April 22, 2014 - Minutes

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Harold Steves

Michelle Jansson, Acting Corporate Officer

Absent:

Councillor Linda Barnes

Call to Order:

Mayor Brodie opened the proceedings at 7:00 p.m.

1.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 8932
(Location:  11111 Williams Road; Applicant:  Kulwinder Sanghera)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was not available to answer questions.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH14/4-1

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 8932 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

2.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9015
(Location:  7400, 7420 and 7440 Railway Avenue; Applicant:  664525 B.C. Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

Taizo Yamamoto, Yamamoto Architecture, provided a brief overview of the changes to the proposed development. After the first Public Hearing on May 21, 2013, there was an Open House held at Thompson Community Centre to present two different options to residents. Option one was a 14 unit townhouse development, and option two was a 10 unit fee-simple rowhouse development. There was strong support for option one, the 14 unit townhouse development.

At the Open House, residents also indicated that traffic and parking are major issues in this area, and this development would only add to the problem. The Applicant, 664525 B.C. Ltd., responded to these concerns by adding an additional visitor’s parking spot to create a total of four spots. Transportation staff reviewed the potential impact of this proposed development to the area. Staff concluded that the area would see a manageable increase.

Mr. Yamamoto discussed how this development meets the 2041 Official Community Plan (OCP) and the Arterial Road Redevelopment Policy. The development is in close proximity to a City community centre, commercial service uses and park/city lands.

Mr. Yamamoto stated how the proposed two-storey townhouse development is similar to many other townhouse complexes in the area, and this townhouse development will be more affordable than the single family homes in the area. 

Written Submissions:

(a)

Shui Dai Qui, 7788 Railway Avenue (Schedule 1)

(b)

Eleen Chiu, 7473 Lindsay Road (Schedule 2)

(c)

Major Grewal, 7521 McCallan Road (Schedule 3)

(d)

R.C. Kobus, 7691 Lindsay Court (Schedule 4)

(e)

Mable Yu, 7231 Lindsay Road (Schedule 5)

(f)

Elsa Wong, 7711 Lindsay Court (Schedule 6)

(g)

Laurie-Ann Stewart, 7440 Lindsay Road (Schedule 7)

(h)

Eric Hendrojuwond, 7551 Lindsay Road (Schedule 8)

(i)

David Yuen, 7491 McCallan Road (Schedule 9)

(j)

Dai Deng c/o Lan Nguyen, 5028 Linfield Gate (Schedule 10)

(k)

Steve Latham, Remax Realty, 110-6086 Russ Baker Way (Schedule 11)

(l)

S.H. Lawrence, 7631 McCallan Road (Schedule 12)

(m)

Gerhuol Beichel, 5040 Lancing Road (Schedule 13)

(n)

R. and Eileen Tate, 7520 Railway Avenue (Schedule 14)

(o)

Connie Lam, 7011 McCallan Road (Schedule 15)

(p)

Xiao Min Mai, 7391 Lindsay Road (Schedule 16)

(q)

Memorandum from the Director of Development dated April 17, 2014 (Schedule 17)

(r)

Eileen and Reginald Tate, 7520 Railway Avenue (dated April 17, 2014) (Schedule 18)

(s)

Fei Kung, 7300 Lindsay Road (Schedule 19)

(t)

Sun Tao and Yang Jin Huan, 7371 Lindsay Road (Schedule 20)

(u)

Sharon Krowchuk, 7171 Lindsay Road (Schedule 21)

(v)

Liao Wei He, 5100 Lancing Road (Schedule 22)

(w)

Helena Charvat, 7155 Lindsay Road (Schedule 23)

(x)

Graig Smith, 7151 McCallan Road (Schedule 24)

(y)

Angelina Prijatelj, 7175 McCallan Road (Schedule 25)

(z)

Chris Chen, 7199 Lindsay Road (Schedule 26)

(aa)

Jaswant and Pam Sandhu (Schedule 27)

(bb)

Wei You and Dehe Li, 7508 Railway Avenue (Schedule 28)

(cc)

Tejinder Kaur, 7479 McCallan Road (Schedule 29)

(dd)

Judy Cheung, 7411 McCallan Road (Schedule 30)

(ee)

Qiong Q. Chen, 7591 McCallan Road (Schedule 31)

(ff)

Tina Zhou, 7751 McCallan Road (Schedule 32)

(gg)

Peter Chan, 7311 McCallan Road (Schedule 33)

(hh)

Beatrice Cheung, 7651 McCallan Road (Schedule 34)

(ii)

Melissa Y. Zhang, 7031 McCallan Road (Schedule 35)

(jj)

Sheng Yen Pan, 7211 Lindsay Road (Schedule 36)

(kk)

Petition in Favor, received on April 22, 2014 (Schedule 37)

(ll)

Petition Signature Conflict, received on April 22, 2014 (Schedule 38)

Submissions from the floor:

Bruce Righton, 5020 Linfield Gate, expressed his concern about the current parking conditions. Mr. Righton provided pictures (attached to and forming part of the Minutes as Schedule 39) taken on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 7:00 am, showing how inadequate the current parking availability is on Linfield Gate. He was in the opinion that this townhouse development would only worsen the existing parking problems.

