CITY OF VANCOUVER

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

 

Date:

March 1, 2005

 

Author:

N. Edelson/C. Tapp

 

Phone No.:

7444/7043

 

RTS No.:

O4806

 

CC File No.:

5301

 

Meeting Date:

March 15, 2005

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning, in consultation with the Drug Policy Coordinator, the Director of Legal Services, the General Manager of Engineering, the Director of Development Services, the Chief of Police, and the Chief Licensing Inspector

SUBJECT:

Proposed Amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law to define "Small-scale Pharmacy" and make it a conditional approval use

RECOMMENDATIONS

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services recommends approval of A, B, C, D and E.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager recommends approval of A, B, C, D and E.

COUNCIL POLICY

On July 28, 1998, Council confirmed principles to provide general guidance to actions and planning in the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown, Gastown and Strathcona, which include encouraging legitimate commercial activity, improving conditions at street level, improving conditions in SROs, and helping community people find allies and seek a common future.

On May 15, 2001, Vancouver City Council endorsed A Framework for Action: A Four Pillar Approach to Drug Problems in Vancouver, including and identifying Prevention, Treatment, Enforcement and Harm Reduction, as the foundation of Vancouver's drug policy.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report seeks to amend the Zoning and Development By-law to create a new definition for "Small-scale Pharmacy" and introduce accompanying conditions that will minimize neighbourhood impacts of these facilities, so that they can be approved on a time limited basis in areas where drug store uses are permitted.

The intent of the proposed zoning amendments and guidelines is to create a means of regulating the geographic concentration of small-scale pharmacies and to ensure all new pharmacies have adequate provisions for client volumes. Pharmacies that do not have sufficient store area to provide for line-ups often have negative impacts on surrounding neighbourhoods; this is most evident with the concentration of small-scale pharmacies in the Downtown Eastside area that dispense methadone. In addition, the proposed amendments will create a mechanism that enables City staff to monitor and address the negative impacts of these facilities and to effectively respond to community concerns.

Methadone treatment for opiate addiction is an important component of the City's Four Pillar Approach to drug problems. Concurrently, these proposals will seek to encourage a wider distribution of methadone in large drug stores and pharmacies in conjunction with health clinics, where needed throughout Vancouver.

BACKGROUND

Currently, there is a concentration of pharmacies in the Downtown Eastside that is having a negative impact on residents and businesses in the community. In some areas there are more than 4 small-scale pharmacies located within a single block. City staff receive over 50 complaints annually from residents and business owners in the immediate area, primarily concerned with customer line-ups, noise, garbage, and gatherings outside of these facilities.
Most of these issues are the result of several factors, namely: 1) small facilities that are unable to accommodate line-ups and excessive client volumes; 2) a lack in diversity of products sold; and, 3) neglectful management that does not address neighbourhood impacts of these facilities. The proposed Zoning and Development By-Law amendments are intended to target these issues by ensuring that all new pharmacies have adequately sized publicly accessible store area to accommodate waiting customers and that new applicants are committed to abide by Good Neighbour Conditions that will mitigate facility impacts.

Under existing City zoning regulations, pharmacies are treated as a "retail store" or "drug store" use and are able to locate wherever these uses are permitted. In the zoning districts in the Downtown Eastside, this has led to a proliferation of small-scale pharmacies within a relatively small geographic area. By locating in the Downtown Eastside, a pharmacy is able to take advantage of the area's inexpensive market rents and small storefronts, maintaining low overhead costs while receiving considerable revenues by primarily filling methadone prescriptions. As many of these pharmacies sell few, if any, other products and have a limited client base consisting mostly of methadone users, operationally these facilities function more akin to a `health clinic' than `retail use' under current City zoning parameters; health clinics are conditional approval uses in districts where they are permitted.

In the Downtown Eastside, many pharmacies in the area are small in scale, with storefronts averaging between 37 to 150 square metres, which are not able to adequately accommodate the daily volume of methadone patients. Many of the small-scale pharmacies also have disproportionately high methadone client volumes when compared with the client volumes for larger pharmacies and drug stores in the area. This results in line-ups and gatherings outside of the storefront, pedestrian traffic congestion on the adjacent sidewalk, and excess garbage littering the area outside.

These issues are especially pronounced during the morning hours when patients line-up to get their daily methadone dosage. A pharmacy may receive the majority of its customers within a very short period of time and there need to be provisions for accommodating the peaks in patient volumes within the facility, in order to minimize the impacts in the surrounding area.

In addition, a number of pharmacies do little to reduce their community impacts. While monitoring and enforcing appropriate management practices of pharmacies is beyond the City's jurisdiction, the introduction of Good Neighbour Conditions and time-limited development permits would offer staff a means of recourse in ensuring that owners take responsibility for their business operations.

