July 10, 2019 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

John Irving, Chair 
Cecilia Achiam, General Manager, Community Safety 
Peter Russell, Director, Sustainability and District Energy

Minutes

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on June 26, 2019 be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 11-593871 
(REDMS No. 6204334 v. 2)

APPLICANT:

IBI Architects (Canada) Inc. on behalf of South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink)

PROPERTY LOCATION:

6302 No. 3 Road and 6411 Buswell Street

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the construction of a Bus Mall at 6302 No. 3 Road and 6411 Buswell Street on a site zoned “Downtown Commercial (CDT1)”; and

2.

Vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to reduce the number of parking spaces for the existing office building on 6411 Buswell Street from 44 to 25 spaces.

Applicant’s Comments

Salim Narayanan, IBI Group Architects, with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these Minutes as Schedule 1) briefed the Panel regarding the features of the proposed acoustic screen adjacent to the townhouses within the Emporio Building located on the northeast of the proposed Bus Mall and highlighted the following:

§   

the proposed acoustic screen will be 12 feet high and approximately 90 feet long;

§   

noise within the line of sight to buses in the Bus Mall through the proposed acoustic barrier would be reduced by 5 to 10 decibels (dB); and

§   

the expected noise level of the fourth floor rooftop patios of townhouses within the Emporio Building will be from 55db to 60db which is similar to the typical noise levels for a townhouse facing the street.

Engineer Aaron Peterson, Brown Strachan Associates, noted that the estimated noise level of the fourth floor rooftop patios is 55dB and will not be reduced by the proposed acoustic screen; however, the existing balustrade around the rooftop patios provides a noise buffer. 

Mr. Peterson further noted that the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) requirements for interior noise level for the Emporio townhouses could be met without the proposed acoustical screen which provides an additional noise buffer for interior spaces beyond the City’s requirements.

Staff Comments

Wayne Craig, Director, Development, noted that (i) staff have verified the acoustical measures for the Emporio Building, and (ii) staff support the use of the subject site for the construction of a Bus Mall which is consistent with the City Centre Area Plan (CCAP).

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries from the Panel regarding the provision of washroom facilities for the proposed Bus Mall, Mr. Craig advised that (i) temporary washroom facilities for transit operators are provided within the Mandarin development directly to the north of the Bus Mall, (ii) permanent washroom facilities for transit operators and the public are planned to be incorporated into the future redevelopment of the Translink-owned property at 6411 Buswell Street, located directly to the east of the Bus Mall, (iii) the existing employee washroom at the Canada Line Brighouse Station is made available to the public upon request to Translink employees, and (iii) Translink is currently reviewing how public washrooms could be integrated into all major transit facilities.

In reply to a query from the Panel, Mr. Craig noted that there is no clear timeline for the redevelopment of the Translink-owned property at 6411 Buswell Street.

In reply to a query from the Panel, Mr. Narayanan confirmed that the temporary washroom facilities within the Mandarin development are exclusively for the use Translink employees and additional washroom facilities will be provided in the future redevelopment of 6411 Buswell Street.

As a result of the discussion, staff were directed to discuss the timeline for the future redevelopment of 6411 Buswell Street with Translink staff.

In reply to a query from the Panel regarding the determination of Bus Mall noise levels, Mr. Peterson confirmed that their acoustical study referenced the interior design criteria of the Canada Home Mortgage Corporation (CHMC) and that actual bus noise measurements were conducted in a Translink bus exchange in North Vancouver. In addition, Mr. Peterson noted that the determination of the expected bus noise level in the proposed Bus Mall was based on a worst case scenario with all diesel buses.

In reply to further queries from the Panel, Mr. Peterson noted that (i) the proposed acoustic screen was intended to provide an acoustic buffer to possible Bus Mall noise, e.g. noise from bus tires and diesel engines, for the lower levels of the Emporio townhouses directly facing the Bus Mall and not for the townhouses’ rooftop patios, and (ii) the original design of the Emporio Building was intended to achieve the City’s interior design criteria.

In reply to a query from the Panel, Mr. Narayanan acknowledged that further improvements to the design of the proposed acoustic screen, e.g., adding another layer for the acoustic screen, could be considered by Translink should the expected noise reduction not be achieved by the current design of the acoustic screen.

In reply to queries from the Panel, Chit Vyas, Translink, confirmed that mechanisms are currently in place, such as the conduct of regular inspections by Translink supervisors, to ensure bus operators’ compliance with Translink’s vehicle idling policy that limits vehicle idling for three minutes. In addition, Mr. Vyas acknowledged that complaints from the public are fully attended to by Translink, and Translink would address the design of the acoustic screen if it did not perform to the acoustic standards outlined by the acoustic engineer.

In reply to a query from the Panel regarding Translink’s initiatives to address noise concerns of Emporio Building residents, Mr. Vyas confirmed that (i) Translink  organized a meeting with the Strata Council of Emporio Building prior to the June 26, 2019 meeting of the Development Permit Panel; however, some residents were not able to attend, (ii) Translink offered to organize another meeting but was deemed not necessary by the Strata Council, and (iii) Translink directly contacted Mr. Jett Tung, an Emporio Building resident, and exchanged email messages with him to address his concerns regarding possible Bus Mall noise impacts on townhouses.

Gallery Comments

None.

Correspondence

Jett Tung, 6351 Buswell Street, including email responses from Drew Ferrari and Chit Vyas, Translink, and Aaron Peterson, Brown Strachan Associates (Schedule 2)

Mr. Craig advised that staff circulated the subject correspondence to the City Clerk’s Office to form part of the record of the July 10, 2019 meeting of the Panel.

In reply to a query from the Panel, Mr. Craig acknowledged that Mr. Tung’s concerns were responded to by the applicant.

Panel Discussion

The Panel expressed support for the project and appreciated the applicant’s provision of additional information regarding the proposed acoustical measures to mitigate noise in the Bus Mall, willingness to introduce additional noise mitigation measures if necessary, and efforts to address neighbouring residents’ concerns identified at the Panel’s previous meeting.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would:

1.

permit the construction of a Bus Mall at 6302 No. 3 Road and 6411 Buswell Street on a site zoned “Downtown Commercial (CDT1)”; and

2.

vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to reduce the number of parking spaces for the existing office building on 6411 Buswell Street from 44 to 25 spaces.

CARRIED

2.

Date of Next Meeting:  July 24, 2019

3.

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, July 10, 2019.

_______________________________

_____________________________

John Irving 
Chair

Rustico Agawin 
Committee Clerk