January 25, 2017 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Joe Erceg, Chair
Cathryn Volkering-Carlile, General Manager, Community Services
Peter Russel, Senior Manager, Sustainability and District Energy

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on January 11, 2017, be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

Development Variance 16-733949
(REDMS No. 5129854 v. 2)

APPLICANT:

MQN Architects

PROPERTY LOCATION:

9580 Williams Road (Formerly 9580 & 9600 Williams Road & 10140 Gower Street) and 10060 Gower Street

INTENT OF PERMIT:

Vary the following provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500:

a)

Increase the maximum permitted lot coverage from 45% to 48%;

b)

Reduce the minimum side yard setback from 6.0 m to 2.2 m for the west side yard and 4.7 for the east side yard; and

c)

Revise Transportation related requirements to:

i)

Increase the maximum on-site parking reduction with transportation demand management measures from 10% to 13%;

ii)

Reduce the minimum number of on-site loading spaces from 2 medium size and 1 large size loading spaces to 1 medium size loading space and manoeuvring for an additional medium size truck; and

iii)

Reduce the minimum number of on-site bicycle parking spaces from 31 to 8 Class 1 spaces and from 31 to 11 Class 2 spaces;

to permit the construction of a 199 bed residential intermediate care facility at 9580 Williams Road on a site zoned “Health Care (HC)” with associated existing garden at 10060 Gower Street.

Applicant’s Comments

Kevin Svoboda, President, Kaigo Retirement Communities Ltd., and owner of the subject care facility, provided background information on the rationale for the proposed upgrade of the care facility and briefed the Panel on his recent consultation with neighbours in response to the Panel’s referral.  Mr. Svoboda noted that (i) the owner was awarded the contract by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) to upgrade the existing care facility to meet VCH’s building design requirements and increase its capacity, (ii) the design of the existing building is outdated and lacks basic facilities and amenities, (iii) the proposed design of the upgraded care facility is resident-centered and provides bigger rooms and additional facilities and amenities, (iv) a neighbour consultation meeting was held on January 17, 2017 attended mostly by neighbours who had expressed their concerns at the Panel’s meeting of January 11, 2017, and (v) the care facility owner is committed to a continuing dialogue with neighbours should new issues arise regarding the proposed development.

Roger Green, MQN Architects, accompanied by Mary Chan-Yip, PMG Landscape Architecture, with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these Minutes as Schedule 1), briefed the Panel on the proposed solutions and changes to the project design to address neighbours’ concerns regarding the existing and proposed development, highlighting the following:

§   

a 2.5-meter Cedar hedge planting will be introduced at the east side of the proposed building where there is no existing hedge to provide visual privacy screening to neighbours to the east and care facility residents;

§   

the height of the proposed garbage and recycling enclosure will be increased from 6 feet to 8 feet, will not be covered, and will be painted to match the colour of the proposed building to mitigate its visual impact to neighbours and address overlook concerns;

§   

planting will be introduced in front of the garbage and recycling enclosure to provide a buffer from the street;

§   

a hedge will be added in front of the emergency generator to provide screening from the street;

§   

HVAC units will be located in recessed platforms facing the courtyard to mitigate noise; and

§   

a smoking area for visitors and staff with cigarette receptacle and bench will be provided in the middle of the Williams Road parking area, away from the building.

In addition, Mr. Green advised that it would not be feasible to relocate the existing central core of the building to the north end of the proposed development as it would result in longer travel distances to provide essential services to facility residents.

Also, Mr. Green noted that garbage and recycling could not be accommodated in the enlarged Williams Road parking lot due to (i) limited space in the parking area, (ii) a potential reduction in parking spaces and tree planting in the parking area that would result from the proposed relocation, and (iii) an advice from the City to maintain the existing location of recycling pick-up at Gower Street.

