ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: February 5, 1997
Dept. File No. 3211
C.C. File 5305-1
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Manager of the Housing Centre, in consultation with Director
of Land Use and Development
SUBJECT: Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Project and Rezoning
Application - 5338-5490 Larch Street
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the proposal to develop 46 townhouses at 5338-5490 Larch Sreet
qualify as a Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Project, and
Council authorize the Director of Land Use & Development to process
the rezoning application by Brook Development Planning Inc. for
this site in accordance with the standard City rezoning process.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Rezonings are only to be considered in Kerrisdale if they qualify under
the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program. To qualify as a
Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration project, a rezoning application
must:
"demonstrate a new housing form in a neighbourhood, improved
affordability, and a degree of neighbourhood support".
PURPOSE
This report reviews a rezoning application at 5338-5490 Larch Street
recently submitted as a Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Project in
relation to the Council approved criteria for the program.
BACKGROUND
At the May 1989 Housing Symposium, Council established the Seniors
Housing Demonstration Program and provided $5 Million in City funds to
assist innovative housing projects that would allow seniors wishing to
move out of single-family homes to remain in their neighbourhoods.
On June 6, 1995, Council adopted CITYPLAN: DIRECTIONS FOR VANCOUVER.
One of the directions of CityPlan is to increase housing variety in the
city. As a next step to increasing housing variety, CityPlan
recommended that:
'"Vancouver should build demonstration projects for new types of
housing that offer the features of single-family housing at higher
densities."
On January 18, 1996, Council considered two reports regarding the
implementation of CityPlan. The first recommended that the Seniors
Housing Demonstration Program be renamed the Neighbourhood Housing
Demonstration Program and expanded to include private as well as City
funded projects, and family as well as seniors housing. The second
recommended policies for dealing with rezoning applications during the
development of the Neighbourhood Visions that would implement CityPlan
at the neighbourhood level.
Council acknowledged the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program as
one means to fulfil CityPlan s direction, and approved:
"THAT site specific rezonings for housing demonstration projects be
considered where:
- the application demonstrates a new housing form in a
neighbourhood, improved affordability, and a degree of
neighbourhood support; and
- any increase in land value, beyond the normal profit allowed
by the City s standard bonusing process, be converted into
improved affordability."
5338-5490 LARCH STREET (REZONING APPLICATION)
On November 26, 1996, Brook Development Planning Inc., on behalf of
Actual Homes Ltd., submitted a rezoning application for 5338-5490 Larch
Street to develop 46 townhouses, of which 33 would be 3-storey 3-bedroom
units and 13 1-and 2-bedroom units, at an FSR of 1.2. The townhouses
would be in 6 clusters separated by courtyards. There would be 92
underground parking spaces.
The site, with 140 m (459 ft.) of frontage, is located on the east side
of Larch Street between 37th and 39th Avenues as noted on Appendix A.
It is currently zoned RS-1 and is occupied by 7 one-family dwellings,
the most northerly of which, listed as a "B" on the Vancouver Heritage
Register, the applicants propose to restore and designate. Street
Mary s Church is the neighbour to the north, single-family homes (RS-1)
are neighbours across Larch Street and 39th Ave., and the 14-storey
Fontainbleau Apartments (RM-3) is across the lane to the eaStreet
This rezoning application, in a one-family (RS-1) district, can only be
considered if the project qualifies under the Neighbourhood Housing
Demonstration Program. To do this it must demonstrate a housing form
not otherwise being developed in the neighbourhood, provide improved
affordability, and show some degree of community support. In addition,
any increase in value generated by the rezoning over and above a normal
developer s profit must be invested in improved affordability.
Form
The Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program criteria can be
satisfied by an innovative physical form. In this case, the townhouses
proposed are a form of housing that is not being developed now in
Kerrisdale. As CityPlan noted, only 3% of the city s stock is in the
form of row or townhouses. Ground-oriented, medium density housing such
as row and townhouses will be in the greatest demand over the next
decades in the city and the region.