Jaswant Mann, 7580 Railway Avenue, stated how he believes nothing has changed since the last Public Hearing on May 21, 2013. Mr. Mann is concerned that if this townhouse complex is approved, the single family homes that are currently being built in the area will decrease in value. Mr. Mann stated how he believes that in order to consider signatures legitimate, they should come from people who reside directly in the affected area.

Tom Knowles, 7320 Railway Avenue, stated that he is against this townhouse development as he believes the zoning for this area should not be changed. Currently, there is an internal road, a private entrance as well as the start of a laneway, if the proposal does go through, the laneway would be compromised. Mr. Knowles is concerned that there will not be enough parking for all the townhouse residents, especially as the developer included only 4 visitor’s parking spots.

Harjeet Sandhu, 4511 Granville Avenue, is in favour of this proposal as he believes that the area needs more affordable housing.

Ms. Tamana, 7340 Railway Avenue, believes that the proposed townhouses will negatively impact the character of the existing neighbourhood. Ms. Tamana stated how there are many problems with Railway Avenue being a single lane road, and approving this development would only worsen the problem. When Ms. Tamana moved into the neighbourhood many years ago, she was under the impression that this particular area would only be for single family dwellings, and not for townhouses.

Reginald Tate, 7520 Railway Avenue, stated how many signatures from the area were collected in opposition of this development. Mr. Tate is of the belief that if these townhouses were built, the existing homes in the area would see reduced property values. Mr. Tate believes that the proposed lane in the new development would lead to problems, including emergency vehicles accessing the surrounding properties. He believes that a suitable option would be to create four single family homes on the lot.

Azim Bhimani, 5700 Vermilyea Court, is in favour of this proposal. Mr. Bhimani also owns an investment property at 7491 Lindsay Road. He believes that these affordable townhouses would be beneficial to first time home owners in Richmond.

Glen Sheardown, 7360 Railway Avenue, is located immediately north of this proposal. He is against this proposal as he believes these townhouses do not fit in with the character of the neighbourhood, and that these townhouses will ruin his privacy. Mr. Sheardown noted that his wife informed their neighbours of this proposal, and in doing so, collected signatures for a petition against the development.

Steve Dhanda, 7631 Lindsay Road, is in favour of this proposal as these townhouses will be affordable to newcomers.

Mr. Khangura, 7660 Railway Avenue, is in favour of this development as he believes we need more affordable homes in the area.

Ms. Zhou, 7431 Lindsay Road, spoke on behalf of 7351, 7371, 7373, 7391, 7431 and 7451 Lindsay Road. Ms. Zhou provided a signed petition in opposition of this development, from the above noted addresses (attached to and forming part of the Minutes as Schedule 40).

Ms. Gill, 7240 Railway Avenue, believes there are problems with parking on Railway; however, her family is in favour of this development.

Steven Yang, 5686 Cornwall Place, is in the belief that this proposal would bring more affordable housing to Richmond. He believes there are problems with parking but in the long term, this townhouse complex will benefit many people.

Steve Latham, 4731 Foxglove Crescent, is involved with the development of the townhouses, along with Amar Sandhu, Sandhill Homes. In terms of the parking issues raised, Mr. Latham stated that these townhouses would have side-by-side two door garages as well as 4 additional visitor’s parking spots. Mr. Latham noted that Sunnymede Crescent and Terra Nova both have townhouse complexes that have benefited the neighbourhood. Mr. Latham believes that this complex would do the same for Railway Avenue. 

Helen Sheardown, 7360 Railway Avenue, believes that this development is not in line with the character of Railway Avenue. Ms. Sheardown is in the belief that the north end of Lindsay Road is going to be heavily affected by this development.

Amar Sandhu, Sandhill Homes, answered questions on behalf of the Applicant. Mr. Sandhu noted that since the original development plan, there are now 14 townhouse units, instead of 15, and instead of 3 visitor parking spots, there are now 4. The proposed driveways have also been moved to accommodate local residents’ feedback. In terms of the parking issues, Mr. Sandhu noted that other complexes in the area were causing there to be limited parking.

Discussion ensued regarding how affordable these townhouses would be for residents. In response, Mr. Sandhu stated that due to the one year hold on this project as well as tax, he is unsure of the estimated sale price for the townhouses, but he does belief it will be significantly more affordable than most single family houses in the area.

Mr. Righton remarked that the 410 bus stop was moved from the Linfield Gate and Railway Avenue intersection as he believes it was causing too many car accidents. Therefore, Mr. Righton believes that the area is already too congested, and this development would only make the problem worse.

