CITY OF VANCOUVER

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

 

Report Date:

March 29, 2005

 

Author:

Lynda Challis

 

Phone No.:

604.873.7135

 

RTS No.:

04988

 

CC File No.:

5303

 

Meeting Date:

April 12, 2005

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning, in consultation with Director of City Plans

SUBJECT:

CD-1 Text Amendment - 2820 Bentall Street (Canadian Tire)

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A, B and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

Relevant Council policies for this site include:

· In March 1995, Council adopted the Industrial Lands Policies intended to retain most of the City's existing industrial land for industrial and city-serving activities. Council requested staff to investigate mixed retail /industrial zones along limited areas of Grandview Highway and Marine Drive.

· In June 1995, Council adopted CityPlan which provides for the development and reinforcing of neighbourhood centres, a diverse economy, and jobs close to home.

· In July 1998, Council adopted the Kensington Cedar Cottage (KCC) Community Vision which calls for no additional big box stores in KCC or close enough to threaten the economic health of local shopping areas.

· In July 1999, Council adopted Highway Oriented Retail: Interim Rezoning Policies and Guidelines: Grandview/Boundary Industrial Area;

· In July 2002, Council repealed the interim policies and adopted the Grandview Boundary Industrial Area Plan and the Grandview Boundary Industrial Area (GBIA) Rezoning and Development Policies and Guidelines.

· In March 2004, Council adopted the Hastings Sunrise and Renfrew Collingwood Community Visions which specify that big box stores selling groceries, clothing and other daily needs should not be located where they will harm the economic health of local shopping areas.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report assesses an application to permit highway oriented retail uses on the site shown on the map below.

Map 1: Site and Surrounding Zoning

The application generally conforms to Council's HOR policies and guidelines for Grandview Highway; although it proposes additional retail floor area and height to off-set the dedication of land and other associated costs for extending Cornett Road along the north side of the site and daylighting Still Creek. Because the proposal includes the sale of food and clothing, a retail impact study was undertaken, as required by the HOR policy, to assess the potential impacts on neighbourhood shopping areas. The consultant's study found that clothing sales impacts on neighbourhood shopping areas within the trade area would be insignificant. Food sales impacts would also be minimal, except for the Rupert Street and 22nd Avenue shopping area where the impact would be temporary and should disappear entirely within two or three years. Since the retail impact study concluded that impacts on nearby neighbourhood shopping areas would likely be insignificant, the Director of Current Planning concludes that there is no technical basis for not referring the application to a Public Hearing.

Although the proposed grocery store would not harm neighbourhood shopping areas, it will absorb about fifty percent of the space warranted by the trade area. Therefore, if this application is approved, staff recommend that the GBIA rezoning policies be amended to no longer consider grocery store as a use in the HOR area.

Staff recommend that the application be referred to a Public Hearing, with a recommendation that it be approved along with a new CD-1 By-law for this site, subject to conditions. Consequential amendments are also proposed for the Sign By-law, the existing CD-1 By-law to delete the subject site and the Zoning and Development By-law to establish landscape setback requirements.

DISCUSSION

Background: In July 1999, Council adopted interim policies and guidelines for sites along the Grandview Highway frontage between Renfrew Street and Boundary Road to allow for highway oriented (large scale) retail uses. In July 2002, Council replaced the interim policies and guidelines with the Grandview Boundary Industrial Area: Plan and Rezoning and Development Policies and Guidelines. The rezoning application is for the first HOR development along Grandview Highway that proposes new construction. Previous applications in this area have been to regularize unauthorized retail uses in existing buildings (i.e., Danier, Petcetera).

Use: The application proposes retail and service uses, including automotive services. The principal retail occupant would be a Canadian Tire store. Other potential tenants include a Marks Work Wearhouse, a Save On Foods grocery store (supermarket) and a restaurant. The proposed retail uses all exceed the minimum store size (929 m² [10,000 sq. ft.]) required by the HOR rezoning policy for the Grandview Boundary Industrial Area (GBIA).

Retail Impact Study: The retail uses include clothing and food sales and the GBIA policies require a retail study to determine the impact of these two types of sales on existing and future clothing and food retailing in neighbourhood shopping areas and shopping centres within the development's trade area.

