November 30, 2016 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Robert Gonzalez, Chair
John Irving, Director, Engineering
Victor Wei, Director, Transportation

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on November 16, 2016, be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

Development Permit 16-727168
(REDMS No. 5124252)

APPLICANT:

Pritam Samra

PROPERTY LOCATION:

7311 No. 5 Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the construction of a single-family dwelling with an attached garage on a site with an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) designation at 7311 No. 5 Road, and zoned Agriculture (AG1).

Applicant’s Comments

Jaswinder Singh, designer for the project, accompanied by Pritam Samra, property owner, briefed the Panel on the proposed modifications to the design of the subject development in response to the Panel’s recommendation at the meeting on July 13, 2016, noting that:

§   

the site has a designated Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) covering approximately half of the site;

§   

proposed modifications made in response to the previous Panel referral include, among others, (i) relocating the septic field out of the ESA to the maximum extent possible, (ii) relocating the garage, originally proposed to be located at the rear to the house, to the front of the house, and (iii) reducing the size of the proposed garage;

§   

to accommodate the proposed relocation of the garage, the house will be moved slightly westward; and

§   

the proposed modifications will result in a significant reduction of the proposed development’s encroachment into the ESA, from approximately 300 square meters in the original proposal to 40.3 square meters in the revised proposal.

Staff Comments

Wayne Craig, Director, Development, advised that (i) the subject development application was considered and referred back to staff by the Panel on July 13, 2016 for consideration of redesigning the proposal to limit the extent of the project’s encroachment into the ESA, (ii) the revised site plan, house design, and septic field design have responded to the Panel’s direction, and (iii) the project’s encroachment into the ESA has been substantially reduced in the revised proposal.

Panel Discussion

In response to queries from the Panel, Mr. Singh acknowledged that (i) the redesign of the house and septic field will result in minimal impact to the ESA, and (ii) lot coverage is 20 percent for the whole lot and 37 percent excluding the ESA.

The Panel expressed support for the project, noting that the proposed modifications to the original proposal have significantly improved the project.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would permit the construction of a single-family dwelling with an attached garage on a site with an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) designation at 7311 No. 5 Road, and zoned Agriculture (AG1).

CARRIED

2.

Development Permit 16-741981
(REDMS No. 5217500)

APPLICANT:

Townline Gardens Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

10780 No. 5 Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the construction of one (1) 10-storey residential building and three (3) 3-storey residential buildings at 10780 No. 5 Road on a site zoned “Commercial Mixed Use (ZMU18) – The Gardens (Shellmont)”; and

2.

Vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to:

a)

For the most westerly building (Building E1), increase the maximum height over a parkade structure from six (6) storeys and 25.0 m, to ten (10) storeys and 33.6 m; and

b)

For the most westerly building (Building E1), increase the allowable projection of unenclosed balconies into a side yard setback abutting the Agricultural Land Reserve, from a maximum of 0.9 m to 1.8 m.

Applicant’s Comments

Joseph Lau, ZGF Cotter Architects, accompanied by Stephen Slot, Townline Developments, provided background information on the proposed development and highlighted the following:

§   

the project is the last phase (Phase 3) of “The Gardens” mixed-used development;

§   

the original development permit application for Phase 3 was approved by Council in June 2016; however, the applicant is applying for a new development permit specifically for Building E1 and Buildings F1, F2 and F3 to respond to the Ministry of Transportation and Industry (MoTI) plan for a future expansion of Highway 99 as part of the George Massey Tunnel Replacement (GMTR) project;

§   

the revised scheme for Phase 3 will redistribute the density from housing units adjacent to Highway 99 to the center of the subject site, through replacing the original proposal for a four-storey apartment building with a cluster of three 3-storey townhouse buildings and increasing the height of Building E1 from eight to ten storeys; and

§   

the applicant is requesting a variance to increase the height of Building E1 and another variance to increase the projection of unenclosed balconies of Building E1 from 0.9 meters to 1.8 meters into the side yard setback abutting the park to the north.

Dan Van Haastrecht, Durante Kreuk Ltd., briefed the Panel on the main landscaping features of the project, noting that the proposed design of the courtyard area between Buildings E1 and E2 and the central pedestrian mews that connects the site to the park to the north have remained largely unchanged in the new development permit application.

Mr. Van Haastrecht added that the proposed landscaping changes are in the areas around the cluster of townhouses including (i) improvements to the surface treatment of the drive aisle entrance, (ii) addition of east-west pedestrian connection for the townhouse cluster to the pedestrian mews, (iii) provision of accessible green roof area over the bicycle pavilion, and (iv) removal of the proposed dog park in the northeast section of the subject site which will be subject to future expropriation by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for the future GMTR project.

Staff Comments

Mr. Craig advised that (i) the proposed variance for increasing the projection of balconies is consistent with the previously approved development permit for Phase 3, (ii) the revised proposal reallocates the affordable housing units on the subject development, resulting in an increase in the total floor area for affordable housing being provided and an increase in family-oriented affordable housing units, (iii) no significant changes have been made to the overall landscape design for the project, and (iv) the proposed apartment and townhouse designs will conform to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) standards for mitigation of traffic-related noise as per the acoustical engineering report provided by the applicant.

Panel Discussion

In response to queries from the Panel, Mr. Lau acknowledged that (i) changes in the architectural treatment for Building E1 will minimize the visual impact of its increased height, (ii) projected shadow impacts of Building E1 on the park and neighbouring developments to the northeast would be limited to the winter months and only for short durations during sunny days, (iii) the proposed additional two storeys for Building E1 would be accommodated with less than the normal corresponding increase in building height due to the proposed concrete construction, (iv) the applicant did not receive any negative comments regarding the proposed development during the public consultation meeting that was held on September 13, 2016, (v) the total number of proposed housing units for Phase 3 has been reduced as a result of the density transfer to the center of the subject development, and (vi) appropriate measures are expected to be undertaken by MoTI to mitigate the impact of traffic noise to the subject development when the Highway 99 road interchange will be constructed in the future.

The Panel expressed support for the project, noting that (i) the proposed redesign of the subject development and density transfer are well thought out, (ii) the shadow impacts of the increased height of Building E1 on the park and neighbouring developments would be minimal, and (iii) the proposed variations in building heights have made the subject development more visually appealing.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would:

1.

Permit the construction of one (1) 10-storey residential building and three (3) 3-storey residential buildings at 10780 No. 5 Road on a site zoned “Commercial Mixed Use (ZMU18) – The Gardens (Shellmont)”; and

2.

Vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to:

a)

For the most westerly building (Building E1), increase the maximum height over a parkade structure from six (6) storeys and 25.0 m, to ten (10) storeys and 33.6 m; and

b)

For the most westerly building (Building E1), increase the allowable projection of unenclosed balconies into a side yard setback abutting the Agricultural Land Reserve, from a maximum of 0.9 m to 1.8 m.

CARRIED

3.

New Business

4.

Date of Next Meeting:  December 14, 2016

5.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 3:55 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, November 30, 2016.

_______________________________

_____________________________

Robert Gonzalez
Chair

Rustico Agawin
Auxiliary Committee Clerk