Discussion ensued regarding if the proposed townhouse complex was rezoned to single family housing instead of townhouses. Wayne Craig, Director of Development, noted that if the rezoning changed, the Single Family Lot Size Policy would require a rear lane to be installed.

Mr. Tate reiterated the fact that he believes that most of the people in the Railway Avenue area are against the townhouse development.

Mr. Craig advised that a “Mapping of Correspondences received in 2014” (attached to and forming part of the Minutes as Schedule 41) has provided the most up to date information regarding the support and opposition for this development. Discussion ensued regarding how this proposed townhouse complex meets the requirements of Arterial Road Policy.

PH14/4-2

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9015 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

Opposed: Cllrs. Au
Halsey-Brandt

3.

OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN BYLAW 7100, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9106 AND RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9107
(Location:  7120, 7140, 7160, 7180, 7200, 7220, 7240 and 7260 Bridge Street and 7211, 7231 and 7271 No. 4 Road; Applicant: Yamamoto Architecture Inc.)

Applicant’s Comments:

Taizo Yamamoto, Yamamoto Architecture and Aydin Killic, Unimage Enterprises Ltd., spoke on behalf of the Applicant. Mr. Yamamoto discussed how the design of the development is consistent with the 2041 Official Community Plan. The townhouses in the middle of the complex are all three-storeys and the townhouses near the perimeter are two-storeys.

Mr. Killic addressed the referral made by the Planning Committee, held on March 4, 2014, to incorporate energy efficiency into the development. Yamamoto Architecture Inc. contracted E3 Eco Group to assist in making this development more energy efficient. The development will now include high efficiency boilers as well as side-by-side parking. Due to the proposed changes, each townhouse unit will use at least 15% less greenhouse gases than originally predicted.

Written Submissions:

(a)

Memorandum from the Director of Development dated April 17, 2014 (Schedule 42)

(b)

David Chu, 9682 Shields Avenue (Schedule 43)

Submissions from the floor:

Shawn Sandhu, 7280 Bridge Street, voiced his opposition as he believes that the developer did not change the arterial road on LeChow Street. Mr. Sandhu also believes that Shields Avenue will be affected by this development as he believes it does not leave room for future development in the area. Mr. Sandhu believes that the developer should extend the parkland area behind Shields Avenue and LeChow Street, instead of building townhouses in that area. Mr. Sandhu submitted a letter with his concerns (attached to and forming part of the Minutes as Schedule 44).

Garry Honigman, 7191 No. 4 Road, spoke on behalf of his Mother, who is a current owner in the area. Mr. Honigman re-submitted a letter that was previously distributed to the Planning and Development Department (attached to and forming part of the Minutes as Schedule 45). Mr. Honigman is of the opinion that the single family lots surrounding the proposed development will suffer due to being isolated. He expressed his concern that the construction on Shields Avenue has caused the road to be dangerously narrow. Mr. Honigman attended the information meeting held at General Currie School on December 18, 2013, in which he was informed by the developer that the property owners surrounding the proposed townhouse development did not want to sell. Mr. Honigman noted that neither he nor his Mother had been approached by anyone from the development inquiring whether they wanted to sell their property.

Audrey Fitzmark, 7191 No. 4 Road, commented that she had sent in a letter to the Planning and Development Department regarding this application last year. She is concerned about the limited access to roads in the area surrounding the proposed townhouse complex.

In response to homeowners near the proposed development being approached to sell, Mr. Killic remarked how there were three different sections that where targeted to consider buying and that the owners were approached, however, no one was interested in selling.

Mr. Sandhu stated that he was not approached by anyone from the development regarding his property.

Mr. Honigman reiterated the fact that he was displeased with this development proposal, and that the ring road had been moved from its original location.

Discussion ensued regarding the energy efficiency of the proposed development, and whether elements such as solar panels could be installed in the townhouse complex. It was concluded that solar panels would not be installed but noted that the developer is making a considerate effort to make the townhouses more energy efficient.

PH14/4-3

It was moved and seconded

That Official Community Plan Bylaw 7100, Amendment Bylaw 9106 and Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9107 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

4.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9111
(Location: 8400 General Currie Road and 7411/7431 St. Albans Road; Applicant:  Zhao XD Architect Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

(a)

Memorandum from the Director of Development dated April 17, 2014 (Schedule 46)

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH14/4-4

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9111 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

5.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9112
(Location:  10820 No. 5 Road; Applicant:  Townline Gardens Inc.)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

(a)

Teresa Havill and Dan Cantelon, 201-14300 Riverport Way (Schedule 47)

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH14/4-5

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9112 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

6.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9113
(Location:  7117 Elmbridge Way; Applicant:  0800705 B.C. Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH14/4-6

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9113 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

7.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9129
(Location:  9140 Dolphin Avenue; Applicant:  Raman Kooner)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH14/4-7

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9129 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

PH14/4-8

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (9:14 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the Regular meeting for Public Hearings of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

Mayor (Malcolm D. Brodie)

Acting Corporate Officer
(Michelle Jansson)