A retail impact study was undertaken by a team of consultants retained and managed by the City but paid for by the applicant (see Appendix G - Executive Summary). The study identified the trade area for the proposed development as extending between Clark Drive (to the west), Kingsway (to the south), Willingdon Street (to the east in Burnaby) and the waterfront (to the north) (see map in Appendix F). The trade area includes six neighbourhood shopping areas and three smaller shopping areas (mini-nodes) that are identified in Community Visions, and established neighbourhood shopping areas along Commercial Drive. The study found that the impact of clothing-related sales on neighbourhood shopping areas in the trade area would be minimal due to the planned closure of an existing Marks store and the existing competition from nearby department stores and general merchandise outlets (e.g. The Bay, Zellars and Sears at Metrotown and Brentwood, as well as the Costco on Grandview Highway). The study also concluded that the impact of food-related sales (i.e., grocery store) would not be great enough to harm the viability of other food stores, with the possible exception of food stores in the Rupert and 22nd shopping area. This shopping area is vulnerable to increased levels of competition due to a combination of factors including its proximity to the site, its small size, its merchandising mix and the lack of a non-food chain-affiliated anchor tenant (bank, liquor store, or drug store). Despite these disadvantages, the study expects the impact to be temporary, disappearing entirely within two or three years due to population growth and increased spending on food.

The retail study also concluded that the amount of supermarket space warranted in the trade area would increase to 7 620 m² (82,000 sq. ft.) by the year 2021 and, based on the typical size of major chain-affiliated supermarkets (1 860 m²-3 720 m² [20,000-40,000 sq. ft.]), the trade area could support two or three new supermarkets by 2021. The study also notes that recently some supermarket chains have introduced smaller store sizes (930 m²-1 395 m² [10,000-15,000 sq. ft.]) and based on this format, the trade area could support three or four new stores in addition to the grocery store proposed in this application by 2021.

Staff note that Council approved Community Visions for Renfrew Collingwood and Hastings-Sunrise identify a need for a future grocery store in three neighbourhood shopping areas. Furthermore, developments proposed for neighbourhood shopping areas at Kingsway and Knight and Kingsway and Nanaimo both may include a supermarket. To help foster the location of future supermarkets in neighbourhood shopping areas, if Council approves the subject rezoning, staff recommend that no further proposals for grocery stores be considered in the Grandview Boundary HOR area, and that the HOR policy be amended accordingly.

Density: The GBIA policies recommend an overall maximum density of 3.00 FSR for mixed use development which includes a maximum density of 0.60 floor space ratio (FSR) for highway oriented retail use and up to 2.40 FSR for industrial and some service type uses. The application proposes an overall density of 1.60 FSR (including the parking structure) and a density of 0.75 FSR for the highway oriented retail uses. The increase in retail density is proposed to compensate for the dedication of land and costs of extending Cornett Road and daylighting Still Creek. Staff support the additional density which will help achieve the important public benefit of daylighting Still Creek (see further discussion under Still Creek).

The retail floor area of each retail unit exceeds the minimum store size of 929 m² (10,000 sq. ft.) as required by the GBIA policies and will be controlled as a condition of the use in the CD-1 by-law (Appendix A).

Height: The GBIA policies and guidelines recommend a maximum height of 12.2 m (40 ft.) for stand-alone retail development and up to 18.3 m (60 ft.) for mixed-use projects where increased height assists in providing usable public open space at grade and residential views are not impacted. The proposed development ranges in height from 9.2 m (30 ft.) at the southeast corner to 18.0 m (59 ft.) above the mezzanine of the Canadian Tire store. The only portion of the development that exceeds the maximum height limit of 18.3 m (60 ft.) is a 20.0 m (66 ft.) portion on the north side of the Canadian Tire store. Staff support the proposed height due to site characteristics (steep slope of approximately 6.0 m [20 ft.] of crossfall and flood plain elevation) and the public benefits of a roadway and a daylighted creek. Furthermore, the increased height will not impact residential views and shadow studies indicate that impacts on the daylighted creek would be minimal. The form of development, as approved by Council, will control the height distribution and ensure that the additional height is limited to this higher portion.

The policy also limits building height to 9.2 m (30 ft.) within a depth of 9.2 m (30 ft.) from the required landscape setback along Grandview Highway. The east portion of the frontage which is closest to neighbouring one-family dwellings does not exceed 9.2 m (30 ft.). The development increases in height on the west portion of the frontage and near the southwest corner a portion of the grocery store roof rises to 13.8 m (45 ft.). Staff support the height increase along the frontage which is largely an outcome of shifting the development forward to accommodate the daylighting of the creek.

