POLICY REPORT
BUILDING AND STRUCTURE
Date: April 7, 1997
Dept. File No. JB/GMcG
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Land Use and Development
SUBJECT: Heritage Revitalization Agreement for
3677-3699 Ash Street
ECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council authorize the City to enter into a Heritage
Revitalization Agreement for the sites at 3677 Ash Street and
3699 Ash Street to vary the Subdivision By-law to permit
non-conforming parcel size; to increase the maximum permitted
floor space ratio from 0.6 permitted to approximately 0.88 on
the north parcel and 0.78 on the south parcel; to vary the
minimum site area and site width, height, yards, above ground
floor space ratio, projections and building depth regulations
of the RS-1S District Schedule to permit the construction of a
new house, as designed under DE401885, and the relocation of
the heritage building, as proposed under DE401886; to secure
the preservation of the heritage building, listed in the "B"
category on the Vancouver Heritage Register; and to
commemorate it with a bronze heritage plaque;
B. THAT the Director of Legal Services bring forth the by-law to
authorize the Heritage Revitalization Agreement;
C. THAT the Director of Legal Services be directed to prepare a
registered agreement for 3677-3699 Ash Street to limit the use
of the properties to Single-Family Dwellings;
D. THAT the Director of Legal Services be directed to prepare a
no-separate transfer covenant for 3677-3699 Ash Street to
apply during the period between the creation of the new
subdivision and the relocation of the heritage house; and
E. THAT the Director of Legal Service be directed to prepare a
registered agreement to secure prompt restoration of the
heritage house.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A,
B, C, D and E.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council's Heritage Policies and Guidelines state that "buildings listed
on the Vancouver Heritage Register have heritage significance and that
the City s long-term goal is to protect through voluntary designation as
many resources on the Register as possible".
PURPOSE and SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to seek Council's approval of a Heritage
Revitalization Agreement (HRA) to secure the conservation of this "B"
listed Vancouver Heritage Register house by permitting site subdivision,
floor space increases and other zoning variances for both the relocation
of the heritage house and construction of a new dwelling. Council is
also asked to approve the preparation of registered agreements: to
enable the heritage house to temporarily remain in-situ during the
re-subdivision of the property; to restrict the lands to single-family
dwelling use; and to ensure prompt restoration of the heritage house.
BACKGROUND
The site is located at 3699 Ash Street in the RS-1S District and
comprises two legal parcels totalling 509.8 m2 (5,488 sq.ft.). Both
parcels currently front on West 21 Avenue. The heritage house currently
straddles the common boundary of these parcels.
The owner, Bradley Alberts, has submitted applications to reorient the
two existing parcels to front on Ash Street and to relocate the heritage
house to the southern corner parcel (3699 Ash Street). A new house will
be built on the northern, interior parcel (3677 Ash Street).
The Subdivision Approving Officer has granted preliminary approval to
the proposed subdivision (Appendix A) subject to the requisite HRA being
approved, amongst other conditions. Development Permit DE401886 for the
relocation of the heritage house, and Development Permit DE401885 for
the design and siting of the new house, have been approved also subject
to the HRA and other conditions.
[SITE MAP]
DISCUSSION
Heritage Value
The house at 3699 Ash Street was completed in 1912, by Harold O. Hatt, a
contractor, and it is a good example of the Craftsman style. Some of the
more notable design features include an unusual roof configuration of a
side gable with full length shed dormers, symmetrical composition with
a full width front porch, paired porch columns, decorative brackets,
some leaded glass windows and exterior cladding of wood shingles and
siding. The building is one of a pair of houses, of comparable age and
design, which form a special streetscape in the Douglas Park area. It is
listed in the B evaluation category on the Vancouver Heritage
Register.
Development Proposal and Compatibility with Land Use Regulations
The configuration of the requested subdivision (see Appendix A) has been
proposed so that the heritage building can be appropriately relocated
onto the proposed southern, corner parcel and a new single-family
dwelling built on the proposed northern, interior parcel. The proposed
north parcel does not meet the minimum area requirements of the
Subdivision By-law.
For the heritage house, relaxations of height, yards, floor space ratio,
and building depth are required to allow the structure to be moved
approximately 3.4 m (11.2 ft.) to the south to fit onto the corner
parcel. The height, floor space ratio, and building depth relaxations
essentially account for the "existing" size and configuration of the
house. No additions to the heritage house are proposed. The house is
also not being moved any closer to the property immediately to the west
on 21st Avenue.
