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REPORT TO COUNCIL STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
MAY 20, 2004 |
A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment was held on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 2:00 p.m., in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall.
PRESENT: |
Councillor Anne Roberts, Chair
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ABSENT: |
Mayor Larry Campbell (Leave of Absence)
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CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE: |
Judy Rogers, City Manager |
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE: |
Laura Kazakoff, Meeting Coordinator |
ADOPTION OF MINUTES
The Minutes of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment meeting of April 22, 2004, were adopted.
RECOMMENDATION
1. 4410 Ontario Street - Warning to Prospective Purchasers (File 2701)
The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated April 27, 2004, in which the City Building Inspector recommended Council direct a 336D Notice be filed against the title 4410 Ontario Street in order to warn prospective purchasers of By-law violations, and further recommended the Director of Legal Services be authorized to commence legal actions at her discretion. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval.
Peter Sweeney, Manager, Building Inspection, and Frank Durante, District Building Inspector, with the aid of photographs, reviewed the Administrative Report and provided an overview of the work which has been carried out on this building without the required permits.
Ian Barron spoke in opposition to the staff recommendations and noted he was speaking on behalf of the owner of this house. He noted that when the current owner purchased the house it was divided into three living spaces, and the listing at that time stated they were all legal dwelling units. He further noted the house currently has three kitchens, not five as it states in the realty listing. Mr. Barron advised the owner is requesting this matter be postponed to provide time to research the background of this building and to work with the City in bringing the building into compliance with City by-laws.
Mr. Sweeney responded to a question concerning the last time this house was inspected.
MOVED by Councillor Louie
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
A. THAT the City Clerk be directed to file a 336D Notice against the title to 4410 Ontario Street (Lot 2, Block 10, District Lot 632 W Hlf, Plan 476) in order to warn prospective purchasers that there are contraventions of the Zoning and Development, Vancouver Building and Electrical By-laws related to this building.
B. THAT the Director of Legal Services is hereby authorized, in her discretion, to commence a legal action or proceeding in relation to the premises located at 4410 Ontario Street and may, in her discretion, seek injunctive relief in that action or proceeding, in order to bring this building into compliance with City By-laws.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
2. 3975 Glendale Street - Warning to Prospective Purchasers (File 2701)
The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated April 28, 2004, in which the City Building Inspector recommended Council direct a 336D Notice be filed against the title to the property at 3975 Glendale Street to warn prospective purchasers that this building had been used twice as a marijuana grow operation and there are contraventions of the Vancouver Building and Electrical By-laws. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval.
Peter Sweeney, Manager, Building Inspection, with the aid of photographs, provided an overview of the report.
MOVED by Councillor Louie
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
THAT the City Clerk be directed to file a 336D Notice against the title to the property at 3975 Glendale Street (Lot 12 of 2, Block A, District Lot Sec 51 N E Qtr THSL Plan 1722, PID 014-371-227) in order to warn prospective purchasers that this building has been used as an illegal marijuana grow operation on two occasions and there are contraventions of the Vancouver Building and Electrical By-laws related to this unapproved use.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
3. 3247 Austrey Avenue - Warning to Prospective Purchasers (File 2701)
The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated April 23, 2004, in which the City Building Inspector recommended Council direct a 336D Notice be filed against the title to the property at 3247 Austrey Avenue to warn prospective purchasers that this building had been used twice as a marijuana grow operation and there are contraventions of the Vancouver Building and Electrical By-laws. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval.
Peter Sweeney, with the aid of photographs, reviewed the report, and noted that the property is now up for sale.
MOVED by Councillor Louie
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
THAT the City Clerk be directed to file a 336D Notice against the title to the property at 3247 Austrey Avenue (Amended Lot 38, Blocks 78, 81, 82, and 85, District Lot 37, Plan 1889 , PID 014-240-513) in order to warn prospective purchasers that this building has been used as an illegal marijuana grow operation on two occasions and there are contraventions of the Vancouver Building and Electrical By-laws related to this unapproved use.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
4. 2434 Main Street - Guys & Dolls Billards Ltd.