Landscape Setbacks: The Zoning and Development By-law requires a landscape setback of 12.1 m (40 ft.) for properties fronting on Grandview Highway. This requirement is confirmed in the GBIA policies and guidelines to provide a gateway to the city. The application initially provided the required landscape setback but at that time was not proposing to daylight Still Creek. In the current proposal, the landscape setback along Grandview Highway has been reduced to 9.0 m (30 ft.). The applicant reduced both the parking area and the landscape setback in order to increase the amount of land dedicated for daylighting the creek and providing a related pedestrian pathway. Staff support the reduced landscape setback along this portion of Grandview Highway because the site is located mid-way between a residential zone with a front yard setback of 7.3 m (24 ft.) and industrial property with a setback requirement of 12.1 m (40 ft.), so the reduced setback will not appear as an anomaly.

The GBIA policies also recommend a 3.6 m (12 ft.) landscape setback along Bentall Street and the north-south Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Street). The proposal includes these setbacks and in addition provides a 3.6 m (12 ft.) landscape setback along the Cornett Road extension. Staff recommend amendments to Schedule C of the Zoning and Development By-law to reduce the required landscape setback requirement along this portion of Grandview Highway and add the proposed setbacks along Bentall Street and Cornett Road (Natal Street) (see Appendix D).

Form of Development: The application proposes a site plan that places the commercial buildings along the south side of the site (Grandview Highway) and along the north side of the site (Cornett Road extension) with a two-level parking structure in the centre. Pedestrian and vehicle circulation is focussed internally, as are the site's loading facilities. Landscaped setbacks are provided along each side of the site with a Still Creek inspired landscape feature, pathways and a pedestrian foot bridge along the Grandview edge. A bike plaza is proposed at the northeast corner of the site.

The GBIA policies and guidelines encourage development that improves and enhances the public realm through high quality architectural building expression, careful site planning, public and private landscaping, and appropriate vehicular and pedestrian circulation. The Urban Design Panel supports the proposed use and density and recommends improvements to the form of development that are reflected in the following proposed conditions of design development:

The proposed design development conditions will help ensure that the proposal achieves the objectives of the GBIA policies and guidelines.

Still Creek: Council has a policy, dating from 1990, to enhance and daylight culverted sections of Still Creek and to provide a pedestrian greenway along the edge of the Creek linking the 29th Avenue Skytrain station with Burnaby. In 2002, Council adopted more comprehensive guidelines and a Creek enhancement action plan. The proposed daylighting of Still Creek is a long-term action recommended in the plan and considered impractical until adjacent sites are redeveloped. This development will allow the daylighting of this section to occur 10-50 years before it was anticipated in the plan and permit the daylighted section to be widened when the adjacent site to the north redevelops. Currently, Still Creek runs through twin culverts located in the property north of this site. As a condition of rezoning, the developer would dedicate the required right of way and pay to daylight the creek between Cornett Road (Natal Street) and Bentall Street (see Appendix E).

The GBIA policies and guidelines also advise that all new development should maximize the infiltration of stormwater and delay its release into the stormwater system and Still Creek. Various approaches are suggested for reducing runoff, such as permeable surfaces, stormwater storage ponds, ditches or swales for carrying water, green roofs and grey water recycling. The applicant would incorporate some of theses approaches into the proposal as required by the proposed conditions of approval.

Traffic and Parking: The GBIA plan notes the absence of a direct access to Rupert Street and the Skytrain Station. Currently, the area's internal circulation is poor and focuses additional traffic at various Grandview Highway intersections. For these reasons, the plan proposes the extension of Cornett Road through to Rupert Street. Land was dedicated for extending Cornett as a condition of rezoning the site at Grandview and Rupert Streets (Petcetera). As a condition of the rezoning proposed for 2820 Bentall Street, the developer would dedicate a road right of way and pay for the costs of constructing the new road between Bentall Street and Cornett Road (Natal Street) (see Appendix E). The remaining section of the road (between Bentall Street and Rupert Street) would be acquired through future rezoning of the sites west of Bentall Street.