For the new house on the north parcel, the relaxations of height, yards,
floor space ratio, building depth, and allowable projections are
proposed to allow a house to be built which complements both the
heritage house and the northerly adjacent house (see elevation in
Appendix B). The relaxation of floor space ratio is proposed to provide
a dwelling unit of sufficient size to financially offset the cost of the
relocation and upgrade and repair of the heritage house. The relaxations
of minimum site width and site size for the north parcel are required to
provide sufficient size to the south parcel to allow the heritage house
to be located with the standard setback of most 10.1 m (33 ft.) wide
corner parcels.
The land use relaxations are listed in further detail in the draft HRA
By-law. The specific floor space relaxations are:
Existing Heritage House Permitted Proposed Existing
Area 191.12 m2 249.51m2 249.51m2
Area (2056.50 (2684.70 (2684.70
sq.ft.) sq.ft.) sq.ft.)
FSR 0.60 0.78 0.49
Percentage over permitted 30.0%
New House Permitted Proposed
Area 114.59m2 202.42m2
Area (1233.00 sq. (2178.01
ft.) sq.ft.)
FSR 0.60 1.06
Percentage over permitted 76.7%
Although the RS-1S District Schedule allows secondary suites, staff are
recommending the City enter into a registered agreement with the owner
to restrict the use of the lands to single-family dwelling
(RECOMMENDATION C). Planning staff and the neighbours believe the
proposed density increase and unusual siting are acceptable, if and only
if, the use of the houses are limited to single-family dwellings. In
addition, neither proposed parcel will have lane access and therefore,
no place to accommodate parking for additional units.
The heritage house will have non-conforming yards on the newly created
parcels until it is moved to its new location. A no-separate transfer
covenant (RECOMMENDATION D) is proposed to make legal this temporary
non-conformity, the discharge of the agreement will be conditional upon
the relocation of the heritage house.
Compatibility of Conservation with Community Planning Objectives
The site is located in the RS-1S zone in the Douglas Park community.
The intent of the RS-1 and RS-1S Districts Schedule is, in part, to:
"maintain the single family residential character of the RS-1
District and, in the RS-1S District, to conditionally permit
two-family dwellings and encourage new development that is similar
in character to the development in the RS-1 District. Emphasis is
placed on encouraging neighbourly development by preserving outdoor
space and views."
This proposal maintains the character of the streetscape by preserving
the heritage house, and allowing a new development which is sympathetic
and compatible (see elevation in Appendix B). The existing landscaping
and trees will be retained as much as possible. Further, as a
comparison, if the heritage house was demolished, two new houses could
be built, one on each existing site, and each one of these houses could
have two dwelling units on an outright approval basis, without any need
for relaxations. The proposal limits the number of dwelling units to one
in each house, thus maintaining the single-family intent of the RS-1S
zoning. In addition, although the northern parcel does not meet the
minimum size requirements of the Subdivision By-law and the RS-1S
District Schedule, it is proposed to allow siting of the heritage house
in a manner sympathetic and appropriate to the character and scale of
the corner of West 21 Avenue and Ash Street. The HRA will provide for
subsequent changes to the buildings to be subject to a Heritage
Alteration Permit (HAP). It will also require replication of the
heritage house and the new house, should they be damaged or destroyed.
Condition of the Property and Economic Viability of the Conservation
The heritage house is in good condition and a letter of undertaking has
been provided by an experienced house-moving company for its relocation
to its new foundation. Some repair and restoration work is required to
the exterior cladding, trim, detailing and windows. The registered
agreement (RECOMMENDATION E) will ensure that the restoration work is
complete before the heritage house is occupied. The proposed floor space
increases and other land use variances will ensure that the conservation
of the heritage building is economically viable.
Support to Enable Conservation
The Manager of Real Estate Services advises that the proposed
subdivision, relocation of the heritage house, and the new house
including all the relaxations previously described, if developed as
proposed under DE401885 and DE401886, would not provide the applicant
with an extraordinary profit based on an analysis of this proposal and
the proforma and financial data provided by the applicant. The owner is
committed to enter into the Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the
City and waive future claim to compensation.
COMMENTS OF THE VANCOUVER HERITAGE COMMISSION
The Vancouver Heritage Commission reviewed and supported this
development proposal on October 7, 1996.
CONCLUSION
The conservation of this heritage building will be achieved by the
proposal to subdivide the site with the design and siting of the
heritage house and the new building controlled by the Development
Permits. Both final subdivision approval and development permit issuance
are subject to the City entering into a Heritage Revitalization
Agreement with the owner. The agreements in RECOMMENDATIONS C, D and E
will enable in-situ retention of the heritage house during
re-subdivision of the site, limit the lands to single-family dwelling
use, and ensure prompt restoration of the heritage house.
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