June 3, 2025 - Minutes
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Planning Committee
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Date: |
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room
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Present: |
Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair
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Also Present: |
Councillor Kash Heed
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. |
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MINUTES |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on May 21, 2025, be adopted as circulated. |
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CARRIED |
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PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION |
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1. |
(File Ref. No. RZ 24-011883) (REDMS No. 7973056)
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Staff provided a summary of the proposed development and highlighted the following:
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§ a five-storey mixed-use building containing commercial, service and parking uses on the ground floor, 100% rental apartment units on the upper floors, and indoor and outdoor amenity space at the rooftop level; |
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§ the development has an overall density of 2.16 Floor Area Ratio (FAR), of which approximately 10% of the floor area (equivalent to 196 m2) is proposed as commercial floor space with the rest allocated residential; |
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§ the proposed building would contain a total of 60 dwelling units, which include six Moderate Market Rental (MMR) units and 54 market rental units; |
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§ all units will be secured in perpetuity with rental tenure zoning and through the registration of a Housing Agreement and Housing Covenant on Title; |
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§ a total of 35 off-street surface parking spaces are proposed, substantiated by a parking study, along with the provision of additional transportation demand management measures, including a publicly accessible car share or small-sized loading space, a two-year transit pass program, additional bicycle parking spaces, and bicycle washing and maintenance facilities; |
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§ as part of this development there will also be site servicing and frontage improvement works proposed, which would include new sidewalks and boulevards along Francis Road and Garden City Road, widening and upgrades to the City owned public walkway along the south property line, traffic signal upgrades, as well as sanitary storm sewer and water works; and |
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§ further refinement of the building design will be conducted as part of the Development Permit application review process. |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted (i) MMR units rates are based on BC Housing’s Household Income Limits, which will be no higher than 30% of the household income limits for each bedroom/unit type, (ii) based on the building footprint, the applicant proposes to push the bulk of the building’s residential floor area towards the road frontages, (iii) the proposed MMR units help address affordability, (iv) the trees proposed to be removed are on the neighbouring property, are in poor structural condition and not recommended for retention, (v) based on the preliminary site plan, 19 trees are proposed to be planted on-site, and which will be reviewed further during the Development Permit review process; the applicant will continue to work with the adjacent property owner to identify opportunities for additional tree planting on the neighbouring property, and (vi) monthly two-zone transit passes are available for all 60 units for a period of two years. |
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Discussion ensued with respect to the Mosaic development at No. 3 Road and Williams Road, a 4-storey building with all 33 units 100% market rental, compared to the proposed 5-storey development of the subject site with 60 units 100% rental with a portion of that being MMR units. Staff noted (i) the Mosaic development contributed to ground floor oriented commercial uses, similar to the subject proposal, (ii) the Mosaic site does not provide covered parking, whereas the proposed development includes a cantilever design providing covered parking on site, and (iii) the recently approved development at No. 3 Road and Francis Road has a similar unit count to the subject site, with 64 units in total, including seven MMR units, a similar density, and both sites have road dedication requirements. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That Richmond Official Community Plan Bylaw 9000, Amendment Bylaw 10649, to change the land use designation of 9040 Francis Road from “Commercial” to “Limited Mixed Use” in Attachment 1 to Schedule 1 of Richmond Official Community Plan Bylaw 9000 (City of Richmond 2041 OCP Land Use Map), be introduced and given first reading; |
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(2) |
That Bylaw 10649, having been considered in conjunction with: |
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(a) |
the City’s Financial Plan and Capital Program; and |
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(b) |
the Greater Vancouver Regional District Solid Waste and Liquid Waste Management Plans; |
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is hereby found to be consistent with said program and plans, in accordance with Section 477(3)(a) of the Local Government Act; |
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(3) |
That Richmond Official Community Plan Bylaw 9000, Amendment Bylaw 10649, having been considered in accordance with OCP Bylaw Preparation Consultation Policy 5043, is hereby found not to require further consultation; and |
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(4) |
That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 10650, to create the “Residential/Limited Commercial (ZMU60) – Francis Road (Broadmoor)” zone, and to rezone 9040 Francis Road from “Neighbourhood Commercial (CN)” to “Residential/Limited Commercial (ZMU60) – Francis Road (Broadmoor)” zone, be introduced and given first reading. |