Map 2: Cornett Road Extension Proposed in Grandview Boundary Industrial Area Plan

The GBIA policies and guidelines stipulate that a Parking and Traffic Study should accompany a rezoning application for HOR. The study submitted with this application concluded that, without improvement of access at the Grandview/Cornett intersection, retail use of the site would impact the intersection of Grandview Highway and Skeena Street, pushing it beyond its capacity to handle both the present Costco and future Canadian Tire volumes. Mitigation measures should include an eastbound left-turn lane on Grandview Highway at Cornett, as well as a new traffic signal with a protected eastbound left-turn phase. These improvements are recommended by the General Manager of Engineering Services as a prior to enactment condition (see Appendix E).

The application proposes 472 parking spaces. The GBIA policies and guidelines recommend that retail parking requirements should be based on the Parking By-law requirements for grocery stores, although a lower requirement may also be considered. The grocery store parking standard would require 655 parking spaces; however, the General Manager of Engineering Services supports the proposed parking and recommends that the higher parking requirement only apply to the proposed grocery store and that the applicant provide a Transportation Management Plan to encourage employees and customers to travel by means other than the private automobile. Planning staff also support the proposed parking because the reduced parking area helps contribute to the land area required for the Creek and the development would be located in close proximity to a rapid transit station providing an alternative means of transportation to the site. Therefore, parking demand is expected to be reduced.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications.

CONCLUSION

Staff support the proposed rezoning which generally meets the criteria for rezoning sites to CD-1 for highway oriented retail use. In addition, the proposal will help improve the area's vehicular and pedestrian routes and provide a significant contribution to enhancing Still Creek. The Director of Current Planning recommends that the application along with the consequential amendments be referred to a Public Hearing and be approved, subject to the proposed conditions of approval. Subject to approval of the rezoning, the Director of Current Planning also recommends amendments to reduce the required landscape setback along Grandview Highway for this site, to require landscape setbacks along Bentall Street and Cornett Road (Natal Street), and revisions to the GBIA's policies and guidelines to no longer consider food store.

LINK TO APPENDIX E (2 PAGES OF MAPS)

LINK TO APPENDIX H

- - - - -

APPENDIX A
 

DRAFT CD-1 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.

Use

Condition of Use

Density

Height

Parking and Loading

APPENDIX B


DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO SIGN BY-LAW NO. 6510

Note: An amending by-law will be prepared generally in accordance with the provisions listed below, subject to change and refinement prior to posting.

Schedule E

· amend Schedule E by adding 2820 Bentall Street and assigning regulation in accordance with Schedule B (M-2)

APPENDIX C
 

DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO CD-1 BY-LAW NO. 6654

Note: An amending by-law will be prepared generally in accordance with the provisions listed below, subject to change and refinement prior to posting.

Schedule A

· amend the location of the heavy black line to delete 2820 Bentall Street (Lot 2, Sect. 38, Town of Hastings Suburban Lands, Plan 16416, N.W.D.)

APPENDIX D
 

DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO SCHEDULE C OF ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT BY-LAW NO. 3575 - LANDSCAPE SETBACKS

Note: An amending by-law will be prepared generally in accordance with the provisions listed below, subject to change and refinement prior to posting.

Schedule C

· add "Bentall Street, east side, from Grandview Highway to Cornett Road extension" to column titled Street, Lane or Other Area and "3.6 m" to column titled Depth of Setback.

· add "Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Street), west side, from Grandview Highway to Cornett Road extension" to column titled Street, Lane or Other Area and "3.6 m" to column titled Depth of Setback

· delete "Grandview Highway, north side, from Renfrew Street to Boundary Road" in column titled Street, Lane or Other Area and "12.1 m" in column titled Depth of Setback and replace with the following in column titled Street, Lane or Other Area:

"Grandview Highway, north side, from:
Renfrew Street to Bentall Street
Bentall Street to Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Street)
Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Road) to Boundary Road"

and the following in column titled Depth of Setback:

" 12.1 m
9.0 m
12.1 m"

APPENDIX E
 

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL

Note: Recommended approved conditions will be prepared generally in accordance with the draft conditions listed below, subject to change and refinement prior to finalization of the agenda for the Public Hearing.

(a) That the proposed form of development be approved by Council in principle, generally as prepared by Kasian Architecture, Interior Design and Planning, and stamped "Received City Planning Department", April 6, 2004, July 28, 2004 and August 17, 2004, provided that the Director of Planning may allow minor alterations to this form of development when approving the detailed scheme of development as outlined in (b) below.

(b) That, prior to approval by Council of the form of development, the applicant shall obtain approval of a development application by the Director of Planning, who shall have particular regard to the following:

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

(vi) design development to properly screen loading activities and utility functions;

LANDSCAPE

GREENWAYS

(xxiii) design development to include and/or consider:

AGREEMENTS

(c) That, prior to enactment of the CD-1 By-law, the registered owner shall, at no cost to the City:

Where the Director of Legal Services deems appropriate, the preceding agreements are to be drawn, not only as personal covenants of the property owner, but also as Covenants pursuant to Section 219 of the Land Title Act.

Such agreements are to be registered in the appropriate Land Title Office, with priority over such other liens, charges and encumbrances effecting the subject site, as is considered advisable by the Director of Legal Services, and otherwise to the satisfaction of the Director of Leal Services prior to enactment of the by-law; provided, however, the Director of Legal Services may, in her sole discretion and on terms she considers advisable, accept tendering of the preceding agreements for registration in the appropriate Land Title Office, to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services, prior to enactment of the by-law

The preceding agreements shall provide security to the City including indemnities, warranties, equitable charges, letters of credit and withholding of permits, as deemed necessary by and in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services.

The timing of all required payments shall be determined by the appropriate City official having responsibility for each particular agreement, who may consult other City officials and City Council.

2 pages of maps following Appendix E

APPENDIX F
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Site, Surrounding Zoning and Development: This 23 107 m² (248,730 sq. ft.) site is comprised of one parcel with a frontage of 102.6 m (335 ft.) along the north side of Grandview Highway. The site has a 6.0 m (almost 20 ft.) change in elevation along the Grandview Highway frontage and the southern portion of Cornett Road and it is presently developed with a one-storey, 14 505 m² (156,150 sq. ft.) building which has been occupied by warehouse/office uses.

North and west of the site is zoned CD-1 (Still Creek/Industrial) and is occupied primarily by warehouse/office uses. East of the site is zoned I-2 (Industrial) also with warehouse and office uses, except along Grandview Highway which is zoned RT-2 (Two-family Dwelling) and includes one-family dwellings. South of the site is Falaise Park which is zoned RS-1 (One-family Dwelling).

Proposed Development: The application proposes a mixed use development which would contain retail and service uses, including a 10 631 m² (114,435 sq. ft.) Canadian Tire Store, a 3970 m² (42,760 sq. ft.) Save On Foods grocery store, a 945 m² (10,170 sq. ft.) Marks Work Wearhouse store, 1 660 m² (17,845 sq. ft.) of other retail space, and 1120 m² (12,040 sq. ft.) of restaurant and automotive service. The 2-storey Canadian Tire store and Marks Work Wearhouse would be located at the north end of the site; the grocery store would be located at the lower level along Grandview Highway. Located at the upper level along Grandview Highway would be a restaurant and a retail unit. In the centre of the site, linking the buildings would be a 2-storey parking structure for 472 vehicles. Vehicle access to the site occurs from Bentall Street and from Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Street).

At the north end of the site, 3 150 m² (33,920 sq. ft.) of land would be dedicated for the purpose of extending Cornett Road (east-west) and daylighting a section of Still Creek. A small plaza (bike hub) is also proposed at the northeast corner and landscaping would be provided around the edges of the site.

Retail Impact Study: In accordance with the HOR rezoning policies, the applicant paid for a retail impact study which was directed and managed by City staff. In December 2004, the City hired a consultant team to undertake the study based on terms of reference developed by staff. The consultant team consisted of Lewis Silberberg (Commercial Marketing) and Paul Ardagh (Development Consulting Group) and Peter Joyce (Bunt and Associates Engineering Ltd.).

(a) Methodology

The consultants' methodology utilized both quantitative and qualitative analyses to assess potential impacts on neighbourhood shopping area. Their research included
· a license plate survey to determine the trade area for competing supermarkets;
· a full inventory of all stores in neighbourhood shopping areas in the trade area; and
· quantitative analyses of retail supply and demand for stores selling food and clothing.

(b) Analysis

A license plate survey was conducted at eleven supermarkets to determine the trade area for each store. The results indicated that the trade area for a new grocery store on the subject site would extend from Burrard Inlet in the north to Kingsway in the south and from Willingdon in the east to Clark Drive in the west.

Map 3: Trade Area of Proposed Retail Development



An inventory was taken of sixteen neighbourhood shopping areas located in the general vicinity of the site and found five supermarkets (23 875 m² [257,000 sq. ft.]), 23 130 m² (249,000 sq. ft.) of other food store space, and 9 290 m² (100,000 sq. ft.) of clothing store space.

