Planning Committee Meeting Minutes - May 2, 2000

Date:

Tuesday, May 2^nd, 2000

Place:

Council Chambers

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Malcolm Brodie, Chair

Councillor Linda Barnes

Councillor Lyn Greenhill

Councillor Harold Steves

Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt

Absent:

Councillor Bill McNulty

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

Councillor Steves advised that he wished to add an item to the agenda - "the Dyke adjacent to the BC Packers property", and the Chair indicated that this matter would be dealt with following Item No. 5.

It was MOVED and SECONDED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Tuesday, April 18^th, 2000, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

(Brief: Mar. 13/00)

Ms. Olga Ilich, President of the Urban Development Institute, Pacific Region, advised that the Institute was a non-profit association of the development industry, and represented those individuals who were involved in the development and construction industry. She then spoke about the belief of the Institute that it had to work with municipalities, especially when changes were being made to the Official Community Plan, because the Institute was on the front line when it came to consumer demand.

Ms. Ilich then introduced the other members of the delegation:

Alan Hartley, Principal of Architectura Planning Architecture Interiors Inc.;

Hendrick Zessel, Vice President and General Manager, Industrial & Investment Divisions, Royal LePage Commercial Inc.;

Rob DesBrisay, Associate Vice President, Office Leasing Division, Royal LePage Commercial Inc.;

Stuart Morrison, Industrial Sales & Leasing, Royal LePage Commercial Inc.;

Maureen Enser, Executive Director, Urban Development Institute;

Brian Leung, Education Co-ordinator, Urban Development Institute; and

David Linton, Director of Research, Urban Development Institute.

Through a slide presentation, Ms. Ilich then addressed the growth, investment and job situation in Richmond, while Mr. Hartley reviewed the "Residential Market Outlook" component of the submission. (A written copy of the presentation is on file in the City Clerks Office.) During the presentation, the delegation responded to questions from Committee members on such issues as:

how developers could be convinced to construct houses with hidden garages

the lack of success with respect to the construction of residential units over top of commercial establishments.

Hendrick Zessel, Rob DesBrisay, and Stuart Morrison then participated in a slide presentation on a "Market Overview for Richmond", a copy of which is on file in the City Clerks Office.

Discussion then continued among Committee members and the delegation on the issue of providing living space over commercial shops, and why this had not proven to be a successful initiative. The suggestion was made that the current zoning did not allow the needed flexibility for such a proposal. In response, the comment was made by the General Manager, Urban Development, David McLellan, that staff had been aware of the lack of success of this initiative in other areas but because of the quickness of developers to request this, the zoning in the City Centre was amended to allow either commercial or residential developments.

Also discussed were the issues of:

providing additional industrial sites for new businesses wishing to locate in Richmond, as well as for existing smaller businesses which wish to expand and at the same time, remain in the City

the expense of constructing residential developments containing units which complied with the universal design guidelines for accessibility.

The Chair thanked the delegation for their presentation, and they then left the meeting.

Mayor Halsey-Brandt left the meeting at 5:15 p.m., and did not return.

(AG 00-084495 - Report: Mar. 6/00, File No.: AG 00-084495) (REDMS No. 138367,144196)

The Manager, Development Applications, Joe Erceg, briefly reviewed the staff report with Committee members.

The applicant, Darshan Rangi, came forward and asked that the matter be deferred to the next meeting of the Planning Committee as a co-presenter was unavailable at this time.

At as result, the Chair directed that the matter would be deferred to the next regular meeting of the Committee.

(RZ 99-163044 - Report: Apr. 13/00, File No.: 8060-20-7087) (REDMS No. 147150)

Mr. Erceg reviewed the report with Committee members, during which he reported on the changes which had been made to the proposal as a result of the concerns expressed by the Committee at its March 7^th, 2000 meeting with respect to the parking standards for the site.

Mr. Tom Yamamoto, applicant, also reviewed the changes which had been made to the proposal to address the parking concerns, which included the following:

a reduction in the number and size of the studio-office components;

shifting the most eastern building slightly to the east;

a reduction in the area of commercial space to be provide; and

an increase in the number of parking stalls on the site by 10 spaces.

It was moved and seconded

That Bylaw No. 7087, for the rezoning of 13020 No. 2 Road from "Light Industrial District (I2)" to "Comprehensive Development District (CD/112)", be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

(Report: Feb. 16/00, File No.: 6360-00) (REDMS No. 144922, 143631)

The Manager, Land Use, Terry Crowe, reviewed the report and in particular, Attachment 6, which provided responses to the questions raised by the Planning Committee at its March 21^st, 2000 meeting.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and staff on the impact which paved lanes could have on the City's storm drainage system. The suggestion was made that implementation of the proposed policy would result in an increase in water runoff to the storm drains because this water would no longer be absorbed in through the surface of a gravelled lane. In response, information was provided that even though water runoff would increase, the annual cost to maintain gravelled lanes was higher than the costs associated with the maintenance of the storm drain system. Information was also provided on a drainage program which was being developed by staff to monitor the City's entire storm drainage system, and that methods were available to deal with the problem of additional water runoff caused by the paving of neighbourhood lanes.

It was moved and seconded

That the Lane Policy (attached to the report dated February 16^th, 2000, from the Manager, Land Use), be adopted, and that a copy of the proposed policy be forwarded to the Urban Development Institute for comments, prior to the submission of the policy to Council on June 12^th, 2000.

CARRIED

STATUS OF DYKE ADJACENT TO THE BC PACKERS PROPERTY

Councillor Steves referred to that portion of the lane policy report which dealt with whether a lane should be secured through a right-of-way agreement or through dedication. He expressed the opinion that this section applied to the dyke located adjacent to the BC Packers property, and voiced concern that the City could be faced with paying for a dyke approximately 12 metres in width . As a result, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff submit to the Planning Committee, an analysis of privately owned dyke right-of-ways for the BC Packers property as compared to the road right-of-way, and provide information on whether the City could construct a dyke on the dyke right-of-way without compensating the owner.

CARRIED

MANAGERS REPORT

At the request of the Chair, Mr. Erceg reported on the work presently being undertaken by staff with the consultants for BC Packers to complete the development and legal requirements which must be resolved prior to the adoption of the proposed rezoning bylaw for the BC Packers property. He noted that staff were currently reviewing park and servicing design drawings and providing input regarding the heritage interpretation plan. Mr. Erceg advised that it was estimated that this work would take a further 4 to 6 weeks to complete. He further advised that other issues, such as the obtaining of external agency approvals, the transfer of lands for the park/dyke system and community mixed use, and the provision of security to cover the cost of constructing certain works, were still outstanding.

Mr. Erceg stated that the applicant was hopeful that all of the requirements would be satisfied by June or July, however, staff were doubtful that this target date would be met because of the number of issues which still had to be resolved.

It was MOVED and SECONDED

That the meeting adjourn (5:35 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, May 2^nd, 2000.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Malcolm Brodie

Chair

Fran J. Ashton

Executive Assistant