ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Planning and Environment Committee

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

7755 Champlain Crescent - Private Liquor Store

 

CONSIDERATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On April 8, 2003, Council resolved the following with respect to Liquor Stores in the City of Vancouver:

(i) Council rescinds the previous Beer and Wine Store and Specialty Wine Store guidelines and approves guidelines as outlined below as the basis for review of
all Liquor Stores selling "only' Beer or "only" Wine;

(ii) applicant to submit copy of Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) preliminary approval letter;

(iii) staff to conduct a neighbourhood notification of affected neighbours;

(iv) staff review to include an assessment of the following factors:

(v) that Development Permits be time-limited;

(vi) applications deemed controversial by the Director of Planning may be referred
to Council for advice;

(vii) Liquor Stores not be permitted within 150 metres of another Liquor Store; and

(viii) Liquor Stores not be permitted within 150 metres of a School (public or private), Church, or Park.

At the same time Council instructed the Director of Planning to favourably consider development applications for Liquor Stores selling beer and wine, or hard liquor to "only" those sites in the city currently approved as Liquor Stores.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the Council resolution of April 8, 2003, this development application is being referred to Council for advice as the proposal is in conflict with guidelines requiring minimum separations of Liquor Store uses from Schools and Parks.

In addition, staff are concerned that the lack of convenient on-site loading facilities may result in delivery trucks being parked in a manner that will interfere with vehicle and pedestrian traffic in and around the site.

The proposal has also generated a significant level of concern in the nearby community.

Overall, Development Services staff feel the site may not be suitable for the proposed use. The Director of Planning is therefore inclined to not support the application; however, before making a decision, the application is being referred to Council for advice.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council's advice on a development application to change the use of a portion of an existing building from Retail to Liquor Store (Beer only).

SITE DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT

The site is located in Champlain Heights and is zoned CD-1 (Comprehensive Development District). The northern portion of the site contains an existing Neighbourhood Public House (Krazy Kangaroo) and the remainder of the site is taken up with a single-storey retail development. The proposal is to convert the southernmost retail tenancy currently occupied as a convenience store, to Liquor Store (Beer only). The site contains a total of fifteen (15) off-street parking spaces. One loading space is located adjacent to the existing Pub. The site and surrounding zoning are shown on attached Appendix "A".

Staff carried out a land use survey of the surrounding area, similar to that which would be done for a proposed liquor outlet, as covered by Council Policy. The survey area contains commercial and residential uses, one Elementary School, a Community Centre, and a Child Day-care Facility. The closest Government Liquor stores are located at 3150 East 54th Avenue (Champlain Mall) and 3436 Kingsway (Kingsway and Tyne Street).

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

The application seeks approval to change the use of approximately 174 m2 (1,875 sq. ft.) of the existing retail space in this building to provide for a new private Liquor Store (Beer only).

Since the application was originally submitted, and the neighbourhood notification completed, Council's policy on private Liquor Stores has been modified. The applicant has now declared that the proposed location would sell Beer products only. The applicant indicates the proposed hours of operation for the Liquor Store would be from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week.

The applicant is the current operator of the Krazy Kangaroo Pub (7725 Champlain Crescent) located on the north portion of this site.
The proposed liquor store has been assessed against the applicable provisions of the Zoning and Development By-law, the CD-1 By-law, and the requirements of the Parking By-law. Staff have also reviewed the application against the guidelines Council recently adopted for the review of applications involving Liquor Stores selling "only" Beer or "only" Wine.

The following issues have been identified:

Proximity to Other Uses - The proposed Liquor Store would not comply to the separation guideline for proximity to Schools and Parks, as the location is within 150 m (approximately 500 ft.) of an existing Elementary School and Park. Also within this distance is an existing Child Day-Care Facility, and Community Centre.

Parking/Loading Provisions - The proposed change of use does not increase the on-site parking requirements under the Parking By-law, and a total of fifteen (15) off-street parking spaces are available on the site for short-term parking for the Liquor Store.

To supplement the available parking, the Pub operator has an agreement with the owner of a commercial building located to the west of the Pub (3380 Maquinna Drive) for the use of approximately twenty (20) parking spaces after 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. These are largely used to provide additional parking for the Pub use and would not be expected to provide viable short-term parking for the Liquor Store.

A loading space is located adjacent to the Pub building at the north end of the site; however, there are no loading facilities located directly adjacent to the proposed Liquor Store. The operator has indicated that beer deliveries would continue to take place at the loading area adjacent to the Pub, with the beer products transported by handcart to the Liquor Store location. They have also indicated that this same delivery truck would take away any of the empty bottles accumulated at the store. While this may work, should the drivers choose to park closer to the Liquor Store location, it would mean blocking some of the vehicle traffic and may have negative impacts on the vehicle and pedestrian activity in and around the site.

Simplified plans, including a floor plan, site plan, and photos of the location, are included in Appendix "B".

Notification - As part of the review of this development application, 305 neighbouring property owners were notified of the proposal. The Director of Planning received 189 individual letters of objection, and 3 different petitions with a total of 265 names. Also 20 letters of support were received. The notification area is included in the attached Appendix "A" map.

A summary of the neighbourhood objections is as follows:

(i) concerns expressed with the amount of available parking in the strip mall;

(ii) concerns about the proximity of the use to nearby School, pre-school, and a Senior's Centre;

(iii) existing Pub already has an off-sales component;

(iv) other government liquor stores within 10 minute drive of the site; and

(v) noise, traffic, safety and influence on the children in the area.

Note: The neighbourhood notification letters were sent prior to Council's decision on Liquor Stores of April 8, 2003, and prior to the applicant declaring the proposal as a "beer only" facility.

POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMENTS

The Vancouver Police Department has reviewed this development application and has expressed no concerns.

CONCLUSION

The proposed development meets the technical requirements of the Zoning and Development By-law and the CD-1 By-law, but does not provide on-site loading facilities in close proximity to the proposed Liquor Store. Also the proposal does not meet the guidelines regarding separation from Schools and Parks, as recently adopted by City Council. The proposal has also generated significant concerns in the community. The Director of Planning is not inclined to support this proposal, but before making a final decision, is seeking any advice that Council may wish to provide.

 

LINK TO APPENDICES

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