With regard to intended construction uses of Gower Street, Mr. Green reviewed the phased construction for the proposed development, noting that (i) construction parking for all three phases will be accessed from Williams Road only, (ii) Gower Street will be accessed for material delivery and construction work for Phase 1 only, and (iii) all material delivery and construction work for the two remaining phases will be accessed from Williams Road.

With regard to neighbour concerns regarding the two proposed pedestrian entrances on Gower Street, Mr. Green advised that (i) the two entrances are required by Vancouver Coastal Health to provide a community feel to the care facility residents, (ii) the two pedestrian entrances are not intended to support vehicular access on Gower Street, (iii) visitor and staff access to the Gower Street entrances is through the care facility’s main entry on Williams Road, (iv) access to the Gower Street entrances is controlled and entry doors are provided with a keypad and intercom system, and (v) the two entrances help break down the massing and provide a human scale to the building.

In response to queries from the Panel, Mr. Sbovoda confirmed that the current frequency of garbage and recycling pick-ups is three times a week. He further advised that he is currently in discussion with the garbage and recycling contractor regarding the possibility of replacing one metal garbage bin with a plastic bin and increasing the size of the bins to reduce their quantity from three to two in order to mitigate the noise generated by the pick-ups.

Barry Konkin, Program Coordinator, Development, acknowledged that in addition to the garbage and recycling pick-ups by private contractors, the City also provides separate pick-ups for cardboard and recycling once a week.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr. Green advised that the emergency generator will be used only during a sustained power outage and annual testing.

Staff Comments

Mr. Konkin advised that (i) staff have reviewed the revised project design and appreciate the proposed changes to address neighbour concerns, (ii) the proposed location of the smoking area in the middle of Williams Road parking lot is a positive step, (iii) Planning staff worked with Transportation staff on loading restrictions and parking on Gower Street, (iv) a legal agreement on title will limit the hours and frequency of truck deliveries as well as the size of delivery vehicles on Gower Street, (v) non-food and laundry deliveries will be directed to the Williams Road entrance, reducing traffic on Gower Street, (vi) proposed screening of the garbage enclosure and along a portion of the east property line will address interface issues, and (vii) the developer has committed to provide a voluntary cash contribution to install a pedestrian crosswalk across the intersection of  Severn Drive and Swansea Drive to enhance pedestrian safety in the area.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr. Konkin confirmed that the proposed 8-foot high garbage and recycling enclosure is designed without a roof and painted to match the building colour.

Gallery Comments

Terry Stashuk, 10171 Gower Street, questioned whether (i) exits are provided on the east side of the building to access the Williams Road parking area through the walkway at the east edge of the site, and (ii) a main aisle is provided in the floor plan to connect the kitchen area to the east side of the building.

In response to queries from Mr. Stashuk, Mr. Green noted that (i) exits on the east side of the building are primarily for Fire Code requirement compliance, (ii) the two-meter wide east walkway is not intended to provide an access route for going in and out of the building, (iii) transport of materials from the central core at the west side of the building to the east side would not be feasible as it will directly impact the resident area of the building.

In response to further queries from Mr. Stashuk, Mr. Green advised that (i) there will be a phased transfer of current residents to newly-constructed resident areas, (ii) current  residents will not be disturbed during Phase 3 construction, and (iii) a temporary vehicular access will be provided on Williams Road during construction in addition to the existing  main entry on Williams Road, and (iv) the temporary vehicular access will be fully developed and functional and the existing main entry will be closed off upon completion of Phase 3.

Philip Tsui, 10111 Gower Street, stated that he has been a resident in the area for around 40 years, and questioned whether there is a City bylaw regulating commercial vehicle traffic on residential streets. In response to the query, the Chair advised that there is no such City bylaw; however, the restrictive covenant and proposed measures by the applicant will significantly reduce the current volume and frequency of traffic as well as the size of vehicles on Gower Street.

