Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

2015 Trafalgar Street

 

CONSIDERATION

The Director of Current Planning submits the following for consideration:

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

At its meeting on June 2, 1998, Council instructed the Director of Planning to:

A. refer all proposed height relaxations under Sections 4.3(a) and (b) of the C-2 Residential Guidelines to Council for advice;

B. delete Section 4.3(c) of the C-2 Residential Guidelines permitting height relaxations over 16.8 metres (55.1 feet) pending a full review of the C-2 zone;

C. amend the C-2 Residential Guidelines to add a general clause indicating that projects should have a very good architectural design and should use quality exterior materials and that projects should be referred to the Urban Design Panel (UDP) for advice;

D. report back to Council before the summer break with a timetable, work program and resourcing to undertake a C-2 review; and

E. instruct staff that the Guidelines take precedence where there is a conflict between the District Schedule and the Guidelines.

SUMMARY

In accordance with Council's instructions of June 2, 1998, this development application is being referred to Council for advice on a proposed building height relaxation.

The proposed development is a four-storey building with retail and residential uses and requires a height relaxation to 43.75 feet from the outright height of 40 feet. The site has a slope of more than 4.92 feet, which therefore qualifies for consideration of a height relaxation. An analysis of the additional height confirms there will be minimal impact on surrounding sites.

Overall, Development Services staff feel that this proposal is supportable in terms of its architectural design, massing, and detailing. The Director of Planning is therefore inclined to support this application. However, before making a decision the application is being referred to Council for their advice.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council's advice on a development application requesting permission to construct a four-storey building containing retail and residential uses, where the proposed height exceeds the maximum outright 40 feet permitted under the provisions of the C-2 District Schedule.

SITE DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND

The site is located at the southwest corner of Trafalgar Street and West 4th Avenue. The site marks the eastern end of the C-2 zoning district, which extends from Trafalgar Street west along West 4th Avenue to Alma Street. Across Trafalgar Street to the east is a four-storey multiple dwelling in the RM-4 District.

There is a lane to the south of the site, which is only 12 feet wide at this location. An older, three- storey multiple dwelling sits south of the lane, fronting onto Trafalgar Street. Its north wall sits close to the ultimate centreline of the lane. As a result, the proposed development has had to be set back an additional 8 feet from its rear property line, in order to provide adequate parking and loading access. The site and surrounding zoning are shown in the attached Appendix `A'.

A previous Development Permit (DE401984) was issued for this site in 1997 and renewed by Council in 1999, but construction did not proceed.

DISCUSSION

The proposal involves the construction of a four-storey building, with two levels of underground parking accessed from the lane. The ground floor contains retail space and a single dwelling unit, which is located at the southeast corner. The upper three floors contain another 21 dwelling units. The main entrance to the upper level residential is from Trafalgar Street.

The site measures approximately 75 feet by 111 feet. Proposed total floor space ratio (FSR) is 2.91 (allowable 3.0), and proposed residential FSR is 2.41 (allowable 2.5). The proposed residential FSR on the upper three floors is 2.20, which is the maximum recommended for corner sites in Section 4.7 of the C-2 Residential Guidelines.

The proposed development has been assessed against the C-2 District Schedule and C-2 Residential Guidelines. The proposal generally meets the intent of the zoning, but is seeking a relaxation of the maximum permitted height of 40 feet.

Simplified plans, including a site plan and elevations of the proposal have been included in Appendix _B_.

HEIGHT

The site slopes in a northeast-to-southwest direction a total of 6.98 feet. This is a considerable drop on a site only 75 feet wide, and makes development of a four-storey building within the outright height of 40 feet virtually impossible. It also exceeds the 4.92 feet site slope which the Guidelines recognize as a rationale for consideration of a height relaxation.