The analysis of supply and demand determined that the amount of new supermarket space warranted in the trade area is projected to increase from 4 460 m² (48,000 sq. ft.) in 2006 to 7 620 m² (82,000 sq. ft.) in 2021.

The consultants also observed that

· historically, most of the major chain-affiliated supermarkets in the Vancouver Region have ranged in size between 1 860 m²-3 720 m² (20,000-40,000 sq. ft.) and based on this store size, the market analysis indicates that the trade area could support the proposed 3 995 m² (43,000 sq. ft.) Save On Foods store plus one or two additional supermarkets by 2021;
· during the past few years, supermarket chains have been expanding with smaller size stores, typically in the 929 m²-1 395 m² (10,000-15,000 sq. ft.) range, and the results of the market analysis indicates that the trade area could support a large grocery store on this site plus three-four additional smaller format supermarkets by 2021;
· the impact of the new store will be felt primarily by seventeen supermarkets within 5 km of the site, but the impacts will not be significant and will be of short duration;
· of the neighbourhood shopping areas, Rupert and 22nd will be most vulnerable to increased levels of competition due to its proximity to the subject site, its small size (20 businesses), its merchandising mix and lack of a non-food, chain-affiliated anchor tenant (e.g. bank or credit union, government liquor store, video rental store or drug store). Despite these disadvantages, the impact will be temporary and should disappear within two to three years because of population growth and increased per capita food store expenditures.
· there is capacity for 3 250 m² (35,000 sq. ft.) of new clothing store space warranted in the trade area up to 2006 and a total of 4 645 m² (50,000 sq. ft.) of new clothing store space warranted in the trade area up to 2021.
· the proposal's impact on clothing sales will be insignificant, due to the pending closure of the existing Marks Work Wearhouse store (on Hastings Street) and the existing competition from department stores and general merchandise outlets (e.g. The Bay, Zellars and Sears at Metrotown and Brentwood and the Costco on Grandview Highway).

The consultant's executive summary is attached as Appendix G. The full impact study is on file in the Planning Department.

Based on the consultants' conclusions that allowing food sales (grocery store) and clothing sales on the site will not significantly impact neighbourhood shopping areas, staff recommends permitting these uses. In recognition of Community Vision directions which identify a need for grocery stores in neighbourhood shopping areas and the consultants conclusion that the trade area can support a limited number of new grocery stores, staff recommend that the GBIA rezoning policies be amended to remove grocery store as a potential use on other sites in the HOR area.

Public Input: A notification letter was sent to 187 nearby property owners and 16 local community groups on September 20, 2004 and rezoning information signs were posted on the site on September 16, 2004. Two phone calls requested additional information and one letter of support were received for neighbouring property owners. A public open house on October 5, 2004 was attended by 15 local residents and business owners/operators and 6 comment forms were submitted in support of the proposal.

A letter was also received from the owners of the property to the north supporting the proposal if their interests were addressed (securing on-going access to their site and resolving issues related to daylighting Still Creek). Staff and the applicant have been meeting with the property owners to ensure that their concerns are dealt with in a satisfactory manner.

Public Art: The City's Public Art Program requires all major new private developments seeking a rezoning from industrial to commercial/residential use where the increase in FSR is 15 000 m² (161,463 sq. ft.) or greater to allocate funds to public art to be sited in publicly accessible areas. The value of the public art based on a formula of $10.23 per m² ($0.95 per sq. ft.) of area contributing to the total FSR (floor space ratio). Based on the information provided in the application dated July 28, 2004, the public art budget would therefore be $378,472.14.

Comments of the General Manager of Engineering Services: The General Manager of Engineering Services has no objection to the proposed rezoning, provided that the applicant complies with conditions as shown in Appendix B.

Urban Design Panel Comments: The Urban Design Panel reviewed this proposal on August 4, 2004 and provided the following commentary:

Environmental Implications: The proposal includes daylighting of Still Creek which is part of the region's stormwater system and one of Vancouver's last remaining urban streams. Besides providing a public amenity and recreation space, the daylighting will also improve the Creek's ecology. Furthermore, the proposal will be including sustainability features, such as on-site water storage and treatment to reduce stormwater run-off into the Creek, swales to carry surface runoff, and clerestory windows to provide natural lighting to the upper level retail units. Conditions are also proposed to ensure that sustainable features are incorporated into the development (Appendix C).

