MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Tuesday, September 19, 2006, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

3.

APPLICATION BY ELEGANT DEVELOPMENT INC. FOR REZONING AT 3571 LOCKHART ROAD FROM TWO-FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT (R5) TO SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT, SUBDIVISION AREA B (R1/B)

(RZ 06-344783- Report:  September 8, 2006, File No.:  12-8060-20-8126) (REDMS No. 2017448, 2017463, 2017469)

It was moved and seconded

That Bylaw No. 8126, for the rezoning of 3571 Lockhart Road from “Two-Family Housing District (R5)” to “Single-Family Housing District, Subdivision Area B (R1/B)”, be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

4.

APPLICATION BY AMAR SANDHU FOR REZONING AT 8640 AND 8660 RAILWAY AVENUE FROM SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT, SUBDIVISION AREA E (R1/E) TO SINGLE?FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT (R1-0.6)

(RZ 06-339315 Report:  September 28, 2006, File No.:  12-8060-20-8137) (REDMS No.2023246, 2023504)

A brief discussion ensued during which Jean Lamontagne, Director of Development advised the Committee of the following points:

·           t

a new access and the lane system would be established;

·            

future lots will have vehicle access to the laneway, with no access permitted onto Railway Avenue;

·            

the park improvement fund dictates that additional trees will be planted either (i) within City parks within the neighbourhood where the development is taking place or (ii) along the streets in the neighbourhood where the development is taking place;

·            

the cash in lieu contribution for replacement trees is handled by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.

It was moved and seconded

That Bylaw No. 8137, for the rezoning of 8640 and 8660 Railway Avenue from “Single-Family Housing District, Subdivision Area E (R1/E)” to “Single-Family Housing District (R1-0.6)”, be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

5.

APPLICATION BY LES COHEN AND AZIM BHIMANI FOR REZONING AT 8531 NO. 4 ROAD FROM SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT, SUBDIVISION AREA E (R1/E) TO SINGLE?FAMILY HOUSING DISTRICT (R1-0.6)

(RZ 06-347521 - Report:  September 25, 2006, File No.:  12-8060-20-8138) (REDMS No.2023749, 2023812, 2023819)

A brief discussion ensued during which Jean Lamontagne advised the Committee of the following points:

·            

the City’s Flood Indemnity Covenant applies to all developments in all parts of the City;

·            

staff will investigate the insurance ramifications of the Covenant;

·            

the Neighbourhood Improvement Charges the City collects provide for upgrades to lanes, lighting of lanes, and drainage;

·            

parking on the proposed development site meets the Zoning Bylaw requirements.

Joe Erceg, General Manager, Planning and Development advised that it is not in the best interest of the City to allow developers to pave front yards in order to create parking spaces. In a report staff will bring to the Planning Committee in December, 2006 the issue of parking spaces for structures that have multiple suites, and secondary suites, will be addressed. 

It was moved and seconded

That Bylaw No. 8138, for the rezoning of 8531 No. 4 Road from “Single-Family Housing District, Subdivision Area E (R1/E)” to “Single-Family Housing District (R1-0.6)”, be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

6.

CITY CENTRE AREA PLAN UPDATE – STUDY PROGRESS AND PRELIMINARY PUBLIC CONSULTATION FINDINGS

(Report: October 11, 2006, File No.: 08-4045-20/Vol 01, REDMS No. 2023118)

Terry Crowe, Manager, Policy Planning, accompanied by Suzanne Carter-Huffman, Senior Planner/Urban Design, and consultant Gary Andrishak of IBI, circulated copies of the City Centre Area Plan (CCAP) Open House 2 Presentation Material (Schedule 1) to committee members, and stated that:

·            

at the July, 2006 CCAP open house the majority of people stated that a build out target of 120,000 in the City Centre was more desirable than a build out target of 156,000;

·            

another open house, and more meetings with stakeholders will take place November 14 – 17, 2006;

·            

the 11 parallel city studies that will help to inform the CCAP report are:

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Economic Market Positioning Study

-

Update – City Centre Transportation Plan

-

City Centre Servicing Plan

-

No. 3 Road Streetscape Study

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PRCS City Centre Places and Spaces Strategy

-

Affordable Housing Strategy

-

Geotechnical Practices Study

-

Middle Arm Open Space Master Plan Concept

-

Build Green Initiatives

-

School Community Connections Program (Joint City/School District)

-

Building Height Study

·            

after feedback is summarized, staff will report first to the Planning Committee, and then to Council in January, 2006, asking that the CCAP concept plan be adopted;

·            

upon adoption of the CCAP an implementation plan, including costs, would be written by staff.

