MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Tuesday, February 21, 2012, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, March 20, 2012, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

It was agreed that an additional item would be added to the Agenda as Item 1A. (please see Page 8)

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

1.

APPLICATION BY FIREWORK PRODUCTIONS LTD. FOR A TEMPORARY COMMERCIAL USE PERMIT AT 8351 RIVER ROAD AND DUCK ISLAND (LOT 87 SECTION 21 BLOCK 5 NORTH RANGE 6 WEST PLAN 34592) FOR 2012, 2013 AND 2014

(File Ref. No. TU 11-595782) (REDMS No. 3485054/3468443)

Committee discussed the application for a Temporary Commercial Permit at River Road and Duck Island, by Raymond Cheung, Firework Productions, to operate a seasonal night market event Fridays to Sundays, from May to October, for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

It was noted that since the February 21, 2012 meeting of the Planning Committee, during which the Temporary Commercial Permit application was discussed then referred back for further examination of (i) traffic issues, (ii) traffic management, and (iii) parking issues as they related to the proposed night market, the proponent and staff had responded to the Committee referral and were presenting (i) new information, and (ii) analysis to Committee for consideration.

In response to queries, Victor Wei, Director of Transportation, advised that:

·          

the traffic consultant, R.F. Binnie & Associates Ltd. (Binnie), that the proponent hired to prepare a traffic and parking assessment for the event is well known to City staff; and

·          

recent projects Binnie has undertaken for the City include the ‘scramble intersection’ in Steveston, at the corner of No. 1 Road and Moncton Street, as well as the City’s bus lane study;

Discussion ensued among Committee, Raymond Cheung, Fireworks Productions, Jonathan Ho, Traffic Engineer, Binnie, and Douglas Smith, ATC Traffic Management Ltd., and in particular on:

·          

ATC Traffic Management is tasked with carrying out the traffic and parking plans for the proposed night market;

·          

whether the proposed night market would reimburse River Rock Casino if the proposed night market’s traffic and parking plans negatively impacted the casino’s revenue;

·          

100% of the proposed night market’s 1,505 off-street parking stalls are free of charge, thereby (i) removing the requirement for pay booths to be situated at any location within the even parking areas, (ii) decreasing the possibility of queuing lengths for the vehicles on the site, and (iii) minimizing queuing on No. 3 Road;

·          

discussions among the proponent, Binnie and City staff resulted in traffic and parking strategies that adequately address concerns regarding traffic flow, potential bottlenecks on City streets surrounding the subject site, and parking issues;

·          

trained Traffic Control Personnel (TCP) provided by ATC Traffic Management, stationed at intersections to direct traffic, will maintain constant radio communication to relay information between intersections, and, under severe conditions at the intersection of No. 3 Road and Bridgeport Road, a member of the Richmond detachment of the RCMP may override the existing signal.

Howard Blank, Vice-President, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation addressed Committee. Mr. Blank applauded the proponent for the steps taken to address the concerns he outlined at the February 21, 2012 meeting of the Planning Committee and then stated the following concerns with the application and the newly designed traffic and parking strategies:

·          

he knows that the presence of the proposed night market will have a negative effect on the casino, and he was not certain that the proponent knew the true detriment the proposed night market would have on the casino;

·          

he surmised that from 8,000 to 20,000 vehicles would make their way to the proposed night market, and wondered if these numbers were similar to those experienced at the Oval, during the 2010 Winter Olympics;

·          

he questioned whether the TCPs provided by the traffic management company were able to speak Cantonese and/or Mandarin;

·          

he queried how the proponent could prevent visitors to the proposed night market from saying they were destined for the casino, when they were not intent on going to the casino;

·          

he remarked that the casino’s parkades feature a hard surface, and are safe and well-lit, while the proponent’s parking sites have a sand surface;

·          

he noted that night market visitors might use Great Canadian Way to access the market, but that the casino’s main access to the casino facility was the Great Canadian Way; and

·          

he wondered whether casino guests would be stuck in traffic on weekends, as they made an effort to get to the casino for theatre shows and ‘staycations’.