Staff have calculated the maximum height of the building as submitted to be 46.82 feet at the worst-case location at the top of the firewall along the western property line. Through the lowering of parapet heights and the introduction of a single 18-inch step in the building, staff believe that the maximum height of the building could be reduced to 43.75 feet. This height would occur along the west property line approximately 40 feet south of the front facade of the building. The worst-case parapet height along the West 4th Avenue elevation would accordingly be reduced to 43.05 feet. At the corner of West 4th Avenue and Trafalgar Street, the best-case location, the height of the main parapet would be 39.25 feet.

The development approved under DE401984, issued in 1997, indicated a maximum height of 42.06 feet to the top of the parapet in the worst-case location. However, this application proposed stepping the building twice to create three separate levels, rather than the single step proposed in the current application. The introduction of three levels within a 75-foot frontage results in a highly complex structure, and staff believe that this may have played a major role in the decision of the previous developer not to proceed with the project.

The applicant is also proposing some raised decorative roof elements above the main parapet level along the West 4th Avenue frontage, and a special roof treatment at the corner of West 4th Avenue and Trafalgar Street. These elements meet the definition of permitted architectural appurtenances under Section 10.11.1 of the Zoning and Development By-law.

Similar elements are also proposed along the Trafalgar Street elevation. These exceed the maximum total length of appurtenances permitted under Section 10.11.1. Due to the rising site grade however, the maximum height of these elements varies from 41.46 feet to 42.75 feet, and staff believe that these elements play a positive role in the design quality of the building.

DESIGN

The proposed development meets the overall intent of the C-2 Residential Guidelines. Staff are recommending conditions to reduce the massing on the upper floor at the rear. This will also bring the amount of residential FSR on the upper 3 floors slightly below the 2.2 FSR being proposed.

The building is generally well-designed and articulated. The proposed exterior materials (Arris craft base, with large amounts of brick and curtain wall on the street-facing facades, with stucco predominating at the rear) will result in a building with a generally high quality appearance. Staff are recommending design conditions to refine the massing and expression along the lane elevation, and also to expand the use of brick as seen from Trafalgar Street.

URBAN DESIGN PANEL

The application was reviewed by the Urban Design Panel (UDP) at its meeting on July 24, 2002, and was supported by the Panel in a 4-2 vote. The principal issues identified as needing resolution were the handling of the rear (lane) elevation and ground floor dwelling unit, and the lack of a specific strategy to deal with a significant street tree on Trafalgar Street. These issues can both be resolved through conditions of approval. The proposed height relaxation was seen as having little impact on surrounding properties.

A copy of the UDP minutes is attached as Appendix `C'.

NOTIFICATION

As part of the review of this development application, 300 neighbouring property owners were notified of the proposal. In addition, a sign was placed on the site.

In response, Planning staff received two responses. One response, from a resident of the residential development at the northeast corner of West 4th Avenue and Trafalgar Street, was opposed to any height relaxation. As mentioned in the Discussion section above, staff believe that the height of the parapet at the northeast corner of the proposed development can be lowered to 39.5 feet, which is below the outright height of 40 feet. The proposed architectural element at the corner would rise to a height of 45 feet but would be limited to a width of approximately 20 feet as seen from the northeast. There is no significant view to the southwest in this location.

The second response was from a resident of the apartment building to the south across the lane, requesting that the parking and loading access be from Trafalgar Street instead of from the lane. City policy however is to locate all such access from the lane where one exists.

CONCLUSION

The proposed development has been assessed against the C-2 District Schedule and C-2 Residential Guidelines, and responds to the stated objectives. Further, the overall design quality meets the general standards requested by Council for higher quality design and materials. The Urban Design Panel supports the proposal.

Development Services staff therefore support approval of this development application, subject to various conditions to be met, including those discussed in this report, prior to the issuance of the development permit. However, before making a decision on this application, the Director of Planning is seeking any advice which Council may wish to provide.

LINK TO APPENDICES A AND B

* * * * *

ag021105.htm

Comments or questions? You can send us email.
[City Homepage] [Get In Touch]

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver