October 16, 2025 - Minutes

Time:

3:30 p.m.

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Wayne Craig, General Manager, Planning and Development, Chair
Roeland Zwaag, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works
Milton Chan, Director, Engineering

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Permit Panel held on September 10, 2025:

(1)

be amended to read as follows in the second bullet under Item No. 1:

“in 2024, a Development Permit (DP 24-012258) application proposing changes to the previously approved DP (DP 18-821292) was considered and endorsed by the Development Permit Panel which includes, among others, changing the use and form of Building L from office to hotel use;”; and

(2)

be adopted, as amended.

CARRIED

1.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 25-007857

(REDMS No. 8142278)

APPLICANT:

Pacific West Architecture Inc.

PROPERTY LOCATION:

8251 Alexandra Road

INTENT OF PERMIT:

To permit exterior renovations to the existing building at 8251 Alexandra Road on a site zoned “Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA)”.

Applicant’s Comments

Patrick Yang, of Pacific West Architecture Inc., introduced the project and, with the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1), highlighted the following:

§   

the proposed exterior renovations of the existing restaurant building and related site improvements are consistent with the City’s applicable standards and guidelines;

§   

the existing driveway entry and overall service parking will remain unchanged, and a new medium sized loading space, proposed waste and recycling area and Class 1 bicycle parking, will be provided at the rear of the building;

§   

frontage improvements include construction of a new pedestrian sidewalk along Alexandra Road, together with reconstruction of the existing driveway access;

§   

two accessible vehicle parking spaces located closest to the main entrance of the building have been provided and, to accommodate improvements including the loading space and garbage enclosure, five existing parking spaces will be removed;

§   

for the architecture form and character, the existing canopy and skylight above the main entry is proposed to be removed and will be replaced by a new metal canopy, and the existing sunscreen into the southern most portion of the building is to be removed and replaced with a new metal canopy, to provide weather protection for the pedestrian walkway along the east side of the building and the main entrance.

§   

yellow gold composite panels are being proposed at the south side of the building, a charcoal composite panel has been proposed for the backside of the building, the existing white concrete block wall facing west will be repainted to a charcoal colour, and the metal canopy will also be charcoal colour, all keeping with the overall proposed design approach to modernize the building’s appearance;

§   

the building’s height, massing and setbacks remain unchanged;

§   

all exterior lighting will be high performance LED lighting to reduce energy consumption; and

§   

in conclusion, the design will transform the building into a contemporary, sustainable and functional asset.

Eason Li, of Homing Landscape Architecture, with the aid of the same visual presentation, briefed the Panel on the landscape aspect of the project, noting that (i) design focus includes landscape improvements at the building entrance to Alexandra Road, with the overall landscape design at the building entrance to match the architectural form of the building’s entrance, (ii) retain most of the overall landscaping including existing planting bed and trees along the east property line to the north and large shrubs along the west property line, creating a green landscape buffer to the neighbouring properties, (iii) proposing two street trees in the City’s boulevard, providing a further green buffer on Alexander Road and the property, (iv) will relocate two of the existing trees to the back beside the proposed waste and recycling areas, providing healthy conditions for the trees in the long term, (v) the landscape planting plan is a balance between ornamental plants and native plants, with more than half of the shrubs and ground cover to be used on the project to be native species, drought tolerant, providing an ecological benefit to the project and the City, (vi) the overall landscape lighting is designed to comply with the dark sky lighting principles and minimum light pollution, proposing bollard lighting near/on the building and softer lights to ensure the area is safe for pedestrians and vehicle traffic at night, and (vii) high privacy screens along the recycling areas are proposed to ensure there is no visual impact to the neighbours.

Staff Comments

Mr. Reis noted that (i) a servicing agreement is required prior to issuance of the Building Permit for the project, (ii) Servicing Agreement works include a new sidewalk, boulevard with planting and curb and reconstruction of the existing driveway, (iii) there is the relocation of two existing trees to elsewhere on the subject property, (iv) all new landscape areas are proposed to be irrigated using an automatic irrigation system, and (v) the yellow metal composite panels on the building south frontage are proposed to be lit by low voltage LED lighting, and as part of the consideration of this application, the Applicant will be required to register a legal agreement to ensure this feature is installed with a dimmer.

Panel Discussion

In reply to queries from the Panel, the applicant noted (i) they are still working to find the final product for the composite panels and will make sure the panels meet the requirements and standard of longevity, and (ii) with respect to signage, it depends on the design of the sign in the future, the existing signage used a concrete base, however the intent is to create a low planter along the base of the existing sign or the future sign so there will be some ornamental plants inside all the planters.

In reply to queries from the Panel, staff clarified that while the applicant’s plans show two trees to be planted within the City’s Alexandra Road boulevard, the number and location of trees will be confirmed through the review and coordination of the Servicing Agreement which is required prior to building permit issuance.

The applicant was requested to speak to rooftop mechanical equipment, including where on the building it would be located, and if the intent was specifically to locate on the northern portion within the recessed portion of the roof.

Correspondence

None.

Gallery Comments

None.

Panel Discussion

Discussion ensued with regard to the rooftop mechanical system and as a result, direction was provided for staff to work with the applicant on any potential screening of the rooftop mechanical system prior to advancing the application for Council consideration. 

Panel Decision

It was moved and seconded

That a Development Permit be issued which would permit exterior renovations to the existing building at 8251 Alexandra Road on a site zoned “Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA)”.

CARRIED

2.

New Business

None.

3.

Date of Next Meeting:  October 29, 2025

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (3:53 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 Thursday, October 16, 2025.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Wayne Craig
Chair

Lorraine Anderson
Legislative Services Associate