Mr. Tsui also questioned whether it is possible to relocate the garbage and recycling bins facing his property to a location near the Gower Street cul-de-sac, and in response to the query, Mr. Green noted that (i) the existing garbage and recycling enclosure currently located on the street right-of-way will be removed and the proposed new enclosure will be turned 90 degrees and pushed back from the sidewalk, and (ii) relocating garbage and recycling adjacent to the cul-de-sac would result in longer travel distance to transport garbage and recycling from the facility and potentially contribute to street clutter.

Ruth Tsui, 10111 Gower Street, noted the size and noise of the truck doing garbage and recycling pick-ups in front of her property for many years. Also, she inquired about the frequency of garbage and recycling pick-ups when the proposed development will be completed and questioned whether the facility’s garbage and recycling could be relocated to the Williams Road entrance or to the cul-de-sac on Gower Street.

In response to Ms. Tsui’s query, Mr. Konkin confirmed that a restrictive covenant will limit truck movements to 14 a week and Transportation staff acknowledged that the size of the garbage and recycling trucks doing the pick-ups would be the same as those deployed in other residential streets.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr. Konkin acknowledged that other streets in Richmond could experience more than 14 garbage and recycling pick-ups per week.

Joan Leversage-Lu, 5342 Opal Place, stated that both of her parents are current residents of the subject care facility and spoke in support of the proposed development, noting that the proposed upgrade will improve nursing care and quality of life of facility residents. Ms. Leversage-Lu further noted that the existing facility has sub-standard room sizes shared by residents, lacks basic facilities such as bathrooms and showers, and does not provide adequate space for visitors. She added that the upgraded facility will provide one room with a bathroom and shower for each resident and places for visitors to gather.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr. Green noted that relocating garbage and recycling to the southwest corner of the proposed development would impact a resident room.

Correspondence

Terry Stashuk, 10171 Gower St. (Schedule 2)

Mr. Konkin noted that in his letter, Mr. Stashuk mentioned his initial concerns regarding the proposed development and related the discussions he has had with the care facility owner. In addition, Mr. Konkin noted that Mr. Stashuk appreciated the facility owner’s responses to neighbours’ concerns and expressed support for the development plan presented during his consultation with the facility owner.

Panel Discussion

The Panel acknowledged  support for the project noting that (i) the proposed development will address the need for additional intermediate care facilities in the City, (ii) a mechanism could be put in place to ensure continuing dialogue between the neighbours and facility owner to address neighbour concerns during construction, (iii) construction of the project should have minimal impact to the neighbours, (iv) the restrictive covenant regarding limitations to garbage and recycling pick-ups is legally enforceable, and (v) the use of smaller garbage and recycling trucks could be explored by the facility owner.

In addition, the Panel expressed appreciation for (i) the willingness of the facility owner and architect to dialogue with neighbours, and (ii) the proposed measures to address or mitigate neighbour concerns.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Variance Permit be issued which would vary the following provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500:

(a)

Increase the maximum permitted lot coverage from 45% to 48%;

(b)

Reduce the minimum side yard setback from 6.0 m to 2.2 m for the west side yard and 4.7 for the east side yard; and

(c)

Revise Transportation related requirements to:

(i)

Increase the maximum on-site parking reduction with transportation demand management measures from 10% to 13%;

(ii)

Reduce the minimum number of on-site loading spaces from 2 medium size and 1 large size loading spaces to 1 medium size loading space and manoeuvring for an additional medium size truck; and

(iii)

Reduce the minimum number of on-site bicycle parking spaces from 31 to 8 Class 1 spaces and from 31 to 11 Class 2 spaces;

to permit the construction of a 199 bed residential intermediate care facility at 9580 Williams Road on a site zoned “Health Care (HC)” with associated existing garden at 10060 Gower Street.

CARRIED

2.

Date of Next Meeting:  February 15, 2017

3.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 4:36 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, January 25, 2017.

_______________________________

_____________________________

Joe Erceg
Chair

Rustico Agawin
Auxiliary Committee Clerk