If the population growth in the city and region is to be accommodated
successfully, it will be important to develop medium density forms that
are economically viable and at the same time can be successfully
accommodated within or next to Vancouver s single-family neighbourhoods.
Developing innovative forms of housing will be particularly useful for
the CityPlan visioning process by providing real alternatives that
residents of Vancouver s neighbourhoods can visit and evaluate. The
Urban Design Panel has reviewed the proposed design and unanimously
endorsed it as an innovative response to the need for medium density
ground-oriented housing. An illustrative representation of the project
is attached as Appendix B.
Affordability
Only a limited improvement in relative affordability is achievable on
this site. The 140 m2 (1500 sq. ft.) row houses must sell for nearly
$500,000, equivalent to the least expensive single family homes
available for resale on the west side of Vancouver, for the project to
be viable. This compares to the average price of a new single-family
home on the westside of $852,000 and the average price of resale homes
on the west side of $678,000.
Generating more affordability would require a higher density than would
be compatible with the single-family housing across Larch Street and
39th Ave. The number of units was reduced from the original 60+
proposed to the current 46 to respond to neighbourhood concerns
regarding traffic. The larger units, however, are more expensive.
Inclusion of some guaranteed rental units was considered. However, the
project would not be viable if both rental units were provided and the
class "B" heritage house restored. This house is next to Street Mary s
Church which is a designated "A" heritage building, and restoring the
heritage house is an important objective in this context. Consequently,
a rental component has not been incorporated into the proposal.
The Manager of the Housing Centre concludes that affordability proposed
satisfies the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program criteria
sufficiently for the proposal to be entertained through the rezoning
process.
Community Support
The criteria for the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program
requires that there be a degree of community support for a rezoning
under the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program. The criteria is
necessarily vague, but the intent is to ensure that applicants make a
serious effort to accommodate the concerns of neighbours, and that there
is support in the community for the form of housing proposed. In this
case, the applicants held 8 public meetings from March through September
1996, attended by 120 people, where the proposal was presented and
discussed. More recently, on January 16, an open house was held that
was attended by over 60.
The consultation process has generated opposition as well as support. A
71-name petition representing 53 households has been received in
opposition, along with four individual letters from immediate neighbours
and a letter from the West Kerrisdale Residents Association. There
have been four letters in support of the project from nearby residents,
10 from the larger Kerrisdale community, and 11 from other city
neighbourhoods. At the January 16 open house, 66 questionnaires were
distributed and 40 returned: 33 in support; five opposed; and one did
not offer an opinion. Those opposed to the project may not have
completed questionnaires.
The Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program criteria recognize that
opposition to proposals can be expected in most cases. What matters is
that there is some level of support in the community for new housing
forms and improved affordability in the neighbourhood, and the
applicant s response to neighbours concerns. A thorough public process
was undertaken by the applicant, and the applicant did respond to the
neighbours concerns regarding traffic, height, form and density by
reducing the FSR and the number of units, increasing the off-street
parking ratio, and reducing the height of the buildings. The support
generated for the project through the consultation process to date
indicates that there is sufficient community support to justify
processing the application.
Proforma
The developer s proforma has been reviewed by Real Estate Services. The
Manager of Real Estate Services advises that the developer s profit is
not expected to exceed the normal profit allowed under the City s
bonusing procedures. The developer s option price includes a small
premium to acquire the seven RS-1 lots, but the premium is typical of
property consolidation and would not generate property inflation in the
area.
CONCLUSION
A review of the rezoning application at 5338-5490 Larch Street in the
context of the Neighbourhood Housing Demonstration Program criteria
indicates that it satisfies the program s form, affordability, and
community support criteria. The proforma for the development indicates
that the developer profit should not exceed the normal profit allowed by
the City s bonusing procedures.
It is therefore recommended that Council authorize the Director of Land
Use & Development to process the rezoning application in accordance with
the City s standard rezoning process. This does not commit staff to
support the rezoning application or commit Council to refer the project
to public hearing.
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