POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE

Date: May 28, 2002
Author/Local: Michael Naylor/7237

RTS No. 02688

CC File No.5304

P&E: June 13, 2002

TO:	Standing Committee on Planning and the Environment
FROM:	Director of Current Planning and the General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	555 Great Northern Way - Public Realm Plan

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the Public Realm Plan for the area known as the Great Northern Way Lands at 555 Great Northern Way be approved generally as contained in Appendix A.

GENERAL MANAGERS' COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

· In 1999, 555 Great Northern Way was rezoned to CD-1 to permit development of a high-tech business park. A condition of the rezoning was that, prior to the start of development, a Public Realm Plan be approved for the site.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council's approval of a Public Realm Plan for the Great Northern Way Lands.

BACKGROUND

The Great Northern Way Lands are the lands formerly occupied by Finning International at 555 Great Northern Way (see Figure 1). In 1999, a CD-1 zoning was approved for the site to permit development of a high-tech business park. Typical for large CD-1 sites is the requirement for a Public Realm Plan, particularly for sites where new streets are being dedicated. The Plan is used to co-ordinate the design and construction of new streets and public areas throughout the course of a multi-phased development project.

Such a plan was not undertaken at the time of the Great Northern Way rezoning because Finning was not going to be the developer for the site and preferred that the plan be undertaken instead by the eventual developer. It was agreed that the new zoning would be approved without the Public Realm Plan, but that there would be a condition that the Plan be completed prior to the start of development.

Since the rezoning, Finning has completed the first phase of subdivisions and has conveyed the lands west of Fraser Street to an Educational Consortium of UBC, SFU, BCIT and ECIAD (80% of which was by donation) and the lands east of Foley Street to QLT Inc. One remaining site between Foley and Fraser streets has yet to be sold. As a result of the conveyance of the majority of the lands to the Consortium, the Consortium has assumed responsibility for the rezoning and subdivision requirements. As a part of the requirements the Consortium is now responsible for servicing the sites, including constructing the new streets. However, Finning has retained the obligation to complete the Public Realm Plan. This Plan is now needed before the design for those new streets can be approved.

DISCUSSION

Finning engaged the services of Perry & Associates Landscape Architects who, over the past several months, have worked with Planning and Engineering staff in the preparation of a draft Public Realm Plan (included in this report as Appendix A). The draft Plan builds on the zoning requirements and the CD-1 Guidelines approved in 1999, while focusing specifically on five new north-south streets and one new east-west street (Earl Finning Way) which will be added through the redevelopment of the site. The Plan also addresses a multi-use pathway located in a landscape setback on the north side of Great Northern Way.

It is intended that Great Northern Way (from Brunswick Street to Clark Drive) be included within the Public Realm Precinct and it will be designed and rebuilt in a future phase of development. In May 2001, staff received preliminary direction from Council on that redesign. It will feature a treed centre median and bike lanes.

Figure 1 - Great Northern Way Lands context plan 

Also not addressed in the current Plan are designs for the Brewery Creek and China Creek pedestrian easements and the central triangular open space (public green) on Earl Finning Way. The public green is scheduled for design and construction in a future phase. The creek easements will be designed and constructed as an integral part of the site design of their adjoining properties. For example, the China Creek easement (along Foley Street) will be part of QLT's next phase of development. Detailed consideration of these items was not part of the recent work because, unlike the streets, they are stand-alone items for which a comprehensive design is not needed and they have been adequately covered within the CD-1 Guidelines for the current stage of the planning process.

The draft Public Realm Plan presents preliminary designs for the intersections, typical plan and cross-section drawings for the streets, building edge treatments, setback area treatments, paving materials and patterns, plant materials, street trees, street furniture, signage and lighting. It will be used with each development application to guide and evaluate the streetscape and site design. At the same time, there is enough flexibility within the plan that various options can be pursued. This is important for the proposed use by the Educational Consortium, which might seek specific design treatments as part of a campus plan.

Public Consultation

An open house was held May 23 at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House to which local residents and community groups were invited by mail invitation to view the draft Plan. Over a hundred people attended. Comments about the Public Realm Plan were very favourable. Attendees were generally pleased with the quality of design treatments proposed. Concerns were with the current traffic speeds on Great Northern Way and the proposed intersections. While local residents understood that changes to Great Northern Way were tied to future phases of development, they were nonetheless eager to see them implemented.

Financial Implications

The components of the Public Realm Plan will be designed and installed by the Consortium at the time each site is serviced. As a part of the Servicing Agreement (a rezoning condition), the Consortium will also be responsible for a two-year warranty period during which all components of the public realm and infrastructure will be maintained. In this case there is no up-front capital cost to the City, however the City will be responsible for on-going maintenance at the expiration of the warranty period.

Some of the components of the Public Realm Plan are different from the City standard and will require an increase to the maintenance budget. For example, the pavers specified for certain portions of the sidewalk will require a higher level of maintenance due to their uniqueness and the expectation for a higher level of service. In addition, pavers are difficult to match in colour if they are damaged in the future. As a result, pavers have an estimated life-cycle cost that is 50% more than the standard City sidewalk.

In order to help offset the costs of repairing and maintaining components such as pavers, developers are typically asked to provide a 10% oversupply of non-standard items. This will also apply to the street lights that are specified in this Plan. The use of these components has implications for the respective maintenance budgets and estimates for the specific increases will be reported back to Council at the time of design.

CONCLUSION

The Public Realm Plan for the Great Northern Way Lands should be approved because it will guide the design and construction of the streets and public areas on the site in a comprehensive manner that will result in a distinctive, high-quality area with a unique character in keeping with its role as a high amenity precinct for high-tech business, research and learning.

LINK TO APPENDIX A

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver