ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 12, 2004
Author/Local: B. Boons/604-873-7678
RTS No.03897
CC File No.2604

Meeting: January 29, 2004

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

1641 Commercial Drive - Private Liquor Store

 

CONSIDERATION

OR

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 Speciality Wine Store guidelines and approves guidelines as outlined below as the basis for review of all Liquor Stores selling Aonly@ Beer or Aonly@ 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 Aonly@ 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 has generated a significant level of concern in the community. In addition, the proposal does not comply with the Aseparation@ criteria from other Liquor Stores, and has some challenges around providing on-site truck loading facilities.

The Director of Planning is not inclined to support this proposal, 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 private Liquor Store (Beer only).

SITE DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT

The Liquor Store is proposed for the southwest corner of Commercial Drive and Graveley Street (specific address would be 1605 Commercial Drive) which is part of the Il Mercato commercial property that covers most of this block, Graveley to First Avenue on the west side of Commercial Drive, and west along the north side of First Avenue. The site is zoned C-2C. This commercial development contains Retail, Office, and a Neighbourhood Public House use (Avanti=s Pub), and provides a total of 189 off-street parking spaces. The site and surrounding zoning are shown on the attached Appendix _A_.

Staff carried out a land use survey of the surrounding area, similar to that which would be done for a liquor licensed premises, as covered by Council Policy. The survey area contains a mix of commercial and residential uses. The closest Government Liquor Store is located at 1520 Commercial Drive, which is approximately half a block (75 metres) from this location.

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

The application seeks approval to change the use of approximately 66 square metres (710 sq.ft.) of the ground floor (1605 Commercial Drive) of this existing Commercial development on this site to provide for a new private Liquor Store (Beer only).

The applicant=s submission includes a declaration that the liquor store would be used for the sale of Abeer only@ and has indicated proposed hours of operation of the store to be 9:00 am to 11:00 pm, seven days per week. The applicant=s operational proposal is attached as Appendix _B_.

The applicant is the current operator of Avanti=s Neighbourhood Pub (1601 Commercial Drive), which currently has an Aoff-sales@ component, and which is located immediately adjacent to the proposed store.

The proposed Liquor Store has been assessed against the applicable provisions of the Zoning and Development By-law and the Parking By-law. Staff have also reviewed the application against the guidelines Council recently adopted for the review of these types of applications involving Liquor Stores selling Aonly@ beer or Aonly@ wine. The following summarizes the results of the review process:

Proximity to Other Uses - The proposed Liquor Store is within 150 metres (500 ft.) of another Liquor Store, (existing Government Liquor Store at 1520 Commercial Drive), but is not within 150 metres of any Schools or Parks. An existing Buddhist Temple is located just at the boundary of the 150 metres, at 1795 East 1st Avenue.

Parking/Loading Provisions - The proposed change of use does not increase the on-site parking requirement and the existing Il Mercato commercial development contains 189 off-street parking spaces. The applicant has secured from the landlord, access to four off-street spaces in close proximity to the proposed store that would be available for short-term parking for the liquor store.

Similarly, the change of use does not generate Aadditional@ loading requirements; however, as noted in the applicant=s operational description, the existing deliveries for the Pub result in trucks parking in the lane, or on Graveley Street, as the site does not have loading facilities that are convenient to the Pub/or proposed Liquor Store. This lack of on-site loading has been noted by the community as a concern with regard to expansion of the liquor deliveries associated with the new proposed store. Staff in Engineering Services have noted that no complaints have been received with regard to the present operation, but clearly it would be preferable if the site had adequate off-street loading facilities that would not result in large trucks blocking the lane or nearby streets.

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

Notification - As part of the review of this development application, 527 neighbouring property owners were notified of the proposal. The Director of Planning received 84 individual letters and two petitions in response. Of these, 66 individual letters expressed objections to the proposal, and 18 individual letters were in favour. One petition (containing 675 names) was opposed, and one petition (containing 136 names) was in favour. The notification area is included in the attached Appendix _A_ map.

A summary of the neighbourhood objections is as follows:

(i) concerns with the parking problems associated with the existing commercial development and the lack of available loading which causes trucks to block traffic on Graveley Street.

(ii) concerns expressed that the proposed use is not appropriate in this particular location, will add to security issues, and is a threat to families and children in the neighbourhood.

(iii) concerns about an increase in the availability of liquor products in this area.

Those in favour of the proposal expressed the following:

(i) The store would be a great convenience and a have a positive impact on the community.

(ii) The store would help to create much needed jobs in the community.

POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMENTS

The Vancouver Police Department has reviewed this application and has not expressed concerns.

CONCLUSION

While the proposed development may meet the technical requirements of the Zoning and Development By-law, the site has challenges as to it=s ability to provide adequate loading facilities, although the applicant has proposed a strategy for dealing with the loading operations. The proposal is also contrary to the guidelines on separation from other liquor stores, and has generated significant concerns in the community.

The Director of Planning is inclined to not support the proposal, but before making a final decision, is seeking any advice that Council may wish to provide.

APPENDICES

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