POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

Date: June 11, 2002
Author/Local: Alan Duncan/6269

RTS No. 02498

CC File No. 5305

Council: June 25, 2002

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of Current Planning
SUBJECT:	CD-1 Text Amendment: Harbour Green Neighbourhood - 1199 West Hastings - Restaurant

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT the Director of Current Planning be instructed to make application to amend CD-1 By-law No. 7681 for the northerly vacant portion of 1199 West Hastings Street (portion of Lot G, Block 15, DL 185, Plan LMP 29894) to permit a one-storey restaurant, generally in accordance with Appendix A, and that the application be referred to a Public Hearing;

FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to prepare the necessary by-law for consideration at Public Hearing.

B. THAT, if approved at Public Hearing, the by-law be accompanied at the time of enactment by the amendments to the Harbour Green Neighbourhood CD-1 Guidelines (501 Bute Street), generally in accordance with Appendix B.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

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

COUNCIL POLICY

On November 26, 1996, Council rezoned the Harbour Green Neighbourhood from CWD to CD-1 (364) and adopted the Harbour Green Neighbourhood CD-1 Guidelines (501 Bute Street). The CD-1 did not allocate use or density to this site.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The Planning Department has received a proposal to construct a one-storey 175 m² (1,884 sq. ft.) restaurant on the south-east corner of Bute and Cordova Streets where the current CD-1 zoning provides for no use or floor area. Staff have reviewed this proposal and believe it is in the public interest to facilitate the use as it will rework the "back of house" conditions along Cordova Street to the rear of the existing buildings that front onto Hastings Street by providing for a more active street frontage. Development of a restaurant with outdoor seating in this prominent location would contribute to the City's objectives to enhance the public realm and animate Cordova Street in the emerging Harbour Green Neighbourhood. Consequently, the Director of Current Planning is initiating an amendment to the CD-1 By-law. The site, the CD-1 zoned portion of 1199 West Hastings Street, would become new Sub-area 5, with use, density and urban design guidelines to allow the proposed development.

The Director of Current Planning recommends that he be instructed to make application to amend the CD-1 By-law to allow the proposed development of a one-storey restaurant, and that the application be forwarded to a Public Hearing and be approved.

DISCUSSION

Background: A proposal has been submitted from Jorg Helssen, Architect, to construct a one-storey restaurant on the south-east corner of Bute and Cordova Streets. The restaurant is proposed for the 178 m² (1,916 sq. ft.) of previously unaddressed property north of the former escarpment property line, part of the "Cordova gap lands". This parcel was acquired by Wicklow West Holdings Ltd. from Marathon Development Inc. and consolidated into one parcel along with 1199 West Hastings Street (registered November 22, 1996).

As part of the Coal Harbour development, the 1100 block of West Cordova Street was constructed approximately 11 m (36 ft.) above the original grade. This left the parkade facades at the rear of the Hastings Street-facing buildings, built to the former escarpment property line, exposed towards Cordova Street. Except for the subject site, the remaining filled portions between Cordova Street and the properties fronting West Hastings Street are supported by a retaining wall offset approximately 1 m (3.2 ft.) away from the pre-existing parkade walls. A report on these "Cordova gap lands", considered by Council on October 17, 2000, indicated there was little interest on the part of the owners of the other adjacent properties to the south to take advantage of the new street level access (for retail or cafés) created by the construction of Cordova, so the remaining "gap" parcels were transferred to the City and established as road. These triangles of land have been landscaped but given the Hastings Street orientation and grade level parkade use of the adjacent properties to the south, there is little to animate the street and no direct surveillance.

Site Description: The site is part of an irregular-shaped 685 m² (7,374 sq. ft.), split-zoned parcel bounded by Hastings Street on the south, Bute Street on the west, the recently constructed extension of Cordova Street on the north and an office development at 1177 West Hastings on the east.

1199 West Hastings, south of the former escarpment property line, is an office tower built in 1974 at 12.9 FSR. The tower sits on columns creating a plaza accessible to the public from West Hastings Street with seating towards the view over the new Harbour Green Park to the north. The tower portion of the property is zoned DD but the portion of the property north of the former escarpment property line acquired from Marathon is zoned CD-1 (364) and subject to the Harbour Green Neighbourhood CD-1 Guidelines. The CD-1 zoned portion of the property was not included in the four sub-areas allocated density and uses in the CD-1 By-law.

Use: The proposed use is a one-storey restaurant that will include outdoor seating. Staff support this particular use in this important location as it will provide active street frontage along the south side of Cordova Street, across from the new Harbour Green Park, and frame the Bute street-end view corridor. The owners have also expressed an interest in having additional outdoor seating on the adjacent City-owned landscaped triangle of roaddedication. These uses, supported by Engineering Services, will reorient building facades towards Cordova Street and thus enliven the street, increase neighbourhood vitality, provide urban design definition to the corner (of the Bute-Cordova intersection), and increase the public viewing potential of the existing plaza at1199 West Hastings if it is extended out onto the roof of the restaurant. The recommended text amendment creates a new sub-area, Sub-area 5, which will permit only restaurant use on this site. Urban design guidelines for Sub-area 5 will ensure glazing along the restaurant's east wall as well as along the Bute and Cordova Street frontages and encourage outdoor seating on the adjacent triangle of City-owned land through a Sidewalk Café Licence. This should help further strengthen the active street frontage along Cordova Street and animate the landscaped space by providing active use and surveillance.

Density: Very little commercial density was approved for Harbour Green, originally only 100 m² (1,076 sq. ft.) in Sub-area 4. The by-law was amended in 1998 to increase the retail component in the park area at the foot of Bute Street to 250 m² (2,691 sq. ft.). The new Sub-area 5 would allow a maximum of 175 m² (1,884 sq. ft.) of retail floor space specifically for restaurant use on the subject site.