Social Implications: There are no major positive or negative social implications to this proposal. There are no implications with respect to the Vancouver Children's Policy or Statement of Children's Entitlements.

Comments of the Applicant: The applicant has been provided with a copy of this report and has provided the following comments:

"We have reviewed the report and are in agreement with the recommendations.

The applicant team has spent over a year working with staff and the advisory design panel to develop the highest and best use for the Grandview Boundary HOR area. The resulting proposal provides for a high quality urban form of development in both massing and architectural resolution. At the same time, we have been pleased to provide significant site amenities including a dry creek bed landscape treatment along the Grandview Highway frontage, the incorporation of a bike hub resting area along the new Cornett Road planned greenway, the extension of Cornett Road along the entire north side of the site, and provision for a controlled pedestrian crossing at Grandview Highway. The building and site design will incorporate sustainable design principles including consideration of indoor air quality, energy efficient design and water use reduction. Finally, we are especially pleased to be advancing the day lighting of Still Creek prior to the 10 to 50 year plan originally anticipated.

Canadian Tire looks forward to the opportunity to improve upon their existing Vancouver community involvement by providing new retail opportunities for local residents while incorporating environmentally sound and sustainable design principles."

APPENDIX G
 

RETAIL IMPACT STUDY: 2820 BENTALL STREET PROJECT: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Prepared by Commercial Marketing Inc. and Development Consulting Group Ltd.)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Development Consulting Group and Commercial Marketing have been retained by the City of Vancouver Planning Department to prepare an impact study for a proposed highway oriented retail development located on the north side of Grandview Highway at Bentall Street in the City of Vancouver. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact that this project will have on existing retail stores located in a number of neighbourhoods in the City of Vancouver.

The principal findings of this report are summarized in point form below.

1. According to a site plan provided by the developer, the project will have a total store area of approximately 205,000 sq. ft. Anchor tenants for the project include a 126,000 sq. ft. Canadian Tire store, a 43,000 sq. ft. Save On Foods supermarket and a 10,000 sq. ft. Marks Work Wearhouse clothing store. Based on discussions with the developer, it has been assumed that these three anchor tenants will open in the fall of 2006.

2. An inventory of sixteen neighbourhood shopping precincts located in the general vicinity of the subject site was undertaken by the consultants. These sixteen neighbourhood shopping precincts contain five supermarkets, 249,000 sq. ft. of other food store space and 100,000 sq. ft. of clothing store space.

3. The trade area for the proposed project extends from Burrard Inlet in the north to Kingsway in the south and from Willingdon in the east to Clark Drive in the west (refer to the trade area map following page 12 of this report). The boundaries of the trade area reflect the results of a licence plate survey as well as the location of two existing Save On Foods supermarkets in Burnaby and also anticipate the opening of a new 40,000 sq. ft. Save On Foods supermarket at the corner of Cambie Street and 8th Avenue in Vancouver in 2005.

4. The trade area population is projected to increase from 151,200 in 2006 to 158,600 in 2021.

5. Per capita incomes levels in the trade are significantly below the average for the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area. For the trade area as a whole, per capita income is 24% below the regional average; for the Vancouver and Burnaby portions of the trade area, the shortfall amounts to 27% and 12% respectively.

6. The amount of new supermarket space warranted in the trade area is projected to increase form 48,000 sq. ft. in 2006 to 82,000 sq. ft. in 2021.

7. Historically, most of the major chain affiliated supermarkets in the Vancouver Region have ranged in size between 20,000-40,000 sq. ft. Based on this size, the results of this market analysis indicate that the trade area could support the proposed 43,000 sq. ft. Save On Foods store plus one or two additional supermarkets by 2021. During the past five years, several supermarket chains (e.g., Capers and Choices) have been expanding with smaller store modules, typically in the 10,000-15,000 sq. ft. range. Based on this "neighbourhood size" format, the results of this market analysis indicate that the trade area could support the proposed 43,000 sq. ft. Save On Foods store plus three or four additional supermarkets by 2021.

8. The sales volume for the 43,000 sq. ft. Save On Foods store is projected to increase from between $17.2-$21.5 million in 2007 (the first full year of operation) to between $21.5-$25.8 million in 2008 and to increase by 3% per annum thereafter.

9. For the purposes of the analysis, impact is defined as the difference between what sales are projected to be at a store and what they were prior to the opening date of a new competitor (e.g. Save On Foods or Marks Work Wearhouse) without adjustment for inflation.

