Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

CD-1 Text Amendment (Floor Area and Parking): 801 West Georgia Street (Hotel Georgia)

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

CD-1 By-law No. 8536 (# 413) for 801 West Georgia Street, enacted July 30, 2002.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report assesses an application submitted on November 5, 2002 to amend Section 3 of the CD-1 Comprehensive Development District By-law for this site to allow some flexibility in the allocation of floor area between the two parts of the site. (Note: This application is not directly related to the application submitted in June for a higher building on this site, an application which is still in process and will be reported to Council in February.)

Staff support this application and, with the concurrence of the applicant, also recommend some additional by-law amendments to enable approval of automated (robotic) parking and to note that the site is an "activity zone" as defined in the Noise By-law. The Director of Current Planning recommends that the application, and the by-law amendments recommended by staff, be referred to a Public Hearing and approved.

BACKGROUND

Site, Context, and Surrounding Zoning: The 2 787 m² (30,000 sq. ft.) site is located in Area A of the Downtown District (DD), as shown in Figure 1 (on following page). The 12-storey Hotel Georgia, a designated "B" heritage building, stands prominently at the northwest corner of Howe and Georgia Streets (Lot F). Adjacent to the hotel and fronting Howe Street, on the north portion of the site (Lot G), there is an ancillary 4-storey parking/retail structure.

Recent Rezoning: An application was approved at Public Hearing on June 13, 2002 to rezone the site to CD-1 to allow for residential use in a 50-storey mixed-use hotel-residential tower which would replace the existing parkade adjacent to the heritage Hotel Georgia. The maximum building height (to top of habitable space) is 141.7 m (465 ft.), from 137 m (450 ft.) previously permitted. Also allowed is a total building height (to top of mechanical and decorative roof) of 154.4 m (506.6 ft.), which is a view cone height limit applying to the site as determined by the View Corridor Guidelines. The CD-1 By-law, which was enacted on July 30, 2002, incorporates heritage bonus density previously provided in a Heritage Revitalization Agreement approved in 1998, and also provides for the transfer of some additional heritage density from a donor site elsewhere.

Figure 1. Site and Surrounding Zoning


Application in Process (for Higher Building): A rezoning application was submitted on June 25, 2002 to amend the CD-1 By-law to increase the total building height to 182.9 m (600 ft.) and the number of floors from 50 to 56. At the instruction of Council in August, the
review of this application is now underway according to criteria and procedures set out in the General Policy for Higher Buildings. The proposed text amendment assessed in this report does not affect the processing of that application.

Proposed Development: A development application under the current CD-1 zoning was submitted on October 30, 2002 for the proposed new 50-storey tower at 687 Howe Street (Lot G) next to the existing Hotel Georgia (Lot F). Except for minor adjustments, it generally conforms to the currently approved form of development and building height. The hotel portion (97 suites) would extend from the 10th to 26th floors (17 floors) while the residential portion (204 units) would extend from the 27th to 50th floors (34 floors). Totalfloor area would be about 34 327 m2 (369,500 sq. ft.). Technical review and Urban Design Panel review will be underway by mid-November with Development Permit Board decision presently anticipated in late January. The proposed text amendment assessed in this report would allow minor adjustments to be approved within the total building height permitted.
DISCUSSION

1. Floor Area and Density

The development application which was recently submitted differs in one significant respect from the approved form of development. It proposes to cantilever some of the new tower over the existing Hotel Georgia, as follows:

· a 6.25 m (20.5 ft.) outward extension of the "sky lobby" on the 25th floor of the new hotel, 45.7 m² (492 sq. ft.) in size, providing a double-height "viewing platform" over a proposed roof garden atop the existing Hotel Georgia; and

· a 1.37 m (4.5 feet) extension on 12 residential floors, at 10.0 m² (108 sq. ft.) per floor for a total of 120.4 m² (1,296 sq. ft.).

This design change, with no increase in total density, represents an interesting refinement of the building's architecture and one which could not so readily be undertaken on any of the other building facades. It will be further assessed in the context of development application staff review and review by the Urban Design Panel. The cantilevered floor areas also constitute building encroachments which have Vancouver Building By-law and Subdivision By-law implications. Without approving or providing any "pre-clearance" of this proposal, but only to remove a zoning impediment to development permit issuance, an amendment to the CD-1 By-law is necessary.

The current CD-1 By-law strictly limits the maximum floor area on each of the two parts of the site, Lots F and G. That formulation was adopted to ensure that development potential is explicitly allocated between the two parts of the site in case they would go into separate ownerships.

An amendment to the CD-1 By-law is proposed in Appendix A which would maintain an overall maximum floor area over the entire site (with no change from what was previously approved) and then provide for maximum floor areas on lots F and G. The maximum floor area on lot F is recommended to be increased by 1 242 m² (13,370 sq. ft.) to allow additional floor area which could be approved above the existing Hotel but attached to and accessible from the new tower. As this flexibility is requested by the applicant, presumably theprevious ownership issues or objectives are no longer relevant. (Note: An air space parcel subdivision or other arrangement, including encroachment agreements, will be necessary to implement this and are expected to require considerable lead time by applicant and staff.)

2. Automated Parking

The form of development approved at Public Hearing proposed six floors of above-grade parking, in addition to several floors of parking below grade. The applicant now proposes to install an automated (robotic) parking system in the above-grade parking floors, with vehicular access by means of elevators, rather than the conventional ramps and manouevring aisles. In pre-application discussions in preparation for submission of a development application, staff have been prepared to consider and support the proposed automated parking under the relaxation provisions of the Parking By-law and the Zoning and Development By-law.

Staff contemplated by-law relaxations for two reasons:

· the parking "slots" provided in an automated parking system do not meet Parking By-law requirements for parking spaces in terms of location (accessibility) and design (dimensions); and

· for the purpose of floor area calculation, the floor area of above-grade parking is counted (although each 1 m2 of floor area for as 0.7 m2), however an automated parking structure does not have "floors" in the usual sense that the Zoning and Development By-law intends, but rather it has racks with six levels of parking area.

Staff concluded it is in the public interest to consider these relaxations. Automated parking would reduce the considerable amount of floor area on the first and second floors otherwise taken up by ramps providing access to parking floors above. Automated parking also makes it possible to reduce the total height of the parking, from 16.5 m (54 feet) to 14.3 m (47 feet), and to increase the number of parking spaces (thus requiring less relaxation in the number provided). The reduced height of the above-grade parking then makes it possible to increase the height of the ground floor, as recommended by the Urban Design Panel and required by Council in design development conditions approved at Public Hearing.

Given the applicant's request to amend Section 3 (Floor Area and Density) of the CD-1 By-law, staff are using this opportunity to seek the additional amendments which will be helpful to accommodate the proposed automated parking without use of by-law relaxations. Two amendments to the CD-1 By-law are proposed in Appendix A:

· first, it is recommended that in addition to having available the normal relaxation and exemption provisions of the Parking By-law, the Development Permit Board, or other approving authority as the case may be, be given explicit authority to approve off-street parking spaces that are provided in an automated parking system and may relax the requirements of Sections 4.7 and 4.8 of the Parking By-law regarding such things as minimum parking space dimensions and aisle dimensions. However, the requirements for the number, size and location of disability parking spaces would continue to apply; and

· second, it is recommended that, for the purpose of floor area calculation, it is explicitly stated that the effective useable area of the automated parking system, including vehicle storage racks, elevators and floor areas, but excluding void spaces or other similar areas, will count as floor area, and further that, as presently provided on all DD sites, each 1 m2 of gross floor area for above-grade parking will count as 0.7 m2. Appropriate definitions will be developed during by-law preparation as may be necessary.

The applicant agrees with these by-law amendments recommended by staff.

3. Residential Liveability

Staff have always had concerns about the residential liveability of proposed dwelling use at this location. The Central Business District, a part of the Downtown District which is not planned to meet residential needs, is generally noisier than other parts of the downtown where residential use is permitted. Concerns centre around late-night noise generated by cabarets and entertainment uses, and street and lane traffic including tour buses and late-night service vehicles.

Furthermore, all of the Downtown District is an "activity zone" as defined in the Noise Control By-law where commercial and industrial level noises are permitted and where residents are therefore not given much relief in response to noise complaints. In rezoning the site to CD-1, an amendment to the Noise By-law was also completed which listed this site in Schedule A of that by-law and thus included in the "activity zone".

While it is recognized that living in the CBD will appeal to residents not looking for the usual amenities and "quiet enjoyment" of a low-density residential neighbourhood, staff felt that noise mitigation measures should be required. An air conditioning system was not originally proposed for the dwelling units in this building, and thus the usual acoustic requirements would be met only if windows are kept shut. Staff concern was alleviatedsomewhat because habitable residential floors would begin at the 26th storey, but to ensure that noise impacts could be better mitigated Council approved a condition of design development that an air conditioning system be provided which gives occupants a choice between opening their windows and keeping them closed.

Since this rezoning, to ensure that the purchasers of dwelling units in buildings in the CBD are fully aware of the noise environment, the City has adopted the practice of adding a clause to the list of Land Uses in the CD-1 By-law which states that the site is in an "activity zone" as defined by the Noise By-law and, as a result, will be subject to the noise levels permitted in commercial and industrial districts. Staff recommend such a clause in the CD-1 By-law for this site (see Appendix A).

The applicant agrees with this by-law amendment recommended by staff.

APPLICANT COMMENT

"This CD-1 amendment accommodates what we believe to be design improvements to the proposed Georgia Tower Project within the very difficult height constraints (refer to the June 25, 2002 rezoning application for a taller building) of the existing approved building envelope. The addition of robotic parking to the project results in an innovative solution to reduce the volume of above grade parking, increase user safety and security, and reduce vehicle emissions. The introduction of cantilevered floor sections over the old Georgia Hotel also improve building articulation and massing, and allow for a dramatic and iconic projection of the proposed new hotel 'sky lobby'."

CONCLUSION

The Director of Current Planning recommends that the application to amend the CD-1 By-law for this site, including further amendments recommended by staff, be referred to a Public Hearing and approved. No conditions of approval are required beyond those which were previously approved in the rezoning of the site.

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ag021126.htm

801 West Georgia Street (and 687 Howe Street)
DRAFT CD-1 BY-LAW AMENDMENTS

CD-1 By-law amendments will be prepared generally in accordance with the provisions listed below:

1. Amend Section 2 (Uses) by adding the following in 2.2 (a) after "or more":

2. Amend Section 3 (Floor Area and Density) by:

2.1 deleting section 3.1 and substituting the following:

2.2 deleting section 3.5 and substituting the following:

3. Amend Section 5 (Off-Street Parking and Loading) by adding the following in 5.1 as (e):

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