Form of Development: Urban design guidelines for the proposed development have been drafted as amendments to the Harbour Green Neighbourhood CD-1 Guidelines (501 Bute Street) for the site, new Sub-area 5. These draft guidelines are included in Appendix A. Staff would report back for approval of the form of development following the processing of a development permit application.

Parking and Loading: The existing tower at 1199 West Hastings Street has loading in its basement accessed from the ramp for 1177 West Hastings from West Hastings but provides no off-street parking. The amendment to the Harbour Green CD-1, approved in 1998, which allowed an additional 150 m² (1,614 sq. ft.) to allow a food kiosk or small restaurant in the new Harbour Green Park, north of this site at 1199 West Cordova, waived the parking and loading requirements for those uses. Due to the small scale of proposed development, it is recommended that the parking and loading requirements also be waived on this site. It is anticipated that loading can be handled from a loading zone on Cordova that could service both the restaurant in Harbour Green Park and the proposed restaurant.

Public Input: Staff have not carried out a public process on this proposal because the urban design and animation aspects of the development should be widely supported, the most directly-affected properties (south of the former escarpment property line) were involved in discussions to allow this type of use in this location, and the remainder of the Harbour Green Neighbourhood has yet to be built. Should Council decide to refer an application to Public Hearing, staff will notify surrounding property owners in the normal manner.

CAC Implications: The Coal Harbour Official Development Plan area is exempt from Community Amenity Contributions as a comprehensive package of amenities has already been secured for the area.

CONCLUSION

The proposed one-storey restaurant use with outdoor seating will reorient building facades to the new Cordova Street and rework the existing "back of house" conditions of the buildings now fronting only onto Hastings Street with more active street frontage. This will contribute to the City's objectives to enhance the public realm and animate Bute and Cordova Streets in this prominent location in the emerging Harbour Green Neighbourhood. Therefore, it is recommended that the Director of Current Planning be instructed to make application to amend CD-1 (364) By-law No. 7681 to allow the proposed development, and that the application be forwarded to a Public Hearing and be approved.

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APPENDIX A

DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO CD-1 BY-LAW (364) NO. 7681

Sub-areas:
· Amend Section 4 to increase the number of sub-areas from four to five.
· Amend Diagram 1 to add Sub-area 5, being the proposed 178 m² CD-1 zoned portion of Lot G, Block 15, DL 185, Plan LMP 29894.

Floor Area and Density:
· Amend Table 1 to allow floor space for restaurant use by increasing the area of Retail and Service Uses from 250 m² to 425 m².
· Amend 5.3 to exclude a publicly-accessible rooftop plaza from floor area computation.
· Amend Table 2 to include 175 m² for Retail and Service Uses under Sub-area 5 and include a line following Table 2 that "Notwithstanding Table 2, the Retail and Service Uses for Sub-area 5 will be limited to Restaurant."
· Amend Table 3 to indicate no (---) dwelling units in Sub-area 5.

Height:
· Amend Table 4 to set a maximum height for Sub-area 5 of 3.8 m to limit development to one storey, excluding rooftop railings, planters and other plaza features which, in the opinion of the Director of Planning, are similar.

Parking:
· Amend Section 8.1 (c) to increase the maximum area of excluded parking for Retail and Service Uses from 250 m² to 425 m².

Loading:
· Amend 9.1 to increase the maximum area of excluded loading for Retail and Service Uses from 250 m² to 425 m².

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APPENDIX B

DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO HARBOUR GREEN NEIGHBOURHOOD
CD-1 GUIDELINES (501 BUTE STREET)

Table of Contents:

I. Amend Contents by adding "Precinct 5 - Southeast Corner of Bute & Cordova Streets".

Overall Guidelines:

II. Amend Figure 2 to show generic footprint of proposed building.
III. Amend Figure 3 to show generic footprint of proposed building with maximum 3.8 m height, excluding rooftop railings, planters and other plaza features which, in the opinion of the Director of Planning, are similar.
IV. Amend 3.4.2 (a) by adding onto the beginning of the first sentence: "Except for the one-storey restaurant on the south-east corner of Bute and Cordova Streets,"
V. Amend 3.5.1 (a) by adding onto the end of the first paragraph: ", except for street-level restaurant uses which should maximize glazing to ensure transparency."

Precinct Guidelines:

VI. Create a new Precinct 5, being the 178 m² CD-1 zoned portion of Lot G, Block 15, DL 185, Plan LMP 29894, with a new Figure 13 illustrating Precinct 5 and the following guidelines:

4.5 Precinct 5 - South-east Corner of Bute and Cordova Streets

4.5.1 This one-storey restaurant development should maximize glazing to ensure transparency on the west, north and east sides.
4.5.2 The Bute Street facade of the new development should be set back to match the setback of the existing development in the Downtown District to the south and both the new and existing ground-level facades should be visually integrated.
4.5.3 The Cordova Street facade should be set back at least 1.5 m from the property line to allow for outdoor patio restaurant seating.
4.5.4 Extending the existing street level plaza, accessed from West Hastings Street, onto the roof of the restaurant is encouraged to maximize its public viewing potential and to increase surveillance over the adjacent landscaped open space to the east as an extension of the comprehensive plaza development between Bute and Thurlow Streets. Ramps and/or stairs may be required to mitigate between elevations. Seating and railing heights should be placed and designedto maximize viewing potential. Access from the roof plaza to Cordova Street by a staircase or other means, under a Sidewalk Café Licence, should be considered.
4.5.5 Additional outdoor patio restaurant seating on the adjacent triangle of City street is encouraged, through a Sidewalk Café Licence, to further animate the street and to reduce any negative use of this adjacent landscaped space by providing active use and surveillance.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver