May 29, 2024 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Remote (Zoom) Meeting

Present:

Wayne Craig, General Manager, Planning and Development, Chair

Cecilia Achiam, General Manager, Community Safety

James Cooper, Director, Building Approvals

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on May 15, 2024 be adopted.

CARRIED

1.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 18-829207

(REDMS No. 7570968)

APPLICANT:

Arcadis Architects (Canada) Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

9520 Beckwith Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

Permit the construction of a 7-storey light industrial and office building on a site zoned “Light Industrial and Office (ZI19) – Bridgeport Village (City Centre)”.

Applicant’s Comments

Gwyn Vose, Arcadis Architects (Canada) Inc., with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1), provided background information on the proposed development, highlighting the following:

§   

the proposed seven-storey light industrial and office building is the final phase of the overall development which includes a newly constructed office and industrial building and two hotel buildings under construction;

§   

the proposal was previously considered and endorsed by the Panel and is returning to the Panel due to proposed changes to the project including, among others, revisions to the project’s Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) compensation scheme; and

§   

there are no changes to the proposed building design which is modern and simple and includes two levels of light industrial spaces, two levels of parking and three levels of office spaces.

Jeremy Nilson, Keystone Environmental, with the aid of the same visual presentation, briefed the Panel on the revised ESA compensation scheme for the project, highlighting the following:

§   

the subject ESA straddles the shared property line of the subject property and the adjacent hotel property to the south;

§   

the stand of trees on the ESA that were previously identified for retention had degraded and died and as a result, a General Compliance ruling for changes to the landscaping and ESA compensation plan for the two neighbouring hotel properties was considered and approved by Council to address the ESA, ecological and habitat impacts; and

§   

the subject development permit application for 9520 Beckwith Road also addresses the impacts of the decline in health of trees in the ESA and the development’s revised ESA compensation scheme includes regrading and revegetating the ESA, incorporating native trees in the landscaping throughout the site, upsizing the trees, and developing a long-term ESA maintenance and monitoring program.

Travis Martin, van der Zalm + Associates, with the aid of the same visual presentation, briefed the Panel on the main landscape features of the project, noting that (i) 37 ESA replacement trees, including 14 trees on the subject site, have been upsized and are proposed to be planted across the four sites, and (ii) the proposed ESA compensation planting for the proposed development at 9520 Beckwith Road includes native tree and shrub planting in ESA compensation areas on ground level as well as on the upper levels of the proposed seven-storey light industrial and office building.

Staff Comments

Joshua Reis, Program Manager, Development, noted that (i) the subject Development Permit application updates the proposed ESA compensation strategy for the subject site  with no change in the size of the ESA compensation area, (ii) the proposed revisions to the ESA compensation plan for the subject site include the planting of 14 replacement trees in the ESA, all of which have been upsized, (iii) the proposed ESA compensation plan will result in an equivalent function and biodiversity value to the previous ESA compensation scheme presented to and endorsed by the Panel in 2019, (iv) there is no change to the building design and form from what was presented to the Panel in 2019, (v) the project will be connected to a City District Energy Utility (DEU) facility, (vi) the project is required to comply with Step 3 of the BC Energy Step Code and the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB), (vii) there is a Servicing Agreement associated with the project which includes, among other items, frontage works and tie-ins to existing works east of the subject site, storm and water systems upgrades along Beckwith Road, and installation of appropriate utility connections, and (viii) there is a five-year monitoring period for the proposed ESA compensation planting.

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries from the Panel, staff advised that (i) a range between three- to -five years monitoring period is a typical requirement for ESA compensation planting, (ii) two separate landscape securities are required to be submitted by the applicant for the subject development - a landscape security of approximately $110,000 for all proposed ESA compensation planting and a landscape security of approximately $260,000 for all remaining proposed on-site landscaping works identified in the plans, (iii) there are two separate landscape securities required to be submitted due to the longer monitoring period required for ESA compensation planting, (iv) the ESA monitoring period covers all areas for the proposed ESA compensation planting, both at grade and on the upper levels of the light industrial and office building, (v) street trees to be planted will be determined through the Servicing Agreement associated with the project, and (vi) as part of the subject application’s development considerations, all landscape works associated with the subject development including landscape works in the ESA must be installed and completed prior to occupancy of the proposed light industrial and office building.

As a result of the discussion, staff was advised to explore the upsizing of the required street trees to be planted, if they can be accommodated.

In reply to queries from the Panel, the applicant noted that (i) wildlife trees are trees that are located in the ESA that had declined in health and died and were identified to be suitable for conversion into wildlife trees that will provide habitat values to local plants and small animals, (ii) the wildlife trees that have been identified to be retained in the ESA will be topped to a safe height and allowed to decay, (iii) the proposed ESA compensation planting will be protected during construction through the installation of tree protection fencing and instituting other protective measures including inspection and monitoring to ensure that construction activities will not encroach into the ESA compensation planting area, (iv) at grade and on building ESA compensation planting are complementary to each another as the variety of ESA planting on ground level and on the upper levels of the building would attract and provide habitat to different species of animals, including small animals, birds and butterflies, (v) all planted areas in the subject site including ESA planting areas are irrigated, (vi) the proposed shared WB-17 loading area on the south side of the adjacent property to the west will be shared by the four neighbouring properties in the overall development, and (vii) the applicant advised that there will be an agreement among all buildings in the overall development to avoid competing uses of the shared WB-17 loading area at the same time.

In reply to a query from the Panel regarding the current location of the retained wildlife trees, staff clarified that (i) there are a total of five wildlife trees located on the ESA that straddles the shared property line of the subject property (9520 Beckwith Road) and the adjacent property to the south that have been identified to be retained, and (ii) out of the five retained wildlife trees, only one wildlife tree is located on the subject site while the other remaining wildlife trees are located on the adjacent property to the south.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

Hongjin Wang, Unit 830, 2777 Jow Street (Bridgeport Business Centre), stated that he is an owner of a unit in the building adjacent to the proposed development and queried about (i) whether the proposed light industrial and office building could be modified to exceed its proposed seven-storey height, and (ii) whether occupants of their building could be assured that planting on the building rooftop of the proposed seven-storey building would be modest to avoid overgrowth.

In reply to the query about the possibility that the proposed seven-storey light industrial and office building could be modified to increase its height, the Chair clarified that the proposal is for the construction of a seven-storey building and any change to the proposal would require a separate application.

With regard to the query regarding the intensity and height of proposed planting on the light industrial and office building rooftop, the applicant confirmed that (i) shrubs proposed to be planted on the building rooftop are smaller compared to those that will be planted on ground level, and (ii) vine maple trees will be planted on the rooftop, which are significantly smaller than other trees proposed to be planted elsewhere in the subject site.

Panel Discussion

The Panel expressed support for the project, noting (i) the applicant has adequately addressed concerns regarding tree preservation and protection in the ESA, and (ii) the five-year monitoring period for ESA planting be utilized to ensure the proposed ESA compensation planting will be established, including those that will be planted on the upper levels of the building.

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued at 9520 Beckwith Road to permit the construction of a 7 storey light industrial and office building on a site zoned “Light Industrial and Office (ZI19) – Bridgeport Village (City Centre)”.

CARRIED

2.

New Business

None.

3.

Date of Next Meeting:  June 12, 2024

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:05 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Wayne Craig

Chair

Rustico Agawin
Committee Clerk