Application for Liquor Primary License - Billiard Hall (File 2612-1)
Vancouver City Council on February 26, 2004, postponed decision on this matter to provide time for staff to report back on issues pertaining to this application.
Accordingly, the Committee had before it the Administrative Report dated October 28, 2003, in which the Chief License Inspector recommended Council advise the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch it does not endorse the application by Guys and Dolls Billiards Ltd. for a Liquor Primary License (Billiard Hall & Arcade) at 2434 Main Street. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval of the staff recommendation.
Guy Gusdal, License Coordinator, reviewed recent Council decisions and advice in regard to this application. He advised that staff now recommend Council advise the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch it is postponing its decision on this application until the completion of policy work for alcohol service in conjunction with Billiard Halls. This will put the application on hold at the Branch, rather than being refused outright.
The following people spoke in opposition to the recommended deferral of this matter, and expressed support for Council endorsing the application by Guys & Dolls Billiards:
Jonathan Baker, Baker Corson & Baker (brief filed)
Antonio Gomes, Owner, Guys and Dolls Billiards
Sid Tan
George Skrivanos
Mike Wolf
Christina Bellis
Nick Beretanos
Comments provided by the foregoing speakers are summarized below:
· this matter has been delayed long enough; recommend Council make a decision and endorse the application;
· the Province has set statutory criteria, all of which are met by the applicant; the City recommendation is not responsive to this criteria;
· staff's concerns, e.g. in regard to setting a precedent, enforcement, additional street noise, are unfounded;
· the staff report incorrectly analyses the results of the neighbourhood survey; this application has the support of neighbouring business owners and the neighbourhood BIA;
· Guys & Dolls has lost many customers to establishments which defy smoking by-laws and sell liquor illegally; many bars have small billiard rooms - do not understand why they can sell alcohol and we cannot;
· pool players wish to be able to play in a semi-competitive environment, while being able to enjoy a glass of beer or wine; prefer being able to do this in an establishment where the emphasis is on playing pool rather than drinking alcohol;
· Guys & Dolls is a very good neighbour and there have been no problems caused by patrons under the current ownership; and
· the LCLB has the resources to deal with enforcement, therefore concerns in regard to this application being the first of its kind are unfounded.
Mr. Gusdal and Paul Teichroeb, Chief License Inspector, responded to questions regarding the possible timeline for the processing of this application should Council defer its decision, Good Neighbourhood Agreements and business licenses, possible hours of operation, and operating hours of adjacent licensed establishments. Staff also responded to questions concerning the precedent setting nature of this application and possible enforcement measures which would be in place.
MOVED by Councillor Cadman
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
THAT Council advise the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch that it is postponing its decision on the application by Guys and Dolls Ltd. for a 93 seat Liquor Primary License (Billiard Hall/Arcade) at 2434 Main Street pending the completion of policy work for alcohol service and consumption in conjunction with Billiard Halls.
CARRIED
(Councillors Bass and Green opposed)
5. 965 Granville Street - Luv-A-Fair Entertainment Inc.
Liquor Primary License (Neighbourhood Pub) (File 2611)
This item was withdrawn and will be rescheduled to a future meeting.
6. Downtown District Interim Policies for Residential (File 8100)
The Committee had before it a Policy Report dated April 19, 2004, in which the Director of Current Planning, in consultation with the Director of City Plans, recommended the adoption of Interim Policies to prevent major residential development from displacing commercial capacity in the Central Business District (CBD) and adjacent area designated for CBD expansion, pending a long term land use review in these areas.
Also before the Committee was a memorandum dated May 19, 2004, from the Planning Department, which corrected a minor omission in Appendix A of the above-noted report.
Trish French, Senior Planner, Community Plans Branch, with the aid of an overhead presentation, provided an overview of the report and drew attention to the memorandum which was distributed to Council this day.