DISCUSSION

Methadone as a treatment for opiate addiction is an important component of the City's Four Pillar approach to drug addiction issues. However, the distribution of methadone through small-scale pharmacies can have negative impacts on the surrounding community when concentrated in a particular geographic area.

Larger scale drug stores are better able to accommodate high customer volumes with greater store area and often even have designated customer waiting areas. They also sell a wide variety of products and are therefore able to attract a diversity of customers and create a better flow of pedestrian traffic in the surrounding area.

The Downtown Community Health Clinic, located on Powell Street and operated by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, has an on-site pharmacy that dispenses methadone. This allows people in need of methadone better access to a variety of complementary health services at one location. This arrangement is supported by City staff and the Drug Policy Coordinator as a way to better stabilize individuals during the early phases of methadone treatment for opiate addiction through linking the health services delivered by a doctor with those of a pharmacist and providing a continuum of care. This is in keeping with the Four Pillars Policy endorsed by Council in 2001.

Council policy also endorses practices that provide a wide spectrum of health services which support people with addictions in their own communities, including improving access to methadone treatment. Recently, the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia introduced a new approach to implementing their Methadone Program services that actively encourages expanding methadone distribution in licensed pharmacies and provides information and support services for pharmacies currently dispensing methadone. The program is supported by the Drug Policy Coordinator and is aligned with the City's Four Pillar policy as an effective means of supporting those with addiction issues and broadening the scope of addiction healthcare.

In addition, City staff are working closely and in conjunction with the College of Pharmacists to develop ways to address the impacts that the concentration and operation of small-scale pharmacies have on the community and where enforcement means are beyond staff's jurisdiction. Staff will report back to Council on the progress of this work. However, in the interim, the proposed zoning amendments - specifically the provision for Good Neighbour Conditions and time-limited development permits - will provide staff with the ability to monitor the management and enforce appropriate operations of small-scale pharmacies while mitigating community impacts.

This report proposes amendments to the Zoning and Development By-Law, along with the creation of appropriate guidelines to reduce the geographic concentration and impacts of small-scale pharmacies and to encourage methadone dispensing in locations where patients live throughout Vancouver. It is intended that these conditions and guidelines would also be applicable to such uses in all relevant Official Development Plan areas and as such, amendments to the Official Development Plans, if necessary, may be made.

Appendix A outlines the necessary changes to the Parking By-law that are required to accommodate Small-scale Pharmacies. A Small-scale Pharmacy will be subject to the same parking requirements as with a Drug Store use under the Parking By-law. In most cases, parking requirements would pose no issue for applications, as either there would be no change, or any additional requirements would be covered by exemption provisions. For cases involving a change of use to a Small-scale Pharmacy which falls in the upper end of the size range, the By-law's standard could indicate an increase in required parking. In most areas of the City it would be appropriate to seek the additional parking; however, staff would use their discretion to relax the added parking requirement in cases where this were an unnecessary hardship. This discretion would be particularly appropriate in the Downtown Eastside, or similar locations, where it is clear that the large majority of clients do not use a private car for transport.

Definition:
The following is proposed in Appendix A as the definition for "Small-scale Pharmacy":

"Small-scale Pharmacy, which means a Drug Store that has a total gross floor area of less than 600 square metres."

The intent of the proposed definition is to differentiate a Small-scale Pharmacy from a Drug Store based primarily on the size of the facility and the presence of a publicly accessible store area that is sufficiently able to accommodate client traffic. Uses identified as a "Grocery or Drug Store" under existing City definitions will continue to be permitted outright in areas where retail uses are permitted, as per the Zoning and Development By-law; however, a "Small-scale Pharmacy", according to the above noted definition, will be treated as a conditional approval use in all of the Zoning Districts identified in Appendix A.

Staff estimate that a maximum total of 12 applications for a "Drug Store" or "Small-scale Pharmacy" may be received each year and, as such, it is not expected that these amendments will have any further impact on existing staffing resources.

Conditions and Guidelines:
The proposed conditions and guidelines governing Small-scale Pharmacies, as generally outlined in Appendices A and B, are intended to address issues which have arisen as a result of the operation of these facilities, especially in areas where they are geographically concentrated.

Waiting Area
New applicants will be required to have a publicly accessible store area of at least 25 square metres, as controlled via an amendment to Section 11. This would reduce the potential for line-ups outside of the facility that cause disruption to area residents and businesses. In order that a pharmacist may deliver the best possible individualized care to their patients, there should also be a consultation area, as defined by the College of Pharmacists.

Good Neighbour Conditions
To appropriately address the concerns of neighbourhood residents and businesses regarding the operation of a proposed small-scale pharmacy, the owner or operator would be required to sign and agree to "Good Neighbour Conditions", as outlined in Appendix B, before receiving a Development Permit. These conditions would stipulate that the small-scale pharmacy operator or owner address issues such as: 1) line-ups and congregations immediately outside of the premises; 2) maintenance and litter clean-up in the area surrounding their storefront; 3) having clearly defined hours of operation; and, 4) identifying a key contact person.