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CARRIED |
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2. |
(File Ref. No. RZ 23-026410) (REDMS No. 7982112)
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Staff provided a summary of the proposed development and highlighted the following:
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§ the existing Thrangu Monastery to the north is proposed to be consolidated with the subject site in one lot; |
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§ This rezoning application is consistent with the previous non-farm use application that was endorsed by Council and approved by the Agricultural Land Commission; |
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§ The backland portion of the site has been farmed for at least five consecutive years and will continue to be actively farmed, consistent with the No. 5 Backlands Policy, the Official Community Plan and area plan designation for the sites; and |
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§ the applicant will be providing road dedication and frontage improvements along No. 5 Road, in addition and consistent with the No. 5 Road Backlands Policy, the applicant has agreed to provide a 4m wide SRW along the eastern edge of the subject property and the adjacent property to the north to facilitate future farm road access to the backlands. |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted (i) the applicant is retaining additional trees and a decrease in parking stalls by one parking stall since the application was previously reviewed by Council, (ii) all replacement trees are being accommodated on the subject site, with 41 trees to be planted largely in an area that will act as a buffer between the proposed use and the agricultural use, and (iii) one of the requirements of the roadside stand is that they sell material and product that is produced on site. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Amendment Bylaw 10662, for the rezoning of the westerly 110 m of 8160 No. 5 Road from “Agriculture (AG1)” to “Assembly (ASY)” to facilitate the proposed assembly use (religious statues), associated parking, existing barn and proposed roadside stand be introduced and given first reading. |
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CARRIED |
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3. |
(File Ref. No. 01-0157-30-RGST1) (REDMS No. 8050641)
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board be advised that the City of Richmond has no comment on the proposed amendment to the Metro 2050 Regional Growth Strategy and that this recommendation and accompanying staff report titled “Response to Metro Vancouver’s Referral: Metro 2050 Regional Growth Strategy Amendment Proposed by the City of Delta for the Properties Located at 4800 and 5133 Springs Boulevard”, dated May 9, 2025, from the Director, Policy Planning, be provided to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board. |
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CARRIED |
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4. |
Housing Agreement Amendment Applications to Update Low-End Market Rental REnts in Two Developments (File Ref. No. 08-4057-05) (REDMS No. 8041124)
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That Housing Agreement (10140, 10160 & 10180 No 1 Road and 4051 & 4068 Cavendish Drive) Bylaw No. 10490, Amendment Bylaw No. 10673 be introduced and given first, second, and third readings; and |
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(2) |
That Housing Agreement (23241, 23281 and part of 23301 Gilley Road and part of 23060 and 23000 Westminster Highway) Bylaw No. 9552, Amendment Bylaw No. 10647 be introduced and given first, second, and third readings. |
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CARRIED |
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5. |
MANAGER’S REPORT |
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(i) |
Provincial Housing Target Order |
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Staff reported on the introductory meeting that took place earlier in the day with Province staff regarding the Housing Target Order (HTO), and noted there will be two follow-up meetings to review the proposed housing targets and reporting requirements. Staff further advised (i) the first meeting is set for the week of June 9, 2025, and will focus on the Province’s methodology on how the five year housing targets are determined; it is expected the proposed HTO for a five year period will be received following that meeting, (ii) the second meeting will be held the following week to discuss the proposed HTO and to review progress reporting required data and supporting information, (iii) with respect to the proposed HTO, the City will have 30 calendar days to respond with written comments before the HTO comes into effect, and (iv) staff will report back to Committee and Council as appropriate.
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Discussion ensued with respect to the housing data sought (e.g., Building Permits, Occupancy Permits, etc.). Staff noted that (i) based on the data submitted by other municipalities, which includes the total number of units and breakdown of those units by the number of bedrooms and by tenure, in terms of the strict metrics, the Province is focussed on Occupancy Permits issued for developments, (ii) clarity of the data sought is anticipated following the upcoming two meetings, and (iii) regular updates will be provided as the HTOs are issued; there are requirements that progress reports are provided to Council before they are submitted to the Province.
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The importance of public awareness of Council approved developments was noted. |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (4:40 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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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, June 3, 2025. |
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_________________________________ |
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Councillor Bill McNulty |
Lorraine Anderson |