Mr. Blank then asked for the following assurances:

·          

that the proponent has secured the additional site at the northwest corner of Bridgeport Road and No. 3 Road of Bridgeport Road needed to accommodate the contingency parking lot;

·          

bilingual signage pointing drivers away from Great Canadian Way, to the other main access arteries that would feed the proposed night market;

·          

flexibility on the part of Firework Productions when they liaise with the casino; and

·          

that those people parking in the casino’s parkades are going to the casino and not to the proposed night market.

The Chair posed Mr. Blank’s questions, and reiterated Mr. Blank’s request for assurances, to Mr. Cheung, Mr. Ho and Mr. Smith, and received the following advice:

·          

some, but not all, of the TCPs are bi- or multi-lingual;

·          

an agreement has been signed to secure the contingency parking lot at the northwest corner of Bridgeport Road and No. 3 Road;

·          

there will be adequate signage to point drivers away from the Great Canadian Way access to alternative access routes on their way to the proposed night market;

·          

one TCP working for the proponent would be stationed outside the casino’s parkade; and

·          

on busy nights, such as those nights when the casino has a show featured in its theatre space, the proponent would station more TCPs in order to help out the casino.

Further discussion ensued among Committee, Mr. Cheung, Mr. Ho and Mr. Smith, and the following advice was provided:

·          

Firework Productions will undertake a thorough public relations campaign using multiple media outlets, to encourage visitors to the proposed night market to use public transit, especially the Canada Line, to access the market;

·          

Mr. Cheung is the primary liaison for communications with the casino, and his staff members are also authorized to communicate with the casino, to ensure no miscommunication takes place;

·          

with regard to the proponent’s plans to provide signage to area residents that identify their vehicles so they will not be ticketed, the proponent is in discussion with City bylaw staff; and

·          

on busy weekend nights TCPs would clear any bottlenecks, and would take action to speed up the parking process.

In response to a Committee query, Mr. Wei advised that area residents and their parking habits would not be impacted by the proposed night market, as has been demonstrated in the case of the Vulcan Way night market.

Mr. Wei added that a 20% contingency fund, in addition to the yearly operation bond amount required for the night market event, can be utilized to implement additional traffic control and monitoring and roadway improvements, if deemed necessary by City Transportation staff, in consultation with impacted stakeholders in the area.

Further discussion ensued among Committee, Mr. Cheung, Mr. Ho and Mr. Smith, and especially with regard to:

·          

a concern that the proponent is asking the City to take a risk, and this risk could mean a reduction in casino funding, and it follows that such a reduction would impact taxpayers;

·          

a concern that in an “only if needed” scenario, the member of the Richmond RCMP who would be called to override a traffic signal, would be diverted from other RCMP duties;

·          

the proponent’s willingness to ‘tweak’ the traffic and parking strategies on an as-needed basis;

·          

the importance of the first month of operation of the proposed night market in discerning how the traffic and parking strategies are working;

·          

the traffic management strategies have been designed to be responsive to many scenarios;

·          

the number of TCPs is flexible, with the option of adding more should the situation dictate more personnel, and they are trained to see not just the traffic at hand, but what traffic is coming;

·          

parking attendants will have communication tools, a backup plan is in place to alleviate queuing at the parking lots’ access points, and the overflow parking site has been secured;

·          

how the proponent’s traffic management plan can dissuade drivers from passing by the casino on their way to the proposed night market’s parking sites;

·          

the difference in acreage between the proponent’s past night market site and the proposed subject site; the proposed number of retail stalls and proposed number of food court stalls; and

·          

the proponent’s plans to dispatch staff to clean up night market litter that may be found in the surrounding area.

(Councillor Derek Dang left the meeting at 4:50 p.m. and did not return until 5:15 p.m.)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the application of Firework Productions Ltd. for a Temporary Commercial Use Permit for property at 8351 River Road and Duck Island be considered at Public Hearing to be held on March 19, 2012 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers of Richmond City Hall, and that the following recommendation be forwarded to that meeting for consideration:

“That a Temporary Commercial Use Permit be issued to Firework Productions Ltd. for the property at 8351 River Road and Duck Island for the purposes of permitting an evening night market event between May 18, 2012 to October 8, 2012 (inclusive), May 17, 2013 to October 14, 2013 (inclusive) and May 16, 2014 to October 13, 2014 (inclusive) subject to the fulfillment of all terms, conditions and requirements outlined in the Temporary Commercial Use Permit and attached Schedules.”