Vancouver Police have reported that some pharmacy managers offer incentives - monetary or otherwise - in order to attract new clients. It should be known that this practice will not be tolerated and that City staff and the Vancouver Police will take further action on any such complaints and it will be viewed that such practices are in violation of the Good Neighbour Conditions.

Time-Limited Permit
A Development Permit granted to a new applicant would be restricted to a period of time not to exceed two years from the date of issuance, as controlled via an amendment to Section 11. This would provide sufficient time for the small-scale pharmacy to establish business and for City staff to evaluate the adherence to the guidelines and conditions and respond to any negative community impacts. If it is determined after this time that the owner or manager of the small-scale pharmacy has not fulfilled the guidelines and conditions of the Development Permit, City staff would have both grounds and the ability to refuse to extend the permit.

Geographic Location
Appendix B outlines distancing guidelines to control the geographic concentration of small-scale pharmacies. New small-scale pharmacies will not be permitted to locate within 400 metres of the property line of an existing pharmacy, unless otherwise approved or deemed a necessary health service by the Director of Current Planning, in consultation with the Drug Policy Coordinator.

Generally, small-scale pharmacies located in buildings containing residential development will establish an `Advisory Committee' with building residents, and that will meet on an as needed basis, so that any impacts can be addressed as they may arise in a timely way.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that the Zoning and Development By-law be amended to define "Small-scale Pharmacy" and make it a conditional approval use in areas where retail is permitted. This will enable the City to regulate the geographic distribution of small-scale pharmacies and mitigate the community impacts of these facilities in a manner that is consistent with Council's Four Pillar Drug Policy, while encouraging a broader distribution of health and companion addiction services in all communities.

- - - - -

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX A - PART I

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT BY-LAW

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

SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS

In the Zoning and Development By-Law:

To the list of definitions under "Retail Uses", add the definition of "Small-scale Pharmacy" as follows:

Small-scale Pharmacy, which means a Drug Store that has a total gross floor area of less than 600 square metres.

Amend the following district schedules to include "Small-scale Pharmacy", subject to Section 11.22 of this By-law, as a conditional approval use:

C-1: 3.2.R
C-2: 3.2.R
C-2B: 3.2.R
C-2C: 3.2.R
C-2C1: 3.2.R
C-3A: 3.2.R
C-5 & C-6: 3.2.1.R
C-8: 3.2.3.R
HA-1 & HA-1A: 3.2.R
HA-2: 3.2.R
HA-3: 3.2.R
RM-5C: 3.2.2.R
RM-6: 3.2.R
FM-1: 3.2.R
M-1A: 3.2.R
MC-1 & MC-2: 3.2.1R
FC-1: 3.2.R

Amend the following district schedules to replace "Grocery or Drug Store" with "Grocery or Drug Store except for a Small-scale Pharmacy" under the outright approval uses:

C-1: 2.2.R
C-2: 2.2.R
C-2B: 2.2.RT
C-2C: 2.2.R
C-2C1: 2.2.RT
C-3A: 2.2.R
C-5 & C-6: 2.2.1.R
MC-1 & MC-2: 2.2.1R

APPENDIX A - PART II

SECTION 11: ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS

Amend Section 11 by adding the following:

11.XX Small-scale Pharmacy

11.XX.1 A small-scale pharmacy must include at least 25 square metres of publicly accessible space except that the Director of Planning first considers all applicable policies and guidelines adopted by Council and potential impacts on the site and the surrounding properties, the Director of Planning may allow a lesser amount of space.

11.XX.2 Any development permit issued for a small-scale pharmacy must be limited in time to two years from the date of issuance.

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Amend the relevant Official Development Plans to include the definition and conditions as necessary.

APPENDIX A - PART III

PARKING BY-LAW

Amend the Parking By-Law to include "Small-scale Pharmacy" under Section 4.2.5.3.

APPENDIX B

GUIDELINES FOR THE LOCATION AND OPERATION OF A SMALL-SCALE PHARMACY

Location Considerations

1. (a) A small-scale pharmacy should not be located within 400 metres of the property line of an existing pharmacy or small-scale pharmacy.

(b) Should a small-scale pharmacy be located in a building containing residential development, there will be an Advisory Committee with the residents of the building that will meet to address any impacts in a timely way on an as needed basis.

(c) The Directory of Planning may, upon advice of the Drug Policy Coordinator, consider an application that does not meet the guideline in (a) above:

Patient Consultation Area

1. (a) A small-scale pharmacy should have a consultation area, as defined by the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, which is distinct and separate from the required 25 square metres of publicly accessible space.

Good Neighbour Conditions

1) The applicant shall be required to sign and agree to "Good Neighbour Conditions" that addresses specific neighbourhood concerns, generally that may include but is not limited to:

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