Mr. Andrishak reviewed the 20-page CCAP concept plan and highlighted the following points:

·            

the preliminary study findings (July, 2006) identified a 74-78% degree of public support for the vision, goals, principles, transit-oriented development, village attributes and “Build Green” objectives;

·            

a key recommendation (July, 2006) was that Richmond’s City Centre should develop a set of “urban villages” based on the principle of residents being able to live, work, shop, learn and play without need of a vehicle;

·            

when planners refer to an “urban transect” they use transect to describe a geographical sequence of environments;

·            

the five objectives of the City Centre area vision are:

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land use and density

-

open space and amenity

-

mobility and accessibility

-

built form and urban design

-

infrastructure management

·            

emphasis should be on a series of significant open spaces as well as a pattern of smaller open spaces and linkages, to put every resident and worker within a short walk of a park;

·            

a variety of building height and form, not one consistent height, is supported by the City Centre’s proposed village structure;

·            

the summary of the planning concept for the City Centre is: “a transit-oriented downtown comprising 10 mixed-use pedestrian villages, planned to be mutually supportive of the Airport, port/river, farming and adjacent neighbourhoods”.

Discussion ensued with the following points being raised:

·            

planned amenities should be able to support a City Centre population of 120,000, but the City should expect to have 156,000 living in the centre;

·            

the percentage of residents at the July, 2006 open house who expressed a desire for no change at all was very small;

·            

at the next Open House the point should be made that beyond the City Centre, Richmond has many attributes and many amenities already in place;

·            

a higher population creates a critical mass which leads to more amenities being feasible and available;

·            

the City’s Economic Market Positioning study now underway, explores market positioning to advise how to maintain a ratio of jobs despite a lack of industrial land in the City;

·            

when discussing industrial jobs, they should be identified as “light industrial” jobs and “heavy industrial” jobs;

·            

to compensate for a shortage of park acres, the City Centre plan outlines how to “green” the City using paths, lawns, trees, horticultural/botanical features, natural areas, and greening of structures with roof gardens;

·            

the Middle Arm of the Fraser River can be a focus, not the edge of, the City Centre and more detailed information regarding this will be provided in the next stage of the CCAP study;

·            

the CCAP proposes a pedestrian bridge across the river at Cambie Road;

·            

the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department is currently preparing a report outlining plans for the treatment of the east side of the river, between the Olympic Oval and Sea Island Way;

·            

the Vancouver International Airport Authority (VIAA) has expressed an interest in working with the City on joint planning around the Middle Arm, including opportunities to improve trail connections;

·            

Victor Wei, Director of Transportation, is directing the updating of the City Centre Transportation Plan, which will address VIAA’s reference (in its letter to the City) for the need for an integrated land-use and transportation plan for the City Centre incorporating the concept of “carrying capacity”; Mr. Wei will advise the Commitee at a future meeting with regard to this element;

·            

future open houses could be held outside the City Centre zone in order to get feedback from residents who live in other neighbourhoods in the City but who frequent the City Centre;

·            

the CCAP includes a look at the current demographic of Richmond’s population and projecting future demographic trends;

·            

the proposed “villages” are not designed to attract one specific age group, and but designed to comprise a population of people of diverse ages, incomes, etc.;

·            

the CCAP includes a mobility and accessibility objective, to provide a framework for a culture of walking and cycling;

·            

No. 3 Road would benefit from the Canada Line, which would be a catalyst for positive change;

·            

staff want to move away from the idea that No. 3 Road is a homogeneous spine for the City Centre, and instead create different zones along the road, each with its own character;

·            

there was disagreement with the Urban Development Institute (UDI)’s suggestion in its letter to the City, that the City’s park standard should be reviewed to determine if City parks may be further reduced;

·            

the eleven parallel city studies are being monitored and tracked on a specific timeline by Mr. Crowe, who is coordinating all activity;

·            

planner jargon is used in the CCAP Update Study but it is kept to a minimum; at Open Houses staff has been able to communicate definitions of the planner vocabulary to the satisfaction of the public;

·            

when discussing recreation and culture it is important to stress that recreation facilities differ from cultural facilities;

It was moved and seconded

That, as described in the Manager, Policy Planning report: “City Centre Area Plan Update – Study Progress & Preliminary Public Consultation Findings”, dated October 11, 2006, staff proceed with the public consultation process for the City Centre Area Plan Update.

CARRIED

7.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(1)

Affordable Housing – No report was forthcoming.

(2)

City Centre Plan – Discussed as Item 6.

(3)

Steveston Study – No report was forthcoming.

(4)

Official Community Plan/Liveable Region Strategic Plan Review – No report was forthcoming.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:30 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, October 17, 2006.

_________________________________

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Councillor Harold Steves
Chair

Sheila Johnston
Committee Clerk