SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 2
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
JUNE 1, 1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 19, 1995
Dept. File No. MBR
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: Associate Director of Planning - Land Use and
Development
SUBJECT: Development Application No. DA217589
303 Railway Street for Artist 'Live/Work' Studios
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT staff process Development Application No. DA217397
in a similar manner to the application for 1701 Powell
Street given that this application was made before
adoption of the Industrial Land Strategy and revised
Policies for Artist 'Live/Work Studios.
CONSIDERATION
B1. THAT staff be advised Council does not favour future
artist 'live/work' studio developments that exceed the
1.0 floor space ratio permitted for this use in I and M
zoning district schedules.
OR
B2. THAT staff report back with recommended policy and by-
law amendments to address conditions (if any) under
which favourable consideration may be given to future
applications proposing rental artist 'live/work'
studios in an existing building in I and M zones at
floor space ratios in excess of 1.0.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
As I understand it, recommendation A means that staff would
support an appeal to the Board of Variance which would
result in an FSR of 5.0 for an artist 'live/work'
development on this site. This is 4.0 FSR in excess of that
permitted by the by-law for this use. This is similar to
the variance supported and permitted for 1701 Powell Street.
In supporting the Powell Street project, staff believed they
were facilitating Council's desire for affordable and rental
artist space.
In my opinion, a five-fold increase in FSR does not
constitute a "variance" within the reasonable purview of the
Board of Variance, even though the Board does have the legal
right to relax without limit. Floor space increases of this
magnitude should rightly be considered as policy matters by
Council through the mechanism of a rezoning application. I
believe that staff support for the variance at 1701 Powell
Street, while well-meaning, was in error, and I believe that
continuation of this process for 303 Railway Street will
compound that error. Therefore, I cannot recommend A, but
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submit it only for Council's CONSIDERATION.
If Council does not approve A, then the applicant may still
file an appeal to the Board of Variance, although without
support from the Director of Planning. Depending on
Council's choice between B1 and B2, the applicant might also
wish to pursue this development through a rezoning
application. If Council decided to refer this application,
it could consider alternative public views and policy
implications at Public Hearing.
The General Manager of Community Services submits A and the
choice between B1 or B2 for Council's CONSIDERATION. As an
alternative to A, I also submit for CONSIDERATION C below:
C. THAT staff process Development Application No. DA217397
within the FSR limits established by the Zoning and
Development By-law.
COUNCIL POLICY
North of Hastings Street and Railway Street Industrial Areas
On September 15, 1994 Council adopted the recommendations of this
policy report confirming the industrial status of these areas and
marginal suitability for residential use in the Railway Street
Industrial area.
Artist 'Live/Work' Studios
Council policy, as reflected in various by-law provisions and
guidelines, has been to accommodate development of artist
'live/work' studios. On December 15, 1994, Council resolved that
all applications for artist live/work studios be reported to
Council for its advice.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council's advice on a
development application for artist 'live/work' studios, pursuant
to Council's resolution of December 15, 1994.
BACKGROUND
In February 1994, development application DA216421 was approved
to convert 1701 Powell Street to rental artist 'live/work'
studios. Through a successful appeal to the Board of Variance,
the applicant was granted an additional 4.0 FSR (above the 1.0
FSR allowed in the by-law) to convert the existing building to
artist 'live/work' studios. The Director of Planning supported
this appeal for the following reasons:
the development provided rental artist 'live/work'
studios with communal workshop areas which were seen to
be providing more affordable and functional studios at
a time when most projects were for strata title artist
'live/work' studios. This was considered to be a
significant City objective at the time;
this was a change of use in a building which existed
with an FSR of 5.0; and
this was expected to be a rare circumstance.
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In September 1994, following discussions with property owners and
businesses in the industrial area located north of Hastings
Street, Council decided that this area should not be "let go" to
future non-industrial development but should be retained for
existing and future industrial purposes.
Development Application DA217397 for 303 Railway Street was
submitted on February 21, 1995.
On March 14, 1995, Council adopted the Industrial Lands Strategy
which identified the Powell Street industrial area, where the
subject site is located, as an area to be retained for industry.
On March 28, 1995 Council adopted policies concerning artist
'live/work' studios including a recommendation that policies
would not apply to development applications submitted before
March 28, 1995.
DISCUSSION
The Specific DA:
Development Application DA217589 for 303 Railway Street was
submitted by Robert Leshgold Architect. The owner of 303 Railway
Street is associated with the same group that own and operate
1701 Powell Street.
303 Railway Street is located in an M-2 zone (shown on Appendix
"A" Map). This development application proposes a renovation and
one-storey addition to an existing building to provide 56 rental
artist 'live/work' studios and communal workshop facilities. The
FSR of the existing building is 4.46. The proposed FSR,
including additions, is 5.26. A parking relaxation from 56 to 21
stalls has been requested. The one-storey addition to the top
floor has 17 foot high ceilings with mezzanines. The average
size of the studios is 75 m› (800 sq. ft.). The development will
comply with residential acoustical standards. There are six
units with associated windows that are proposed to be created
facing the eastern interior property line.