Ms. French, along with Larry Beasley, Director of Current Planning, responded to questions concerning area boundaries, clarification regarding the 20-year supply of office space criteria, the feasibility of considering applications for multi-use developments with a certain ratio of residential component, and whether any other municipality has a policy of this nature.
The following spoke in support of staff's recommendations and a summary of their comments is provided below:
Bernie Magnan, Vice-Chair, Community Affairs Committee,
Vancouver Board of Trade (brief filed)
Bill Rempel, Secretary Treasurer,
Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association
· a strong job producing economy is vital to ensure the future of the Central Business District;
· office jobs must be retained in the downtown core;
· once commercial space is rezoned to residential, it would be almost impossible to convert it back to commercial;
· Vancouver warrants a longer planning horizon than 20 years;
· allowing the conversion of major office buildings in the downtown core to residential would have adverse affects; and
· a more equitable property tax allocation between commercial and residential must be developed.
Staff were requested to report back on the implications of allowing consideration during the interim policy period, in Areas C Central and F, of rezonings that provided the complete commercial component (i.e. 5 FSR or 7 FSR), together with residential beyond that.
MOVED by Councillor Bass
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
A. THAT Council adopt the Downtown District: Interim Policies for New Residential in areas C and F; and for Conversion of Existing Office Space to Residential as contained in Appendix A, as revised according to the memorandum dated May 19, 2004, from Trish French, Senior Planner, Planning Department, attached to the Policy Report dated April 19, 2004, entitled "Downtown District Interim Policies for Residential" to guide the Director of Planning in consideration of development applications and rezoning inquiries.
B. THAT Council instruct the Director of Current Planning to report back with terms of reference, work program, schedule and resource needs for a study to determine the long term land use future of the Central Business District, as described in the Policy Report dated April 19, 2004, entitled "Downtown District Interim Policies for Residential".
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
7. Request for Approval and Reimbursement to Attend Course (File 3105-1)
The Committee had before it a Report to Council dated May 18, 2004, from the Vancouver Heritage Commission, which recommended that Council approve the attendance and reimbursement of seven Vancouver Heritage Commission members to attend a course regarding Statements of Significance for a total reimbursement of $1,365.
The City Manager provided comments regarding the City Clerk's Operating Budget and monies allotted to cover course reimbursements for advisory committee members. The City Manager recommended Council approve the reimbursement of two Commission members to attend the requested course.
Scott Barrett, Vice-Chair, Heritage Commission, reviewed the report and noted that Statements of Significance have become a foundation for heritage conservation and understanding how they work is now fundamental to understanding heritage concerns in the city. Mr. Barrett advised it is very important that as many Heritage Commission members as possible attend the course. He further noted that additional money should be provided into the budget for advisory committee members to attend courses.
Judy Rogers, City Manager, responded to questions concerning the precedent setting nature of approving this request, the current policy in regard to advisory committee members' attendance at courses and the recent advisory body review.
MOVED by Councillor Louie
THAT the Committee recommend to Council
THAT Council approve the attendance and reimbursement of two Vancouver Heritage Commission members to attend the course being offered by the City Program of Simon Fraser University on June 3, 2004, regarding the Use of Statements of Significance for the Conservation of Cultural Landscapes and Historic Districts for a total reimbursement of $390. Source of funds to be City Clerk's Department 2004 Operating Budget.
carried unanimously
AMENDMENT MOVED by Councillor Green
THAT the motion be amended to change the word "two" to "seven".
LOST
(Councillors Bass, Cadman, Ladner, Louie, Louis, Roberts, Sullivan and Woodsworth opposed)
AMENDMENT MOVED by Councillor Green
THAT the following be added to the end of the motion:
"AND FURTHER THAT the City Manager provide an information memo reviewing the current policy in terms of the amount of money which is allocated for funding for advisory committee members to attend courses."
LOST
(Councillors Cadman, Ladner, Louis, Roberts and Sullivan opposed)
The amendments to the motion having LOST, the motion was put and CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The Committee adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
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