1.

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, be adopted.

CARRIED

2.

GENERAL COMPLIANCE – REQUEST BY GBL ARCHITECTS LTD. FOR A GENERAL COMPLIANCE RULING AT 9388 ODLIN ROAD (FORMERLY 9340, 9360 AND 9400 ODLIN ROAD)(File Ref. No.:  DP 09-453125)  (REDMS No. 3542964)

APPLICANT:

GBL Architects Ltd.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

9388 Odlin Road (formerly 9340, 9360 and 9400 Odlin Road)

INTENT:

That the attached plans involving changes to the building elevations be considered in General Compliance with Development Permit (DP 09-453125).

Applicant’s Comments

Tom Bell, Principle, GBL Architects, accompanied by Paul Goodwin, Associate, GBL Architects, advised that the proposed changes to the apartment complex project, that was approved by Council on April 26, 2011, were a matter of doing a more modernized version, one more in keeping with Concord’s quality. Mr. Bell stated that all changes are additive, and that the intent of the changes was to “raise the bar” thereby making it a better building. He then provided the following details:

·          

there are no changes to the site plan, floor plans, the balcony locations, parking provisions, or the window locations;

·          

only exterior changes are proposed;

·          

a proposed change is to limit brick to the facades of the lower two floors, for reasons of enhancement;

·          

the addition of more brick accentuates the corners, as well as the courtyard section;

·          

a flat roof will replace the originally designed shallow slop hip roof;

·          

despite the proposed changes to the exterior, the building would “read” the same way as it did before the redesign, to any pedestrian standing at ground level looking up;

·          

decks and private areas, parts of the public realm, will undergo no changes, except for the addition of a fountain in the courtyard to enhance that area; and

·          

originally Hardi-plank was the material of choice, but that has been changed to Hardi-panel.

Mr. Bell concluded his remarks by saying that, except for the exterior changes he listed, 99% of the project remains unchanged.

Staff Comments

Wayne Craig, Program Coordinator – Development, stated that there is no down-grade in quality as a result of the proposed exterior changes to the apartment complex.

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries, Mr. Bell advised that: (i) a public pedestrian walkway runs east-west, from one end of the subject site to the other end; and (ii) with the removal of the hip roof, the highest point of the building is now lower than the highest point in the previous iteration.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Discussion

There was general agreement that the proposed changes to the project’s exterior modernizes the appearance of the apartment complex, and that the design is a better fit with the character of the West Cambie/Alexandra neighbourhood.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That the attached plans involving changes to the building elevations be considered in General Compliance with Development Permit (DP 09-453125).

CARRIED

3.

Development Permit DP 12-601582
(File Ref. No.:  DP 12-601582)  (REDMS No. 3552687)

APPLICANT:

Brook Pooni Associates Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

8311 Lansdowne Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

To permit exterior alterations to the Lansdowne Centre at 8311 Lansdowne Road which would permit a Target store at the former Zellers store location on a site zoned Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA).

Applicant’s Comments

Laurie Schmidt, Associate, Brook Pooni Associates Inc., advised that his firm represents the Target store. He stated that he was under the impression that staff would make a presentation on the application for renovations of the Commercial-Retail Unit (CRU) currently occupied by Zellers in the Lansdowne Centre mall, and that had he been advised that he was to make the presentation, he would have made preparations to do so. Mr. Schmidt then offered to respond to the Panel’s queries.

Staff Comments

Mr. Craig advised that the alterations proposed by the Target store are interior and exterior renovations, and that through an agreement with the limited company that owns the Lansdowne Centre property, the applicant will install: (i) a north-south sidewalk from Lansdowne Road to the store entry; and (ii) a north-south sidewalk, along the Kwantlen Street boulevard.

Panel Discussion

A comment was made that for future meetings of the Development Permit Panel, applicants must be advised by staff that a presentation is required and expected. Discussion ensued among Panel members, Mr. Craig and Mr. Schmidt, and in particular on:

·         

the 32 existing accessible parking spaces were a pre-existing condition at the Lansdowne Centre and Target’s mandate is to either maintain or relocate the stalls to be nearer the store entries; staff advised that the applicant will be asked to improve upon the number of existing accessible parking spaces;

·         

the number of parking stalls the applicant is converting to small car spaces meets the bylaw requirement;

·         

Target’s mandate is to provide a clean, modern façade and this informs and dictates the proposed exterior cladding;

·         

the existing, strong brick cladding will be retained around the base of the structure, with changes to the cladding occurring in and around the store’s entries, and along the parapet;

·         

existing cladding materials along the top half of the building will be completely replaced with EIFS panels, a smooth finish stucco material, in Target’s corporate colours of red and white. 

·         

mindful of the long facades, the design includes vertical swirls to produce a random pattern to break up the facades;

·         

the predominant colour of the facades is tan, with red featured near the roofline;

·         

the store does not take on a character that divorces it from the remainder of the mall, and Target’s corporate colour scheme blends well with the overall character of the mall; and

·         

signage for the applicant is governed by the City’s sign bylaw, and the applicant has met all signage requirements outlined in the bylaw.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

Edith Cheng, 5068 Kwantlen Street, inquired about the length of the renovation period, and then asked if it would be a noisy renovation.

Mr. Schmidt advised that: (i) the applicant and the landlord had agreed to a short renovation period, or a “quick turn around”; (ii) much of the work would be interior; (iii) the addition of panels along the store’s two facades would occur within a two-or-three month period;  (iv) the exterior work would be done during daytime hours; and (v) the exterior work would be executed according to the City’s requirements detailed in the noise bylaw. 

Panel Discussion

There was general agreement that for all future meetings applicants must be advised by staff that a presentation is required and expected.

It was noted that the alterations to the exterior and interior of the CRU are not extensive. It was also noted that the north-south sidewalks to be installed by the applicant, one within the parking lot connecting the south entry of the Target store with the existing sidewalk along the south side of the parking lot, and the second located along the Kwantlen Street boulevard, are a benefit.

Mr. Wei reiterated that staff and the applicant should look further at an increase in accessible parking spaces.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued for exterior alterations to the Lansdowne Centre at 8311 Lansdowne Road which would permit a Target store at the former Zellers store location on a site zoned Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA).

CARRIED

4.

New Business

It was moved and seconded

That the Development Permit Panel meeting tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 8, 2012 be cancelled, and that the next meeting of the Development Permit Panel be tentatively scheduled to take place in the Council Chambers, Richmond City Hall, at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22, 2012.

CARRIED

5.

Date Of Next Meeting:          Wednesday, August 22, 2012

6.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 4:00 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, July 25, 2012.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Dave Semple

Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk