Vancouver City Council |
POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING
Date: August 27, 2003
Author/Local: BMcAfee/7699
RTS No. 03591
CC File No. 8106
Meeting Date: September 16, 2003
TO:
Vancouver City Council
FROM:
Director of Current Planning
SUBJECT:
Car Rental Operations on Granville Street in Downtown South
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the Director of Current Planning be instructed to make application to amend the Downtown District Official Development Plan to permit car rental operations in sub-areas K1, K2 and K3 (Granville Street - Downtown South), and that the application be referred to a Public Hearing, together with draft by-law amendments generally as outlined in Appendix A;
FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to prepare the necessary amending by-law generally in accordance with Appendix A.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
· Downtown District Official Development Plan, By-law No. 4192, approved November 4, 1975
· Granville Street (Downtown South) Guidelines, adopted July 30, 1991.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
This report assesses the merits of permitting car rental operations to locate on the Downtown South portion of Granville Street between Robson and Drake Streets and concludes that the Downtown Official Development Plan (DD ODP) should be amended to permit this use.
BACKGROUNDThe Planning Department was approached by a consultant on behalf of Hertz Rent a Car, advising that his client wishes to locate a car rental outlet within an existing building at 1278 Granville Street. The consultant correctly noted that a vehicle rental operation fits within the broader definition of Vehicle Dealer that is not permitted in the Downtown South portion of Granville Street. He asked if the Planning Department would consider a text amendment to the DD ODP to permit vehicle rental operations along this part of Granville Street. Staff agreed to review this request as it has been some time since the issue of Vehicle Dealer as a use in the DD ODP has been studied. As a result of this review, Staff are initiating a proposed text amendment.
DISCUSSION
Use Definition: Car rental operations are located in many of the city's commercial and retail districts to serve the local population and tourist trade. They are a retail use and fall under the definition of Vehicle Dealer in Section 2 of the Zoning and Development By-law. Vehicle Dealer is defined as "the use of premises for the sale or rental of motor vehicles, boats, or recreational trailers". Most car rental operations have a small storefront office and park the vehicles for rent on-site or at a nearby location.
Location: Car rental operations can be approved wherever Retail Use is permitted, unless otherwise restricted or prohibited. The street-front size and appearance is sometimes controlled by the application of adopted design guidelines applicable to retail uses.
In the Downtown District, retail is permitted in all sub-areas. In the Downtown South (sub-areas K1, K2, K3, L1, L2, M and N), retail is restricted by the type, size and location of specific retail uses. In the residential sub-areas of L1, L2, M, and N, retail is generally restricted by type and to corner locations with a maximum size of 2,500 sq. ft. (232 m²).
In sub-areas K1, K2 and K2 along Granville Street between Robson and Drake Streets, all retail uses are permitted with the exception of Vehicle Dealer which means a car rental operation cannot be approved.
Granville Street Retail Uses: In 1991, the Downtown District zoning was amended to stimulate the revitalization of Granville Street between Robson Street and the Granville Bridge, and to encourage the development of high density residential districts on either sideof Granville. In the residential neighbourhoods of Downtown South, retail was restricted in type, amount and location in order to permit small local serving retail operations, and to generally encourage the main retail, commercial and entertainment focus of the community to be Granville Street. All types of retail, with the exception of Vehicle Dealer, were permitted on Granville Street.
The concern at that time about Vehicle Dealer use was that existing vacant lots might be developed with parking lots or storage and display areas for motor vehicle sales which would take away from the intense retail focus of this part of Granville Street.
Consideration of Car Rental Operations: Since 1991, the residential portion of the community has increased dramatically. One of the goals of the zoning was to encourage less dependency on the car and hence a reduced parking standard was put in place in the residential areas. Many residents do not own a car, but would enjoy the convenience of being able to rent one close by on an occasional basis.
On Granville Street, many of the previously vacant lots which might have been developed with car sales lots have been developed with mixed-use buildings. In addition, several of the older hotels on this section of Granville have now become tourist hotels, which has created additional demand for car rental. Given these changes, staff believe it is appropriate to permit car rental operations to locate on this part of Granville Street.
Car rental operations are not considered appropriate in residential sub-areas L1, L2, M and N where retail use is limited in size and location (2,500 sq. ft. on corner sites) and scope to provide for the day-to-day shopping needs of the neighbourhood.
Retail Guidelines: The Granville Street (Downtown South) Guidelines state:
"Small, individual store frontages should be provided. The typical 25-foot retail bay should not be exceeded wherever possible to preserve the fine-grained, ground-level frontage that contributes to the sense of pedestrian comfort and variety. Where a large tenancy is planned, it is desirable to locate the majority of its area behind smaller frontages.".
If car rental operations are to be permitted on Granville Street, these would be in a retail configuration as outlined in the guidelines. A typical operation would have the rental office in a storefront within an enclosed building. The rear of the site might be used to store a few cars in the process of being rented or returned. Most of the parking or storage of the rental cars would occur underground. All vehicle storage on or off site would be required to be in spaces that are surplus to the Parking By-law requirements of other uses. This requirement may therefore restrict the potential number of car rental sites on Granville Street.
Recommended Amendment: Staff recommend that Vehicle Dealer use along this part of Granville Street be permitted, but restricted to car rental only, similar to the way this limitation on the use is listed in I-3 (high-tech) Industrial District, as outlined in Appendix A. Staff do not recommend including vehicle sales (new or used). Car sales involves car display, storage and customer testing and often includes vehicle repairs and body shop functions potentially resulting in increased noise levels that would impact the adjacent residential areas of Downtown South.
CONCLUSION
With the continuing growth of the residential and tourist population of Downtown South and demand for car rental, staff support the introduction of car rental operations along Granville Street between Robson and Drake Streets. The existing retail guidelines would control the size and appearance of these operations. Staff recommend that the Director of Current Planning be instructed to make application to amend the DD ODP to permit motor vehicle rental in sub-areas K1, K2 and K3, and that the application be referred to Public Hearing.
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APPENDIX A
DRAFT DOWNTOWN OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN BY-LAW PROVISIONS
Note: A By-law will be prepared generally in accordance with the provisions listed below, subject to change and refinement prior to posting.
[All additions are shown in bold italics.]
Section 1- Land Use
3.(d) Retail Uses, except that Vehicle Dealer be limited to the rental of motor vehicles
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