10. The results of the licence plate survey suggest that most of the impacts of the proposed Save On Foods store will be felt by supermarkets located within five kilometres of the subject site. There are seventeen supermarkets in this "impact zone", ranging in size from the 128,000 sq. ft. Real Canadian Superstore at Metrotown to the 15,000 sq. ft. Supervalu at Il Mercato.

11. The total impact of the proposed Save On Foods supermarket is forecast to decline from between $15.6-$16.8 million in 2008 to between $2.0-$4.5 million in 2009 and to between $0.3-$0.7 million in 2010. After 2010, the impact of the proposed Save On Foods supermarket is expected to disappear entirely. Given the small magnitude and short duration of these impacts, they are not expected to have any significant effect on the supermarkets located in the "impact zone".

12. Of all the affected neighbourhoods, the Rupert and 22nd Avenue area is the one most vulnerable to increased levels of competition due to a combination of factors including its proximity to the subject site, its small size (only 20 businesses), its merchandising mix and the lack of non food chain affiliated anchor tenants (e.g., a bank or a credit union, a government liquor store, a video rental store or a drug store). Despite these disadvantages, the impact of the proposed Save On Foods supermarket will be temporary and should disappear entirely within two or three years due to a combination of population growth and increasing per capita food store expenditures.

13. The amount of new clothing store space warranted in the trade area is projected to increase from 35,000 sq. ft. in 2006 to 50,000 sq. ft. in 2021. The results of the market analysis indicate that the trade area can support the proposed Marks Work Wearhouse store and up to 18,000 sq. ft. of "other" clothing store space at the subject site by 2006 as well as some additional clothing store space during the subsequent fifteen year period.

14. The sales volume for the 10,000 sq. ft. Marks Work Wearhouse store is projected to increase from between $2.0-$2.5 million in 2007 (the first full year of operation) to between $3.0-$3.5 million in 2008 and to increase by 3% per annum thereafter.

15. The existing 7,000 sq. ft. Marks Work Wearhouse store at 3470 East Hastings Street will close following the opening of the "replacement" store at the subject site.

16. Due in part to the closure of this existing store and in part to the competition from nearby department stores and general merchandise outlets (e.g., Sears, The Bay and Zellers at Metrotown as well as Costco on Grandview Highway), the impact of the proposed Marks Work Wearhouse store on clothing stores in Vancouver will be insignificant.

APPENDIX H
 

Total 5 Pages of Plans under "pdf" file.

APPENDIX I
 

APPLICANT, PROPERTY, AND DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL INFORMATION

APPLICANT AND PROPERTY INFORMATION

Street Address

2820 Bentall Street (Canadian Tire)

Legal Description

Lot 2, Sect. 38, Town of Hastings Suburban Lands, Plan 16415, N.W.D.

Applicant/Architect

Kasian Architecture, Interior Design and Planning.

Property Owner

Canadian Tire

SITE STATISTICS

 

GROSS

DEDICATIONS

NET

SITE AREA

23 107m² (248,730 sq. ft.)

3 151 m² (33,920 sq. ft.)

19 956m² (214,810 sq. ft.)

DEVELOPMENT STATISTICS

 

DEVELOPMENT PERMITTED UNDER EXISTING ZONING

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

RECOMMENDED
DEVELOPMENT (if different than proposed)

ZONING

CD-1

CD-1

  

USES

Manufacturing, Service, Transportation and Storage, Utility and Communication, and Wholesale; Accessory Retail limited to 1 000m² (10,765 sq. ft.)

Manufacturing, Service, Transportation and Storage, Utility and Communication, Wholesale, Retail (Minimum size of 929 m² [10,000 sq. ft.] and Accessory Uses

 

MAX. FLOOR SPACE RATIO

3.00 FSR

1.60 FSR, except
Retail limited to 0.75 FSR

  

MAXIMUM HEIGHT

18.3 m (60 ft.) (outright)
30.5 m (100 ft.) (conditional)

20.0 m (66 ft.)

  

PARKING SPACES

Per Parking By-law

Per Parking By-law, minimum 472 parking spaces

  

LANDSCAPED SETBACKS

12.1 m (40 ft.) along Grandview Highway

9.0 m (30 ft.) along Grandview Highway
3.6 m (12 ft.) along Bentall Street and Cornett Road (to be renamed as Natal Street)

  

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ag20050412.htm

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