February 20, 2017 - Minutes

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Harold Steves

Claudia Jesson, Acting Corporate Officer

Call to Order:

Mayor Brodie opened the proceedings at 7:02 p.m.

1.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9510 (RZ 14-678448)
(Location:  6840 and 6860 No. 3 Road and 8051 Anderson Road; Applicant:  1004732 BC Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

Lana Chan, 8111 Anderson Road (Schedule 1)   

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH17/2-1

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9510 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

2.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9664 (RZ 16-734667)
(Location:  8140/8160 Lundy Road; Applicant:  Xiufeng Zhang and Shufang Zhang)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH17/2-2

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9664 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

3.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9667 (RZ 15-700431)
(Location:  9700, 9720 and 9800 Williams Road; Applicant:  Urban Era Builders & Developers Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

Kit Lau, 9931 Swansea Drive (Schedule 2)         

Submissions from the floor:

Karen Wong, 9951 Swansea Drive, expressed opposition to the application due to anticipated privacy impacts, noise (during and after construction), and minimal lighting on the pathway between Williams Road and Swansea Drive. Ms. Wong requested the development’s rear setbacks be increased to six metres.

In response to questions from Council, staff provided the following comments:

§   

prior to December 2016, a four and a half metre setback was consistent with the City’s regulations;

§   

the City’s bylaws specify hours in which construction can occur;

§   

the applicant submitted a Certified Arborist Report; information on tree retention and replacement is included in the report from staff;

§   

consideration could be given to installing pedestrian-oriented lighting on the development site, to illuminate the pathway referenced by
Ms. Wong; and

§   

discussions between staff and the developer will ensue towards improving the rear yard setbacks.

PH17/2-3

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9667 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

4.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW 9669 (RZ 16-738480)
(Location:  23100, 23120 and 23140 Westminster Highway; Applicant:  Trellis Seniors Services Ltd.)

Applicant’s Comments:

Mary McDougall, Manager, Trellis Seniors Services Ltd., explained that the proposed facility was designed to be socially, economically and environmentally responsible, and includes some Canadian Green Building Council LEED Gold elements. The facility will offer accessible and affordable special purpose housing in an area designated for growth, and will provide job opportunities for over 200 people.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

Discussion:

In response to questions from Council, staff confirmed that, as indicated in the subject report, the facility would be higher than the existing grade, with a parkade beneath.

PH17/2-4

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9669 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

5.

RICHMOND ZONING BYLAW 8500, AMENDMENT BYLAW NO. 9671
(Location:  City Wide; Applicant:  City of Richmond)

Applicant’s Comments:

The applicant was available to respond to queries.

Written Submissions:

None.

Submissions from the floor:

None.

PH17/2-5

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9671 be given second and third readings.

CARRIED

PH17/2-6

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9671 be adopted.

CARRIED

6.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT (DP 16-741981)
(Location:  10788 No. 5 Road (also referred to as 10780 No. 5 Road and 12733 Steveston Highway); Applicant:  Townline Gardens Inc.)

Applicant’s Comments:

John O’Donnell and Rick Ilich, Townline Gardens Inc., explained that the Province announced the design of the future Highway 99 interchange after the development permit for The Gardens project was approved and construction of the first building had commenced. Given the magnitude of the new interchange, a new development permit was subsequently submitted to increase the height of The Gardens’ eight-storey building (‘Dahlia’) to a ten-storey building; and to change the four‑storey building (‘Jasmine’) to a cluster of three-storey townhouse buildings. The buildings would be oriented in a manner that minimized impacts and situated more of the homes further away from the anticipated noise of the adjacent highway. Approximately 1,100 members of the public were sent invitations to attend a public information session hosted by the applicant (14 members of the public attended).

Council commended the applicant’s efforts to consult with the community, and questioned if the configuration of the buildings could be reoriented to improve the views and address concerns from the adjacent neighbourhood.

Written Submissions:

Peter McKenna-Small, 11400 Sealord Road (Schedule 3)

Rae Nix, 11900 Seabrook Crescent (Schedule 4)

Rick Ilich, Townline Gardens Inc. (Schedule 5)

Leung Pingsun, 10880 No. 5 Road (Schedule 6)

Frank Suto, Richmond Resident (Schedule 7)

Stefanie Weng, 8011 Ryan Road (Schedule 8)

Don and Isobel Johnston (Schedule 9)

Bernie and Trisha Hoffman, 10571 Seaham Crescent (Schedule 10)

Marty McKinney, 11520 Seahurst Road (Schedule 11)

Donald Flintoff, 6071 Dover Road (Schedule 12)

Bryan Fraser and Shelagh Brennan, 201–12339 Steveston Highway (Schedule 13)

Erika Simm (Schedule 14)

Stefan Emberson (Schedule 15)

Submissions from the floor:

Peter Kafka, 10781 Seamount Road, noted his opposition to the development permit and expressed concerns regarding the privacy impacts of increasing the height of the most westerly building (‘Dahlia’). Mr. Kafka urged Council to maintain its prior commitment to a lower building height.

Ian Flanger, 10720 Seamount Road, expressed concerns regarding the increased height of the most westerly building (‘Dahlia’), as it was contrary to what neighbours expected. He added that the additional vehicles from The Gardens development would likely worsen traffic congestion in the area.

Discussion:

In response to questions raised by Council, the applicant offered the following:

§   

an increase in two (2) storeys represents a  20-foot height increase to the western-most building of the development’s three buildings (‘Dahlia’);

§   

the eight-storey building to the east is already under construction and the parkade has been built; 95% of the homes in the building have been sold; and

§   

concerns regarding the impacts of the recently announced Highway 99 interchange design will be conveyed to the Province.

In response to questions raised by Council, staff noted that information on the Development Permit Panel’s June 2016 consideration of the building’s prior height increase from six storeys to eight storeys would be provided to Council.

PH17/2-7

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Development Permit 16-741981 be referred to the March 20, 2017 Public Hearing to be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers; and

(2)

That DP 16-741981 be referred back to staff for an exhaustive analysis and review, with the applicant, of all possibilities and potential revisions to the proposed development in response to concerns raised at Public Hearing and report back at the next Public Hearing.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

PH17/2-8

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (8:13 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 Monday, February 20, 2017.

Mayor (Malcolm D. Brodie)

Acting Corporate Officer
(Claudia Jesson)