April 2025 Radium Hot Springs OCP Poster Boards - Flipbook - Page 5
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BIG MOVES
To achieve the Community Vision and Guiding Principles, the Community Plan has six big moves
that are fulfilled through all aspects of the Plan. These six big moves are translated into policies,
development permit areas, and mapping throughout the Community Plan.
1. GROW & STRENGTHEN DOWNTOWN 2. MANAGE SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Big move #1 is grow and strengthen the Downtown by focusing
commercial and Mixed-Use investment in the Village’s existing
Downtown and vicinity. During community engagement citizens
expressed a strong desire to not dilute existing commercial with new
commercial areas. The goal is to have a strong, vibrant Downtown that
can serve residents and visitors with a variety of opportunities. This is
reflected in the Plan through policies on:
• Encouraging 2-3 storey Mixed-Use buildings;
• Encouraging infilling of vacant lots in the Downtown;
Big move #2 is a made-in-Radium solution to regulate Short-Term
Rentals. Short-Term Rentals provide unique overnight accommodations
to visitors, which is important in a tourism-based area. However, Radium’s
vision for a community with substantially more permanent residents
requires appropriately priced housing for full-time residents. Regulation
of Short-Term Rentals can assist with managing the availability and price
of housing. Further, the Village’s Housing Needs Report identifies a
strong need for more housing for full-time residents, which simply won’t
be possible without a level of regulation for Short-Term Rentals. The overall strategy, which
will be implemented through this Community Plan, the Zoning Bylaw and other Village
Bylaws, includes:
• Minimizing the number of commercial areas in the Village;
• Enhancing the public spaces in and around Downtown; and
• Distinguishing between “stand-alone” and “principal residence” Short-Term Rentals;
• Promoting dynamic activities on the ground floor (e.g. shops, cafes, restaurants)
while channeling less dynamic but desired activities to second+
floors.
• Regulating specific locations for “stand alone” Short-Term Rentals;
3. REVITALIZE
HIGHWAY 93
Big move #3 is revitalize
and redevelop Highway
93 to nurture high quality,
Mixed-Use development
that is both the pride of
Radium and a key economic development
enabler. Driving into Radium on Highway 93
from the east provides iconic views of the
original Radium motels with their craftsman
architecture. However, this area is aging and
new buildings will eventually replace the
existing ones. The Village wishes to guide
redevelopment in this area through a few key
strategies:
•
Phasing out the existing approved “stand alone” Short-Term Rentals that are not
in preferred areas; and
•
Focusing new “stand alone” Short-Term Rentals into commercial
areas (e.g. Downtown and Highway 93), where amenities, parking and
enforcement is more established.
4. ECOLOGICAL
AND HAZARD
PROTECTION
The Village is situated within the Columbia
River valley and next to the Rocky Mountains,
which places many sensitive ecological and
hazard areas within the Village’s boundaries. The Village wants
to ensure protection of these sensitive areas through the use of
development permit areas, including for:
• New Development Permit Area design guidelines
that are easier-to-understand and will promote
high-quality development that still looks and feels like
Radium Hot Springs;
• Protection of steep slopes and floodplain lands; and
• Directing Short-Term Rentals to this area;
• Wildfire protection.
• Protection of Riparian Areas;
• Encouraging multi-storey development (e.g. 2-3 storeys) to add more businesses
and accommodation units to serve tourism growth while also providing more
services for residents;
• Improving the pedestrian pathway connections to Downtown and hot pools; and
• Enable better business investment models with more enabling Zoning Bylaw.
5. INFILL THROUGH HOUSING
CHOICE
Big move #5 is promote infill and redevelopment of vacant or under-used
land through increased housing diversity and choice. More choice, affordability, and
availability helps house the local workforce and permanent residents. The Village’s
Housing Needs Report shows a lack of smaller housing units, which are typically found
in attached housing forms (e.g. Duplex, Triplex, Townhouse and Apartment). The
Community Plan encourages and allows for increased housing choice throughout the
Village.
6. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING
AREAS
Big move #6 is create comprehensive planning areas for the Village’s undeveloped areas.
The Village has serious constraints to expand its boundaries and must use all of its land as
efficiently as possible. Comprehensive planning areas ensure that unplanned areas have
adequate long-range planning that aligns with the policies and vision of this Community
Plan.
Each comprehensive planning area will be required to undertake a Master Plan that
evaluates the technical merits of the proposed development, including environmental,
financial, servicing/infrastructure, transportation, mobility, and residential elements.
Minimum residential densities are required for some comprehensive planning areas to
ensure the Village can achieve its housing needs over the long-term while also achieving
fiscal sustainability of infrastructure.
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