POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

CD-1 Text Amendment - 1005 Beach Avenue

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

There is no Council policy directly applicable to this amendment.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report recommends an amendment to CD-1 By-law No. 8043 (#392), to permit a .66 m (2.2 ft.) increase in the penthouse ceiling height within the constraints of the approved form of development. The amendment would not affect the external height or shape of the building.

DISCUSSION

CD-1 By-law No. 8043 permits a high-rise residential tower on a formerly City-owned site just west of the Burrard Street Bridge. It was enacted by Council on July 20, 1999. The By-law permits a maximum building height of 82.3 m (270 ft.), providing that no storey containing residential use exceeds 3.0 m (9.8 ft.), measured from floor to floor.

The Development Permit Board approved a development permit (DE406675) meeting the regulatory constraints of the CD-1 by-law, and Council approved this form of development on September 10, 2002.

The development permit meets the 3.0 m ceiling height limit in the penthouse by including a suspended ceiling over 50% of the unit where the structural ceiling is higher than 3.0 m. The applicant has requested that the CD-1 by-law be amended to permit the maximum ceiling height within this portion of the penthouse to be 3.66 m (12.0 ft.), or .66 m (2.2 ft.) higher than permitted (see illustration in Appendix B). The applicant's rationale is that it would make for a more liveable and marketable unit.

If approved, the amendment would result in no change to the exterior building height or shape from that already permitted under the development permit. The only difference would be a change in the glass panels to clear glass to relate to the higher ceiling. There would be no impact on surrounding properties.

CONCLUSION

Given that the proposed amendment to permit an increase in the penthouse ceiling height will not affect the external height or shape of the building, and as there are no public interest reasons to not support the application, staff recommend that the application be referred to Public Hearing and be approved.

APPLICANT'S COMMENTS

The applicant has been provided with a copy of this report and concurs with the contents and conclusions.

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APPENDIX A
Page 1 of 1

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CD-1 BY-LAW No. 8043
(1005 Beach Avenue)

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