May 22, 2019 - Minutes

Date:

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Linda McPhail, Chair
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Carol Day – entered at 4:02 p.m.
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Harold Steves

Also Present:

Councillor Michael Wolfe

Call to Order:

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

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on May 7, 2019, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

June 4, 2019, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

AGENDA ADDITION

It was moved and seconded

That a referral on Non-Profit Organizations’ Current and Future Space Needs be added to the agenda.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION

1.

Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee Non-Profit Social Service Agency Space Needs Review 
(File Ref. No. 01-0100-30-RCSA1-03) (REDMS No. 6126961 v. 5)

Councillor Day entered the meeting (4:02 p.m.).

In reply to queries from Committee, Kim Somerville, Manager, Community Social Development, advised that (i) one of the recommendations of the Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee Non-Profit Social Service Agency Space Needs Review is to examine the biannual review and analyze in what manner the data and questions from this survey can be refined in order to move forward, (ii) there will be opportunities for Non-Profit Social Service Agencies (NPOs) to examine co-location of common services, and (iii) staff recommend working with the current policies in place and examining opportunities as community amenities are acquired.

Rick Dubras and Janice Barr, Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee (RCSAC), Representatives, spoke to the NPO Space Needs Brief dated May 17, 2019 (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1) and noted the following:

§   

co-location is important in combining services to create easier access to numerous services;

§   

discussions are continually taking place with community partners to examine where resources can be shared and funding can be obtained;

§   

co-locating is feasible and encouraged; however it does not alleviate the issues of availability and affordability of space in Richmond’s City Centre as well as discrimination from landlords with regard to NPOs;

§   

RCSAC has had discussions with regard to examining bylaws similar to that of Affordable Housing to support NPO space needs; and

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the early childhood development hubs will allow for some multipurpose and meeting room space for other NPOs; however they require permanency and stability to provide beneficial services.

Discussion took place with regard to providing a current list of agencies, the current list of space, what is required for the future in the City Centre area and using community space acquired through development for NPOs. Discussion further ensued regarding a specific policy for space allocation for NPOs.

In reply to queries from Committee, Mr. Dubras and Ms. Barr advised that (i) the second version of the survey will be posted on Let’s Talk Richmond, (ii) should a working committee be formed to address these issues, representatives from NPOs should be involved to ensure their concerns and needs are addressed, (iii) creating an inventory of all the space needs for every NPO that operates in Richmond would not be feasible and would be difficult to maintain, however a working committee that could vet issues for agencies that put their information forward for current or future space needs would be beneficial, and  (iv) a mix of space is beneficial to ensure all aspects of the service delivery are considered.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That support be extended for the RCSAC to develop a database on space needs of non-profit social service agencies, to be updated and maintained biannually through surveys of agencies; and

(2)

That staff investigate potential options available to increase the supply of affordable non-profit social service agency space in the City Centre and other appropriate locations and report back.

CARRIED

Discussion then took place on NPOs current space allocation and future space requirements to ensure Committee better understands current and future space needs and a staff memorandum dated May 21, 2019, was referenced with regard to a referral on a Replacement/Accommodation Policy for commercial, recreational, non-profit, and industrial businesses.  

In reply to questions from Committee regarding the referral, Joe Erceg, General Manager, Planning and Development, advised that Planning staff would provide input with Community Services to ensure that all aspects of the referral have been addressed in the report back to Committee. He noted that there is a limit to how far density bonuses can be taken and should Council wish to add requirements to the list, staff would need to examine whether it is physically and economically feasible.  

As a result of the discussion, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff work with the Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee to provide a list of members’ current and future space needs and report back.

CARRIED

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

2.

Application by 1132865 BC Ltd for Rezoning at 7464, 7480, 7500, 7520, 7540, 7560/7580 and 7600 No. 1 Road from “Single Family Detached (RS1/E)” and “Two Unit Dwelling (RD1)” to “Medium Density Townhouse (RTM2) 
(File Ref. No. RZ 17-794287; 12-8060-20-009983) (REDMS No. 6065565 v. 3; 6067594)

David Brownlee, Planner 2, highlighted the following information:

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the application is a consolidation of seven properties to accommodate future development of 30 townhouse units, with 18 three-storey units fronting on No. 1 Road and 12 two-storey units.

§   

the project proposes to include three convertible units and three lock-off suites;

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the applicant will be seeking a variance to reduce the front yard setback from 6.0 m to 4.5 m;

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the project will include over 2000 square feet of outdoor amenity space and in lieu of indoor amenity space the applicant will provide a cash contribution.

§   

other contributions include: affordable housing, public art, and traffic and pedestrian signal upgrades;

§   

due to poor the condition of some trees they will not be retained; however one tree will be relocated if possible.

In reply to queries from Committee, Mr. Brownlee advised that all the units on the east side are two-storey.

In reply to further queries from Committee, Wayne Craig, Director, Development, advised that convertible units are not registered on title, however staff are working internally to create a long-term database. He then noted that as the application was received prior to July 2018, and they are able to meet the pre-step code energy compliance path if a Building Permit is issued before December 31, 2019.

Committee encouraged staff to work with the applicant to ensure that the proposed children’s play area be of a high quality.

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 9983, for the rezoning of 7464, 7480, 7500, 7520, 7540, 7560/7580 and 7600 No. 1 Road from “Single Family Detached (RS1/E)” and “Two Unit Dwelling (RD1)” to “Medium Density Townhouse (RTM2)” to permit the development of 30 townhouse units, be introduced and given first reading.

CARRIED

3.

Application by Gursher S. Randhawa for Rezoning at 5428 Chemainus Drive from the “Single Detached (RS1/E)” Zone to the “Single Detached (RS2/B)” Zone 
(File Ref. No. RZ 19-850544; 12-8060-20-010028) (REDMS No. 6159780)

The applicant, Grusher Randhawa, spoke to Committee regarding the application and frontage improvements.

Discussion took place regarding referring the application back to staff for further analysis.

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 10028, for the rezoning of 5428 Chemainus Drive from the “Single Detached (RS1/E)” zone to the “Single Detached (RS2/B)” zone, be introduced and given First Reading.

CARRIED

4.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Community Information Sessions

Mr. Craig highlighted that the second of four Community Information Sessions was held on May 16, 2019.  He advised that attendance was not as robust as hoped and that staff are working with Corporate Communications on initiatives to improve attendance at the meeting in June 13, 2019.

(ii)

Draft Homelessness Strategy Consultation

Ms. Somerville highlighted that the consultation will begin May 27, 2019, and the public engagement session open house will take place on June 5, 2019 at the Richmond Cultural Centre from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

(iii)

Residential Rental Tenure Zoning Consultation

Barry Konkin, Manager, Policy Planning, highlighted that the Residential Rental Tenure Zoning Public and Stakeholder consultation is currently underway.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:55 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 Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

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Councillor Linda McPhail
Chair

Sarah Goddard
Recording Secretary