(2)

That the Public Hearing notification area include all properties to the north of Bridgeport Road and west of Great Canadian Way as shown in Attachment 4 to the original staff report dated February 9, 2012 from the Director of Development.

The question on the motion was not called as further discussion ensued, and especially on:

·         

what the night market brings to Richmond, whether the night market is an asset to Richmond, and the benefits of the night market to Richmond;

·         

whether the proponent is willing to cancel the 2013 and 2014 night markets if the proposed 2012 night market proves problematic;

·         

the subject site is earmarked for development in the future, as part of the City’s ‘entertainment district’, and the night market would provide an opportunity to work on traffic pattern issues before any permanent structures, such as hotels, go up on the subject site; and

·         

the proponent’s willingness to work with the casino on traffic circulation issues.

At the conclusion of the discussion the following motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That a Temporary Commercial Use Permit be issued to Firework Productions Ltd. for the property at 8351 River Road and Duck Island for the purpose of permitting an evening night market event between May 18, 2012 to October 8, 2012 (inclusive) subject to the fulfillment of all terms, conditions and requirements outlined in the Temporary Commercial Use Permit and attached Schedules.

The question on the motion was not called as further discussion took place.

In response to a query, Brian J. Jackson, Director of Development, advised that if the applicant does not fulfill all terms, conditions and requirements outlined in the Temporary Commercial Use Permit and the attached Schedules, Council could revoke the Temporary Commercial Use Permit. He added that if the applicant was fulfilling all terms, conditions and requirements, it would be difficult for Council to revoke the permit.

There was general acknowledgement and agreement that the proposed night market would probably be successful.

A comment was made that the anticipated success of the event would be the reason for (i) potential effects on the casino’s operation, and (ii) potential traffic and parking issues in the area, and that a one-year permit was the way to address any issues that may arise.

A brief discussion ensued regarding the idea of a one-year versus a three-year permit.

At the conclusion of the discussion the question on the motion was called and it was DEFEATED with Mayor Brodie and Councillors Au, Barnes and McNulty OPPOSED.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the application of Firework Productions Ltd. for a Temporary Commercial Use Permit for property at 8351 River Road and Duck Island be considered at Public Hearing to be held on March 19, 2012 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers of Richmond City Hall, and that the following recommendation be forwarded to that meeting for consideration:

“That a Temporary Commercial Use Permit be issued to Firework Productions Ltd. for the property at 8351 River Road and Duck Island for the purposes of permitting an evening night market event between May 18, 2012 to October 8, 2012 (inclusive), May 17, 2013 to October 14, 2013 (inclusive) and May 16, 2014 to October 13, 2014 (inclusive) subject to the fulfillment of all terms, conditions and requirements outlined in the Temporary Commercial Use Permit and attached Schedules.”

(2)

That the Public Hearing notification area include all properties to the north of Bridgeport Road and west of Great Canadian Way as shown in Attachment 4 to the original staff report dated February 9, 2012 from the Director of Development.

CARRIED

OPPOSED: Cllr. Evelina Halsey-Brandt

Cllr. Harold Steves

The meeting was recessed at 5:19 p.m.

The meeting was reconvened at 5:28 p.m. with Cllr. Derek Dang present.

1A.

APPLICATION BY AJIT THALIWAL FOR REZONING AT 6688 LIVINGSTONE PLACE FROM SINGLE DETACHED (RS1/E) TO SINGLE DETACHED (RS2/A)

(File Ref. No. 12-8060-20-8870, RZ 11-596352) (REDMS No. 3468937)

It was moved and seconded

That Bylaw No.8870, for the rezoning of 6688 Livingstone Place from “Single Detached (RS1/E)” to “Single Detached (RS2/A)”, be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

2.

MANAGER’S REPORT

No manager’s reports were given.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:31 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, March 26, 2012.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Bill McNulty

Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk