Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mike Kirk, Chair
Robert Gonzalez, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works
Victor Wei, Director, Transportation

The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.

1.

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on July 16, 2008, be adopted.

CARRIED

2.

Development Permit 07-374744
(Report: July 14, 2008 File No.:  DP 07-374744)   (REDMS No. 2451814)

APPLICANT:

Iredale Group Architecture 

PROPERTY LOCATION:

6760, 6780, 6800, 6820 Cooney Road, 8371, 8411 Anderson Road, and 6771, 6811, 6831 Eckersley Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

To permit the construction of a multifamily residential complex consisting of 211 units (170 market apartment units, 35 rental apartment units and 6 townhouse units) and associated amenity space over two (2) levels of parking on a site zoned “Comprehensive Development District (CD/195)”.

Applicant’s Comments

Richard Iredale, architect, used display boards to illustrate the following features of the proposed development that comprises a residential complex with 211 units, associated amenity space and a two-level parkade:

·         

nine separate lots were consolidated, bounded on three sides by Eckersley Road, Anderson Road and Cooney Road;

·         

three separate building types are proposed including towers, mid-rise apartment and townhouses (the 11-storey tower  “Jade”,  the 15-storey tower “Emerald”, the mid-rise apartment “Opal”, and six two-storey townhouses);

·         

the central courtyard, located on the parking podium, includes: an indoor amenity building, an open space that acts as a children’s active play space, a pool, steam rooms, a meeting room, the manager’s office and a pathway system and staircases that have been designed to ease pedestrian movement between the residential area and Cooney and Anderson Roads;

·         

the parkade was lowered below the elevation of the sidewalk reducing the impact of the two-storey parking structure on the street frontage as well as lessening the impact of the first parking level;

·         

the two-storey townhouse units fronting Anderson and Cooney Roads include low, landscaped terraced retaining walls which contribute a residential scale to the project;

·         

Exterior details include a painted enviro-seal and a colour scheme for the two towers that include neutral shades, such as taupe that complements the hues of the brick cladding to be used at the lower stories of the buildings; the mid-rise “Opal” has a brick façade throughout; and the townhouse units feature neutral shades of brick;

·         

The applicant hopes to achieve a high silver or low gold Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) rating, and to this end the inclusion of a geothermal heating and cooling system is being investigated along with passive ventilation;

·         

the architecture was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘prairie style’, particularly the 1910 Robie House in Chicago, Illinois, and features concrete steps, strong and slightly concave roof forms that extend beyond the building edges, to give a sense of uplift, broken down massing with vertical elements done in cast concrete with strips of curtain wall, and a heavy base that dissolves into a transparent structure;

·         

the roof structures appear delicate and light, and features a rolled steel edge, cedar soffit and up-lighting.  The motif is repeated 2 floors below and at the entries; balconies feature wood posts and Cedar soffits;

·         

the buildings are designed to appear unique from one another but at the same time related to one another;

·         

The landscaping plan includes 180 trees, including 31 trees of conifer species;  88 on-site trees are affected by the proposed development scheme and will be removed, with the number of replacement trees exceeding the 2:1 ratio as mandated by the City.

Staff Comments

Brian Jackson, Director of Development advised that staff recommends in favour of issuing a development permit for the proposed project and he emphasized that the applicant had: (i) responded well to comments from staff and design-related comments from members of the Advisory Design panel; (ii) successfully lowered the buildings to ensure that the building facades interface well with the streets; and (iii) resolved loading and recycling area issues in such a way as to set an example for other City Centre developers.

Mr. Jackson added that the proposed development includes 22 market rental dwellings, 13 affordable low end of market rental dwellings, handicap accessibility and that in addition, the applicant has agreed to the registration of a ‘no build’ covenant as a condition of Rezoning so that all agreements can achieve  the development proposal.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

Tony Steer, 6740 Cooney Road advised that he lives in the house immediately to the north of the proposed development.  In response to Mr. Steer’s queries the applicant advised that:

·            

trees located on the subject site would be removed, primarily to accommodate the parkade, but they would be replaced by trees selected to ensure their ability to thrive;

·            

if Council approves a Development Permit, preloading of the site could start in late September, 2008; it would take up to 8 days to preload the site to an anticipated height of 15 feet, and the preload would be on site between six and nine months;

·            

if a building permit is issued to the applicant it is anticipated that construction would begin in the late spring, 2009 and could be finished early in 2010;

In response to a further query, the applicant advised Mr. Steer that a planter will act as a buffer between his home at 6740 and the 11-storey tower to the south of his home.

In response to a final query by Mr. Steer, staff advised that the preload can commence on site during the time the applicant’s application for a building permit is with the City.

Panel Discussion

In response to Panel queries the applicant advised that:

·            

water testing for a geo-exchange system is currently underway, and that if testing is successful a geo-exchange system will be implemented for all the proposed buildings site, and the system would work off the same set of wells.

·            

there are no plans to build out the site in separate phases, but instead to construct the entire project as one construction phase over a period of approximately one and a half years;

·            

a number of trees on site will be cleared, and the quantity of the replacement trees will exceed the replacement number as recommended by the City;

·            

Should the LEED rating be achieved, it would apply to the entire site and not be specific to individual buildings; and

·            

on Level One of the parkade, located in the northwest corner, provision has been made for a large secure bicycle storage area, in accordance with the City’s commitment to support alternative modes of transportation.

The Panel commended the applicant on the appearance of the towers and on the design of the ‘grooving’ that extends from the roof of the towers to the low rise building and townhouse units. 

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would permit the construction of a multifamily residential complex consisting of 211 units (170 market apartment units, 35 rental apartment units and 6 townhouse units) and associated amenity space over two (2) levels of parking on a site zoned “Comprehensive Development District (CD/195)”.

CARRIED

3.

New Business

It was moved and seconded

That the Development Permit Panel meeting tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 10, 2008 be cancelled.

CARRIED

4.

Date Of Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 24, 2008

5.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 3:59 p.m.

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, August 27, 2008.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mike Kirk

Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk