ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

997 West 22nd Avenue

 

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) 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 m (55.1 ft.) 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 as the proposal requires a building height relaxation.

The proposed development is for the construction of a five-storey wood frame retail/residential building requesting a height relaxation from 12.2 m (40.0 ft.) to 14.2 m (46.5 ft.) at the central east portion of the building (worst case condition), thereby requesting height relaxations up to 2.0 m (6.5 ft.). The site has a slope of more than 1.5 m (4.92 ft.) which qualifies for consideration for a height relaxation. Analysis of the additional height confirms that there will be minimal impact on the surrounding sites.

Overall, Development Services staff feel that this proposal is of high quality in terms of its architectural design, massing and detailing. The Director of Planning is therefore inclined to support this application subject to revisions to the development application that address issues as discussed in this report. However, before making a decision, this application is being referred to Council for advice.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council's advice on a development application requesting permission to construct a five-storey building containing retail/residential uses, where the proposed height exceeds the maximum permitted 12.2 m (40.0 ft.) under the provisions of the C-2 District Schedule.

SITE DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND

The site is located at the northeast corner of Oak Street and West 22nd Avenue and is bounded by two lanes, one to the north, which does not connect to Oak Street, and the other to the east. The zoning to the north across the lane along Oak Street and to the south across West 22nd Avenue is C-2. The zoning across Oak Street is also C-2. The zoning across the lane to the east is RS-5S.

Site context conditions are such that the lane to the north will not be opened through to Oak Street, specifically because of the significant change in grade between the sidewalk and the lane elevations. In addition, other local C-2 projects built in this area have previously received height relaxations, noting that these were issued permits prior to Council's instructions of June 1998.

The site and surrounding zoning including adjacent building heights are shown on the attached Appendix _A_.

DISCUSSION

The proposal involves the construction of a five-storey retail/residential building comprised of a three-storey wood frame residential (30 dwelling units) component above a two-storey concrete retail/residential (12 dwelling units) component. This lower residential component is oriented to the lane to the east. The building contains one and a half levels of underground parking providing 51 spaces and having vehicular access from the lane to the north.

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

The proposed development has been assessed against the C-2 District Schedule and C-2 Residential Guidelines and generally meets the intent, with consideration to be given to the most significant issue of height as discussed below.

Height

A height relaxation of 2.0 m (6.5 ft.) above the 12.2 m (40.0 ft.) allowable height is requested for this proposed development resulting in an overall height of 14.2 m (46.5 ft.). In accordance with the Guidelines, the maximum building height of 12.2 m (40.0 ft.) may be marginally increased where the site slopes more than 1.5 m (4.92 ft.) to a maximum heightof 13.8 m (45.2 ft.). Increases will only be considered where it can be demonstrated that there is no increased overshadowing or reduction of views to surrounding neighbours. Consideration should also be given to street character, overall building bulk, open space and amenity.

The site slopes down from the southwest corner (Oak Street and West 22nd Avenue) to the east along West 22nd Avenue to the easterly lane by 2.99 m (9.81 ft.) and slopes down from the southwest corner along the Oak Street frontage to the northerly lane by 1.37 m (4.5 ft.). Along the northerly lane from the northwest corner at Oak Street to the northeast corner the site slopes down 3.3 m (10.83 ft.). Overall, this results in a cross slope across the site of 4.4 m (14.31 ft.). These slopes contribute to the worst case height condition of 14.2 m (46.5 ft.) located within the central east portion of the roof, noting that this condition is set back from the easterly lane by 11.9 m (39 ft.) and from the West 22nd Avenue frontage by approximately 9.14 m (30 ft.). The proposal generally meets the outright height requirement of 12.2 m (40.0 ft.) along half of the length of the front (Oak Street) facade though is over by 0.7 m (2.4 ft.) at the northwest corner (See Appendix _B_).

These slopes create challenges for ground floor uses and overall massing. Along the south elevation in the southeast corner, a height of 13.3 m (43.6 ft.) is proposed but this is set back 11.9 m (39 ft.) from the rear property line across the lane from the adjacent RS-5 zoned residential properties to the east. The worst case condition of the height of 14.2 m (46.5 ft.) is located within the central east portion of the roof is set back as noted above (see Appendix _B_ Page 6 of 9). Staff are recommending further design development to reduce this height to the maximum permitted relaxed height of 13.80 m (45.2 ft.).

To mitigate overshadowing and overlook onto adjacent low-density residential zones, the Guidelines call for the upper storeys to be terraced back from the required rear setback. This proposal provides a transition in scale with the stepped massing to the east facade thereby fulfilling the intent of the Guidelines. Other measures to ensure neighbourliness and privacy include the enhanced treatment of the easterly lane with planting including trees along the length of the lane property edge that will provide an additional layer of screening between the proposed residential units and the single-family zone across the lane. In addition, staff are recommending further design development to provide a planter at the perimeter of the second floor roof patios to ensure adequate screening and privacy to neighbours across both lanes.

In considering any height relaxations, the Director of Planning must also consider the view impacts of the proposed development on neighbouring sites. A view analysis (Appendix _C_)confirms that the residences directly south of the site across West 22nd Avenue and across Oak Street to the west will be affected. Staff recognize that their present views will be impacted by the development, however, this loss of present view would be generated by any building at an outright permitted building height of 12.2 m (40.0 ft.). With respect to shadowing, although the development does shadow the northerly lane, there are no midday shadowing impacts on the surrounding lower density residential properties to the east.

Massing and Density

An upper limit maximum Floor Space Ratio (FSR) of 2.2 is identified for residential uses in mixed use C-2 proposals on corner sites in the C-2 Residential Guidelines with a maximum 2.5 FSR considered for exceptional sites where the building exceeds four storeys. (Note: The C-2 District Schedule identifies an absolute maximum residential FSR of 2.5.) Based on the significant site slopes, staff support the proposed residential FSR of 2.4 as it has been achieved through an appropriate massing response that addresses the challenges of the specific site conditions and is still within the density described in the Guidelines.

The total proposed FSR of this application is 2.76, which is within the permitted maximum of 3.0 FSR in the C-2 zone.

Urban Design Panel

The Urban Design Panel (UDP) has unanimously supported the development proposal, including the design, height, density, the massing response to the site and the quality of materials for the proposal, noting that, " it found it to be a handsome, modern building, well suited to its location".

A copy of the UDP minutes from the October 2, 2002 meeting are attached as Appendix _D_.

Notification

As part of the review of this development application, 166 neighbouring property owners were notified of the proposal. In response, Development Services staff have received a total of eleven letters, two letters in support and nine letters in opposition. The major objections include concerns with the impact of the density and the increase in traffic congestion within the neighbourhood. Other concerns include the proposed height, reduction of privacy and views, and the scale of five-storey buildings as inappropriate for this neighbourhood.

CONCLUSION

The proposed development has been assessed against the C-2 District Schedule and C-2 Residential Guidelines, and responds to the stated objectives. Development Services staff generally feel that this proposal is of high quality in terms of its architectural design, massing and detailing, and has incorporated measures to minimize impact on adjacent houses. The applicant is proposing high quality materials, including brick and architectural concrete on both the street and lane facades.

Development Services staff, therefore, support approval of this development application, including a height relaxation to a maximum height of 13.8 m (45.2 ft.) at the southeast portion of the building, and subject also to various conditions to be met 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 - D

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