May 16, 2018 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Joe Erceg, Chair   
Robert Gonzalez, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works
John Irving, Director, Engineering   

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on April 25, 2018 be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

Development Permit 15-715522
(REDMS No. 5671953)

APPLICANT:

Matthew Cheng Architect Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

9251/9271 Beckwith Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the construction of a church at 9251 and 9271 Beckwith Road on a site zoned “Auto Oriented Commercial (CA)” and partially designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA); and

2.

Vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to reduce the minimum interior side yard under the “Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA)” zone for the subject site from 3.0 m to 0.0 m.

Applicant’s Comments

Matthew Cheng, Matthew Cheng Architect Inc., provided background information on the proposed development and highlighted the following:

§   

a single-storey 700 square meter church building is proposed for the subject site which is partially designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA);

§   

the church building consists of, among others, a sanctuary, offices and classrooms for Sunday school uses and small group meetings only;

§   

the proposed building height is nine meters, which is below the maximum permitted height of 12 meters;

§   

the proposed 52 parking spaces exceed the minimum Zoning Bylaw requirement;

§   

the main floor elevation of the proposed church building is higher than the crown of the road and meets the existing flood plain requirement; and

§   

a variance for the minimum interior side yard setback is requested as there is an existing two-storey building on the property to the west that is located at the property boundary and to avoid a narrow three-meter gap between the two buildings.

John Black, JBL Environmental Services, with the aid of a video presentation (attached to and forming part of these Minutes as Schedule 1) reviewed the environmental assessment and planting plan for on-site and off-site ESA.

Mr. Black advised that (i) the property contains many ornamental trees and shrubs with limited habitat features, (ii) there is limited habitat in the area due to the extensive growth of invasive vegetation, (iii) existing on-site trees which are in poor condition will be removed and replaced, (iv) 400 square meters of ESA on City-owned Bridgeport Trail adjacent to the subject property will be cleared of invasive species,  (v) an on-site and off-site planting plan is proposed to offset habitat loss due to tree removal and vegetation clearing within the ESA, and (vi) a three-year monitoring plan and post-planting maintenance for landscaping is proposed for on-site and off-site landscaping enhancements.

In response to queries from the Panel, Mr. Black acknowledged that (i) wildlife habitat could be better enhanced on a section of Bridgeport Trail than on the subject property, (ii) existing trees proposed to be removed are in poor condition and/or in conflict with the proposed development, (iii) on-site ESA is already overrun with invasive vegetation, and (iv) the applicant worked with Parks staff regarding the proposed off-site ESA enhancement scheme.

Cameron Woodruff, PMG Landscape Architects, reviewed the proposed on-site landscaping scheme for the proposed development, noting that (i) significant native planting is proposed on the north and east boundaries of the subject site, (ii) proposed on-site planting includes some species which are symbolically related to the beliefs of the church, (iii) a significant number of smaller caliper trees are proposed to be planted on the site, (iv) the row of six trees and native shrubs on the northern boundary of the site will be retained, and (v) the Horse Chestnut tree that will be removed will be replaced by two specimen trees.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr. Cheng noted that the proposed size of the loading space adjacent to the north property line meets the Zoning Bylaw requirement.

In response to a query from the Panel, Wayne Craig, Director, Development, advised that staff will work with the applicant to investigate opportunities for enhancing the landscaping on the north edge of the proposed loading space considering that the loading space will not be used frequently.

Staff Comments

Mr. Craig noted that (i) a variance is proposed to allow for the building to be located along the west property line in keeping with the existing two-storey building that is located to the west of the subject site, (ii) the applicant had reviewed  the development plans with the owner of the adjacent property to the west and reported that the adjacent owner has no concerns with the proposal, (iii) there will be a Servicing Agreement for frontage improvements prior to Building Permit stage as well as for the proposed ESA restoration on Bridgeport Trail which was reviewed by Parks Department, and (iv) the City will be securing a three-year landscaping monitoring period and a landscape security will be held by the City and released proportionally over the three-year period.

Gallery Comments

None.

Correspondence

None.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would:

1.

permit the construction of a church at 9251 and 9271 Beckwith Road on a site zoned “Auto Oriented Commercial (CA)” and partially designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA); and

2.

vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to reduce the minimum interior side yard under the “Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA)” zone for the subject site from 3.0 m to 0.0 m.

CARRIED

2.

Date of Next Meeting:  May 30, 2018

3.

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting be adjourned at 4:51 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, May 16, 2018.

_______________________________

_____________________________

Joe Erceg
Chair

Rustico Agawin
Committee Clerk