at Carlow Rd and William
St. intersections with George/Bridge St.
- Infrastructure requirements were identified based on capacity and level of service
thresholds.
- Microsimulation analysis of the intersection operations will provide:
- information on the effect of intersection operations on those intersections (i.e.
queue reach/ delays as they impact other intersections)
- visual simulations of traffic behaviour at those intersections.
- Tasks:
- Develop microsimulation network
- Test existing & future scenarios (existing demand/existing network; future demand/
existing network; future demand/recommended network)
- Analyze network operations and needs based on the secondary plan & other proposed
developments
- Simulation videos of critical time periods (2 videos)
- Report summarizing findings & conclusions
- Present report to Council and later at Public Meeting
NEXT STEPS
- June
- Review Draft Secondary Plan, Fiscal Impact Study and Community Improvement Plan
with Council
- Fall
- Presentation of Draft Secondary Plan, Draft Fiscal Impact Study, CIP Plan and Traffic
Operations Assessment Report to the Public
Port Stanley Secondary Plan - Fiscal Impact Analysis
Scope of Assignment
- The Fiscal Impact addresses the direct operating cost and revenues plus capital
costs and revenues arising from the development of the lands.
- This assignment does not address the market and sales impact of the development
(undertaken by Dillon).
- Estimate capital costs shared between funding responsibility (i.e. DC vs. Local
Service vs. Taxes)
- Estimate the impact on the DC rate calculation
- Estimate the projected incremental operating costs by service for the Municipality.
- Estimate the projected incremental assessment, together with the tax and non-tax
revenues that would be generated.
- Assess net impact of the development upon build out.
Information Inputs
- Model has been developed with 2016 Financial Information Return and assessment data
- Assessment information collected based on survey of recent residential and non-residential
developments in Central Elgin and surrounding municipalities
- Capital infrastructure needs provided by Dillon, through work with the Municipality
Property Tax Assessment and Anticipated Revenue Assumptions
- It is assumed that 100% of apartments will be condominium (vs. rental)
- Residential Assessment per unit:
- Townhouses - $245,000
- Apartments - Condo - $225,000
- Non-residential Assessment per sq.ft.
- Commercial - $90
- Hotel-$100
Matters to be Considered which would impact that Fiscal Analysis
- Updates to the Municipality's Local Service Policy may be required to define what
is a developer direct cost vs. a D.C. cost.
- Incentive programs which reduce the revenue potential from taxes, rates and/or D.C.s
would impact the fiscal analysis negatively.
- Cost of the Municipality undertaking the works up front could impact cash flow and
require additional debt.
Other Matters - Dredging
- Current information indicates dredging is required every 10 years at a cost of approximately
$1.5 million per dredge.
- The municipality has approximately $2.5 million in uncommitted contribution funding
from the Divestiture that can be put towards these future costs. This would allow
the Municipality to address approx. 1.7 dredges or more with investment income.
- If additional revenue materialized as a result of land sales, the number of dredges
could be enhanced.
- Additional $500,000 would increase this to 2 dredges
- Additional $1 million would increase this to 2.3 dredges
- $2 million would increase this to 3 dredges
NEXT STEPS
- June
- Review Draft Secondary Plan, Fiscal Impact Study and Community Improvement Plan
with Council
- Fall
- Presentation of Draft Secondary Plan, Draft Fiscal Impact Study, CIP Plan and Traffic
Operations Assessment Report to the Public