FSR: The M-2 district schedule allows some outright approval
industrial uses to a maximum of 5.0 FSR and conditional uses,
such as artist studios, to a maximum of 1.0 FSR. This is the
fundamental issue of the development application. Staff
recognize that the decision for support of a substantial FSR
variance for 1701 Powell Street would likely have been better
addressed through a wider forum such as a rezoning, by-law
amendment or at the very least, Council policy. Staff also
recognize that this would also be a more suitable process for 303
Railway Street. However, given that the applicant proceeded with
303 Railway Street in good faith, on the assumption that the
conditions of approval for 1701 Powell Street also applied to
this application, staff responsible for processing development
applications are inclined to support an FSR to a maximum of 5.0
provided the applicant can and does obtain a relaxation from the
Board of Variance.
This position acknowledges that any future applications for a
conversions above 1.0 FSR would not be supported by staff through
a Board of Variance method due to new policies in place.
Rental Status: The applicant has proposed that the project be
rental. A mechanism such as a covenant or Housing Agreement would
be required to ensure that the project continues as rental over
the long term.
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Parking: A parking relaxation has been requested from the
required 56 spaces to 21. The current by-law standard for
parking is 1 space per unit. In 1987, Council advised that it
favoured relaxation of this standard in cases where it improved
the affordability of the studios. This relaxation was set at 0.5
spaces per unit and has been routinely applied to artist
'live/work' studio developments. In some cases, relaxations
beyond 0.5 spaces per unit may be considered for existing
buildings. However, there is a shortage of parking in the area
due to the predominance of existing older buildings that were
granted parking relaxations. Therefore, a relaxation beyond 0.5
spaces per unit is not supported.
Units Facing the Eastern Property Line: The creation of six units
and their associated windows are proposed on an interior property
line on the second, third and fourth floors (two units per
floor). If these units were permitted, they would have to be
deleted if the property to the east chose to develop above one
storey. This would place the City in the position of having
approved these rental units at one time, then requiring their
deletion at another time. Therefore, these six units are not
supported by staff.
Notification: A sign was posted on the site and nineteen adjacent
property owners were notified of the development by letter.
Responses to notification are still being received. To date,
there has been 1 letter of support and 2 letters of non-support.
A letter was also received from ACE (Artists for a Creative
Environment) who support this project as it will provide rental
accommodation and workshop amenities for artists.
A meeting was held with the development applicants, the Port, CP
Rail, several industry operators, and a union representing marine
workers. Industry representatives did not support the proposed
development. Their main concerns were:
parking relaxations in an area of existing parking
deficiencies;
potential complaints from artists living adjacent to
the noise and odours of the industrial and port
activities, thereby undermining the viability of these
industries;
a precedent that may encourage other owners to convert
to non-industrial uses; and
the large number of artists in one building facilitated
by the relaxation of FSR above 1.0.
Development Application Processing:
This is the last artist 'live/work' studio development
application made before the March 28, 1995 adoption of revised
artist live/work' studio policies. Staff are processing this
application under policies and by-laws that existed at the time
of application. This is in accordance with Council's directive
that policies adopted March 28, 1995 apply to applications made
after that date.
The Industrial Lands Strategy, approved by Council on March 14,
1995 also followed this development application submission. It
did not contain any commentary on whether the policies would
apply, once adopted, to development applications already in
process. Unless Council establishes at the outset of policy
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review/development that future policies will apply as soon as
adopted, staff believe it is most reasonable to process
development applications on the basis of policies in effect at
the time of application. Therefore, staff assessment of
Development Application No. DA217589 has not involved review in
the context of the Industrial Lands Strategy policies.
Policy and By-law Amendments for FSR Relaxations:
If it is Council's desire that staff generally support conversion
of existing industrial buildings to rental artist 'live/work'
studios at floor space ratios exceeding 1.0, then the Board of
Variance is not an appropriate vehicle for "variance" of the by-
law. A more appropriate procedure would entail amendment of the
by-law to provide for a greater FSR for this use. Staff propose
to report back to Council with policy and by-law amendments
incorporating criteria under which a relaxation may or may not be
considered.
Conversely, should Council choose to advise that the 1.0 FSR for
artist studio use is of paramount importance, staff propose that
this portion be clearly expressed. These alternatives are
presented as CONSIDERATIONS B1 and B2.
CONCLUSION
This development application was submitted before Council
adoption of the Industrial Land Strategy on March 14, 1995, and
Policies and Zoning for Artist 'Live/Work' Studios on March 28,
1995. Therefore, this application is being processed according
to policies existing at the time of application. A variance of
FSR above 1.0 was supported by the Director of Planning on a
previous, similar development application and staff are inclined
to support such a Board of Variance appeal on this application,
to the maximum FSR of 5.0. There has been both community concern
and support for this application.
Council's advice is sought prior to staff reaching a decision on
this application.
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