September 14, 2022 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Remote (Zoom) Meeting

Present:

Joe Erceg, General Manager, Planning and Development, Chair
Cecilia Achiam, General Manager, Community Safety
John Irving, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on July 27, 2022, be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 21-942090
(REDMS No. 6940858)

APPLICANT:

Sian Group Investments Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

7100 and 7120 Ash Street

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the construction of 17 townhouse units at 7100 and 7120 Ash Street on a site zoned “Town Housing (ZT16) – South McLennan and St. Albans Sub-Area (City Centre)”.

2.

Vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to:

(a)

reduce the minimum setback to Ash Street from 6.0 m to 1.2 m for two refuse storage buildings less than 10 m² in area.

(b)

reduce the minimum setback to Sills Avenue/Armstrong Street from 6.0 m to 2.5 m for a portion of Building D in the southeast corner of the subject site.

Applicant’s Comments

Eric Law, Eric Law Architect, with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1), provided background information on the proposed development, including its site context, site layout, and architectural design, highlighting the following:

§   

the proposed two-storey townhouse development is broken down into triplex and duplex buildings in consideration of the low-density residential character of the neighbourhood; 

§   

the architectural design of the townhouse buildings, including the variation of roof pitches and gables, reflects the residential character of the subject site’s surrounding context; 

§   

vehicle access is proposed from Ash Street and an east-west drive aisle is located in the middle of the site between two rows of buildings;

§   

a publicly accessible pedestrian walkway is proposed along the south property line of the subject site;

§   

a small road dedication is required at the southeast corner of the site to accommodate the Sills Avenue/Armstrong Street intersection to the east of the subject site;

§   

two refuse storage buildings are proposed to be located within the front yard along Ash Street to allow for an efficient pickup of garbage and recycling; 

§   

the refuse storage buildings have been designed and landscaped to provide visual interest and screening; and

§   

two setback variances are proposed as a result of the location of the two refuse storage buildings along Ash Street and the road dedication at the southeast corner of the subject site.

Denitsa Dimitrova, PMG Landscape Architects, briefed the Panel on the main landscaping features of the project, noting that (i) the retention of existing on-site trees along the north property line and existing off-site trees adjacent to the south property line were primary considerations in the proposed landscape design for the project, (ii) a low transparent fence is proposed along the Ash Street and public walkway frontages, (iii) perimeter fencing is proposed along the north and east property lines to provide privacy, (iv) a play equipment that will provide different play opportunities for children will be installed in the common outdoor amenity area, and (v) permeable pavers are proposed on visitor parking stalls and portions of the internal drive aisle.

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries from the Panel, the applicant acknowledged that (i) there is a pedestrian pathway off the Sills Avenue/Armstrong Street intersection at the southeast corner of the site, (ii) the proposed location of air source heat pumps in the front yards of townhouse units would allow easy access for maintenance, (iii) an acoustical consultant will advise the applicant on the type of air source heat pumps that will be installed and noise mitigation strategies, and (iv) wall-mounted downward focused lighting will be installed in the exterior of the buildings and bollard lighting will be installed along the publicly- accessible walkway and at the pedestrian entrance on the southeast corner of the site.

In reply to a query from the Panel, Wayne Craig, Director, Development, confirmed that the publicly-accessible walkway will be designed as part of the Servicing Agreement associated with the project which includes installation of pedestrian scale lighting.

Staff Comments

Mr. Craig noted that (i) the Servicing Agreement associated with the project includes site servicing, road improvements to Sills Avenue and Ash Street, construction of public walkway along the south property line of the subject site, and lighting associated with the walkway, (ii) the two proposed setback variances associated with the project were identified at the rezoning stage and are consistent with Council’s consideration on the rezoning, and (iii) the project has been designed to achieve Step Code 3 of the BC Energy Step Code with the provision of air source heat pumps.

Correspondence

Ava Cheung (no address provided) (Schedule 2)

Mr. Craig noted that Ms. Cheung expressed concerns including land use for the subject property and construction-related disturbances to the neighbourhood.  In reply to Ms. Cheung’s concerns, Mr. Craig noted that (i) land use is outside of the Panel’s mandate, and (ii) the applicant is required to provide a Construction Parking and Traffic Management Plan as a condition for Building Permit issuance in order to mitigate potential impacts to the neighbourhood during construction.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Discussion

Discussion ensued regarding the proposed location of the air source heat pumps in the front yards of townhouse units and their potential noise impacts to future residents of the proposed development, residents of neighbouring properties to the north and pedestrians using the publicly-accessible walkway.

As a result of the discussion, staff were directed to work with the applicant prior to the application moving forward for Council consideration in order to review the proposed location of the air source heat pumps and consider alternate locations such as in between the buildings or on the rooftops of buildings to mitigate the noise impacts.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would:

1.

permit the construction of 17 townhouse units at 7100 and 7120 Ash Street on a site zoned “Town Housing (ZT16) – South McLennan and St. Albans Sub-Area (City Centre)”.

2.

vary the provisions of Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to:

(a)

reduce the minimum setback to Ash Street from 6.0 m to 1.2 m for two refuse storage buildings less than 10 m² in area.

(b)

reduce the minimum setback to Sills Avenue/Armstrong Street from 6.0 m to 2.5 m for a portion of Building D in the southeast corner of the subject site.

CARRIED

2.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 22-015483
HERITAGE ALTERATION PERMIT 22-015471
(REDMS No. 6946046)

APPLICANT:

Studio Senbel Architecture & Design Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

3960 Chatham Street

INTENT OF PERMIT:

1.

Permit the replacement of the existing wood siding with non-combustible siding (i.e. HardiPlank) at 3960 Chatham Street on a site zoned “Steveston Commercial (CS2)”; and

2.

Issue a Heritage Alteration Permit for 3960 Chatham Street in accordance with the Development Permit.

Applicant’s Comments

Sharif Senbel, Studio Senbel Architecture and Design, Inc., with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 3), provided background information on the subject applications, highlighting the following:

§   

the existing two-storey building was built in the late 1970s and was recently purchased by the new owner;

§   

the new owner noted that the existing cedar siding on the building is rotting and determined that all existing wood siding should be replaced by the more durable HardiPlank siding; 

§   

the colour of the new siding will match the colour of the building;

§   

the existing signs for Coast Capital Savings on the building do not meet the current signage guidelines in the Steveston Area Plan and will be removed and replaced with new signs consistent with the existing signage guidelines; 

§   

the new signs for Coast Capital Savings will require a separate Heritage Alteration Permit application;

§   

the existing signs for True Conditioning on the upper level of the building meet the current signage guidelines and will be removed during the installation of the new siding but will be reinstalled; and

§   

a painted pedestrian pathway will be provided to improve on-site pedestrian circulation and provide better connection between the building and the City sidewalk.

Staff Comments

Mr. Craig noted that the subject Development Permit and Heritage Alteration Permit applications were reviewed and supported by the Richmond Heritage Commission. 

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

1.

That a Development Permit be issued which would permit replacement of the existing wood siding with non-combustible siding (i.e. HardiPlank) at 3960 Chatham Street on a site zoned “Steveston Commercial (CS2)”; and

2.

That a Heritage Alteration Permit be issued for 3960 Chatham Street in accordance with the Development Permit.

CARRIED

3.

New Business

It was moved and seconded

That the Development Permit Panel meeting tentatively scheduled on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 be cancelled.

CARRIED

4.

Date of Next Meeting:     October  13, 2022

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:01 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, September 14, 2022.

_________________________________

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Joe Erceg
Chair

Rustico Agawin
Committee Clerk