July 30, 2014 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Joe Erceg, Chair
Cathryn Volkering Carlile, General Manager, Community Services
John Irving, Director, Engineering

1.

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on Wednesday, July 16, 2014, be adopted.

CARRIED

2.

Development Permit 13-634940
(File Ref. No.:  DP 13-634940)  (REDMS No. 4297370)

APPLICANT:

Onni 7731 Alderbridge Holding Corp.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

5311 and 5399 Cedarbridge Way

INTENT OF PERMIT:

To vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to further reduce the visitor parking requirement from 0.15 spaces/unit, as per Development Permit (DP 12-615424), to 0.125 spaces/unit for a portion of the development located at 5311 and 5399 Cedarbridge Way on a site zoned “High Density Low Rise Apartments (RAH2)”.

Applicant’s Comments

Eric Hughes, Onni 7731 Alderbridge Holding Corp., and Mladen Pecanac, IBI Group, gave a brief overview of the urban design of the development and the methodologies used for the traffic and parking study related to the proposed application to reduce visitor parking on site.

In reply to queries from the Panel, Mr. Hughes noted that the variance application is focused on the west side of the development. He added that all the parking areas in the development are linked via intercom so visitors can access all the visitor parking spaces.

Discussion ensued regarding security requirements for the buildings. Victor Wei, Director, Transportation, noted that commercial parking areas typically have open access but private residences would require security measures for parking areas.

Mr. Hughes commented on the methodology used for the traffic and parking study and noted that nearby developments registered visitor parking rates under the 0.10 spaces/unit level. He added that the variance application is proposing a 0.125 spaces/unit visitor parking rate, which would equal a reduction of eight visitor parking spaces.

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries from the Panel, Mr. Hughes noted that the eight visitor parking spaces would be reallocated for purchasers. Barry Konkin, Program Coordinator, Development, noted that once the visitor parking spaces have been reassigned and sold, they typically are not reassigned back to visitor parking.

Discussion then ensued with regard to the strata corporation’s ability to reallocate assigned spaces for additional visitor parking to meet future demand. Mr. Wei noted that the City can examine the policy surrounding parking requirements in the future.

Mr. Pecanac spoke of the parking study methodology and noted that the study only focused on the occupancy of the parking spaces and not the turnover of the vehicles. Also, he was of the opinion that access to public transit contributed to the reduced parking rates in the subject developments used in the study.

In reply to queries from the Panel, Mr. Hughes advised that typically all parking spaces are sold upon the completion of the project, however in the event that there are excess spaces, the developer will retain the parking spaces until they are sold. Mr. Hughes added that if the parking spaces remain unsold for an extended period of time, they could be transferred to the strata corporation. Also, Mr. Hughes noted that due to the supply and the layout of the parking spaces, he anticipates that the all the parking spaces will be sold.

Staff Comments

Mr. Konkin commented on the variance application and noted that the original approval included a reduction for required parking through Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures of 7.5%. Mr. Konkin noted that parking requirements under Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 was 913 resident parking spaces which have been reduced to 865 resident parking spaces through TDM measures.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Discussion

The Chair spoke of the proposed reduction in visitor parking and noted that the 0.125 spaces/unit rate will provide a buffer in the event that more visitor parking spaces are required than the surveys indicate. In addition, due to undeveloped sidewalk connections, access to the Canada Line is restricted. Furthermore, it was noted that the Panel is not inclined to consider any further visitor parking reductions for this project. Also, concern was raised that the reduction in visitor parking spaces are only done for the purposes of commoditizing the parking spaces and comes at the expense of available public parking.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Variance Permit be issued which would further vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to further reduce the visitor parking requirement from 0.15 spaces/unit, as per Development Permit (DP 12-615424), to 0.125 spaces/unit for a portion of the development located at 5311 and 5399 Cedarbridge Way on a site zoned “High Density Low Rise Apartments (RAH2)”.

CARRIED

3.

New Business

It was moved and seconded

That the Wednesday, August 13, 2014 Development Permit Panel meeting be cancelled.

CARRIED

4.

Date Of Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 27, 2014

5.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 3:54 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 30, 2014.

_________________________________

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Joe Erceg
Chair

Evangel Biason
Auxiliary Committee Clerk