ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: February 12, 1997
Dept. File No. GL
C.C. File: 5311-1
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Land Use and Development
SUBJECT: Strata Title Conversion: 2036 York Avenue
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the application to convert the previously-occupied building at
2036 York Avenue (Lot F, Block 205, D.L. 526, Plan LMP10255) to
strata title ownership be approved in principle, but that pursuant
to Section 9(1) of the Condominium Act, the Certificate of Approval
(Form 10) shall not be issued unless the following conditions have
been met within one year of the date of this approval:
A. Completion of all work required by the City Building
Inspector, under the required permits, at no cost to the City,
and issuance of an Occupancy Permit, in order that this
previously-occupied building substantially complies with all
relevant by-laws; and
B. Execution of a Section 215 covenant, to be registered
concurrently with the strata plan, prepared to the
satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services, to serve
notice on title regarding the uncertainty of site
redevelopment.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS of approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council policy is reflected in the City s Strata Title and Cooperative
Conversion Guidelines, which outline factors Council will consider in
reviewing applications for converting previously-occupied buildings to
strata title or cooperative ownership.
PURPOSE
Council approval is required for an application to convert the
previously-occupied building at 2036 York Avenue (Lot F, Block 205, D.L.
526, Plan LMP10255) to strata title ownership.
BACKGROUND
The site is zoned RM-4 and is developed with a four-storey multiple
dwelling building constructed ca. 1930, which is currently being altered
under Development Permit Nos. DE214419 and DE401432 and Building Permit
No. BU321255 to contain 20 dwelling units. The building is
non-conforming with respect to the floor space ratio regulations of the
RM-4 District Schedule. Prior to issuance of the permits and
commencement of the renovations, the approved use for the building was
as a multiple dwelling containing 15 dwelling units.
The current owner purchased this property in December, 1996. Although
the previous owner, and original applicant for this strata title
conversion, indicated that notices to vacate were issued to existing
tenants in November, 1992, a Permits and Licenses Department inspection
report for the site dated July 16, 1992, indicates that tenants were
given eviction notices effective September 30, 1992. A subsequent
inspection in early October indicated that the building was vacant and
that the interior of the building was being gutted. Since this
demolition work was being done without permit, a Stop Work notice was
posted on October 7, 1992. The building sat empty until the renovation
work began in the summer of 1993, following issuance of a partial
building permit for excavation, foundation and structural work. The
building has remained vacant since that time.
City records substantiate the previous owner s claim that the building
was in a state of disrepair at that time and required substantial
renovations. File records detail a long history of Standards of
Maintenance By-law deficiencies and numerous Electrical and Building
By-law contraventions. Further, in April, 1992, the District Property
Use Inspector found that the building had been effectively converted to
provide for 2 dwelling units, 13 housekeeping units and 33 sleeping
units without permit, in contravention of the Zoning and Development and
Vancouver Building By-laws.
The site location is shown below in Figure 1.
Figure 1
DISCUSSION
Section 9(2) of the Condominium Act states that Council shall not
approve the conversion unless the building substantially complies with
applicable City by-laws. In this case, the RM-4 District Schedule
allows for multiple dwellings as an outright use on sites which exceed
550 m2 (the area of Lot F is approximately 647 m2). However, the floor
space ratio (FSR) of the existing building is approximately 2.35, which
exceeds the maximum FSR of 1.45 for multiple dwellings, as contained in
the District Schedule. Therefore, there is some uncertainty as to
whether twenty dwelling units at the existing density could necessarily
be redeveloped under the RM-4 District Schedule, should this building be
extensively damaged or destroyed by fire, although the Board of Variance
would have jurisdiction.
It is doubtful that the market would be cognizant of the uncertainty of
redevelopment in these situations. There is no indication of unit
prices reflecting this uncertainty. In 1984, in considering an
application to convert a 3-unit multiple conversion dwelling in the RS-2
Zoning District (the District Schedule conditionally permitted 2 units),
Council opted to approve the conversion subject to a Section 215
covenant being registered against title of the property, advising
prospective purchasers of the redevelopment uncertainty.
STAFF ANALYSIS
In addition to Planning Department staff, the City Engineer, the City
Building Inspector and the Manager of the Housing Centre have reviewed
this application.
The City Engineer has no dedication or servicing requirements for this
site. The City Engineer advises, however, that the building encroaches
onto the lane abutting this site. Registration of a volumetric easement
to contain the encroachment will be required prior to the strata plan
being deposited in the Land Title Office. This requirement will be
addressed in a concurrent report to Council from the City Engineer.
The City Building Inspector reports that when all work has been
completed in accordance with the approved plans and permits and an
Occupancy Permit has been issued, the building will substantially comply
with all relevant City by-laws.
The Manager of the Housing Centre reports as follows:
"The situation of an owner vacating a rental building and then seeking
approval to convert to strata is a matter of real concern. The (strata
title conversion) guidelines are intended to ensure that the interests
of the tenants are addressed. This is clearly not possible if the
tenants have been evicted before the application is made. Normally in
these circumstances, the Manager of the Housing Centre would recommend
that the applicant be required to make a contribution to the City s
Affordable Housing Fund to compensate for the inadequate process.
However, given the time that the building has sat vacant, it is doubtful
that the former applicant deliberately abused the approval process. It
would be unreasonable to penalize the current applicant who has only
recently purchased the building. Therefore, the Manager of the Housing
Centre is prepared to forego requiring a financial contribution.
The latest CMHC rental survey (October, 1996) indicated a vacancy rate
of 0.4% in Kitsilano. A vacancy rate of 2% is considered the minimum
desired to ensure a balance of supply and demand. Over the past year,
there have been 21 residential rental units converted to strata title
ownership, only 5 of which were in the Kitsilano area.
Although the loss of purpose-built market rental housing in the City has
been low, very little purpose-built rental is being built today; most
new rental stock consists of condominiums, many of which are rented at
some risk of being sold to owner-occupiers and hence less secure. The
proposal would increase the housing stock from 15 to 20 units. If the
conversion is not approved, it is possible that the applicant would
demolish the building and develop the site with new condominiums that
would be more expensive than the renovated condominiums. The Manager of
the Housing Centre is prepared to support the proposed conversion, but
notes the continuing need to monitor the loss of the purpose built
market rental stock."
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, and on the applicant s compliance with the
City s Strata Title and Cooperative Conversion Guidelines, the Director
of Land Use and Development supports this application.
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