Public Hearing Minutes - July 28, 1997

6
CITY OF VANCOUVER
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
July 28, 1997
A Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Monday, July 28, 1997, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall, for the purpose of holding a Public Hearing to consider proposed amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law.
PRESENT: Mayor Philip Owen
Councillor Don Bellamy
Councillor Alan Herbert
Councillor Daniel Lee
Councillor Don Lee
Councillor Gordon Price
Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT: Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Sick Leave)
Councillor Jennifer Clarke (Leave of Absence)
Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Leave of Absence)
Councillor George Puil

CLERK TO THE
COUNCIL: Nancy Largent
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Price,
THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the Chair, to consider proposed amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
1. Area Rezoning: West Point Grey RS-1
The West Point Grey RS-1 area rezoning was previously scheduled for Public Hearing on May 29, 1997. However, at that meeting, City Council approved a deferral request from the West Point Grey Residents' Association which wished an opportunity to carry out a survey similar to one already carried out by the North West Point Grey Home Owners’ Association. The Public Hearing was subsequently rescheduled for July 28, 1997 and readvertised accordingly.
An application by the Director of Land Use and Development was considered as follows:
Summary: The proposed rezoning of the West Point Grey RS-1 area to RS-5 would encourage the design of new development to be compatible with nearby development.
The Director of Community Planning recommended approval of the application.
Also before Council were two memoranda:
·memorandum dated March 25, 1997 from the Director of Land Use and Development, reviewing staffing and related administrative matters pertinent to the adoption of RS-5 zoning;
·memorandum dated May 27, 1997 from the Senior Planner, Community Planning, reviewing the North West Point Grey Home Owners' Association survey and related matters.
Staff Opening Comments
Bob McGilvray, Senior Planner, Community Planning, reviewed the application before Council, noting the area had been requesting a review for some years because of concerns such as design of new houses and lack of landscaping. (A hand-out prepared by the Community Planning Division containing survey summaries and study area reference maps was distributed and is on file in the City Clerk’s Office). The planning process was described and results of the Phase I (mail back) and Phase II (random sample phone) surveys carried out by the City were reviewed
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
The results of the Phase I and Phase II surveys indicated that the area east of Wallace Street between West 10th and West 16th Avenues was not in favour of a rezoning, and it was therefore omitted from the area referred to Public Hearing. The remainder of the West Point Grey RS-1 area indicated majority support for rezoning to RS-5, and was subsequently referred to Public Hearing. However, Mr. McGilvray also noted there was lower support for rezoning in the area bounded by Blanca Street, Discovery Street, West 4th Avenue and the Harbour Head Line parallel to Spanish Banks, and a petition objecting to the proposed rezoning of this sub-area was included in the materials before Council this evening.
Mr. McGilvray also referenced two additional surveys which were carried out by two area organizations, the North West Point Grey Home Owners’ Association and the West Point Grey Residents’ Association, after the City surveys were completed. These groups felt that the planning process did not provide sufficient information to area residents, and their surveys focussed on the issue of potential for view blockage under RS-5, and included letters setting out the respective organizations’ views. Results of these surveys indicated support for the retention of RS-1 zoning in the respective areas, 88% in the area surveyed by the North West Point Grey Home Owners’ Association and 72% in the area surveyed by the West Point Grey Residents’ Association.
Finally, Mr. McGilvray reviewed the three options available to Council for dealing with this application:
·rezone the entire area to RS-5;
·respond to some of the residents’ groups and delete some portions;
·retain RS-1 for the entire area.
Summary of Correspondence
A review of the correspondence indicated 147 letters opposed to RS-5 and RS-6 Guidelines in all areas. Council also received 13 letters in favour of this application, 14 letters and one 9-signature petition opposed to this application, and one letter requesting an expeditious decision.
Speakers
The Mayor called for speakers for and against the application and 14 speakers were heard.
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
The following supported the application to rezone to RS-5:
William Hall, West Point Grey Housing Association
Hilary Reid, 4600 Block West 7th.
The foregoing supported the application on one or more of the following grounds:
·area residents are unhappy with the changes brought about by development of inappropriate replacement houses which do not fit the streetscape;
·the planning process was participatory, provided clear and unbiased information for residents, and elicited enthusiastic support for the improved design guidelines of RS-5;
·the surveys by residents’ groups ignored issues of design and compatibility to focus on the single issue of views;
·similar survey results in other areas which have undergone the RS-1 review resulted in rezoning in accordance with residents’ wishes, and this should not be unfairly overthrown by a biased follow-up survey not conducted by the City;
·Council needs to ask itself what vision of the future the City is seeking, whether design guidelines are needed in Point Grey, and whether the City process was fair and democratic;
·help is needed to maintain the neighbourhood’s character;
·the association’s survey was irregular and carried out in a biased fashion, manipulated residents into making an oversimplified choice, and should be thrown out.
The following opposed any rezoning to RS-5 or RS-6:
M. L. Fong, 4700 Block Belmont (due to language differences, Mr.
Fong’s submission was read by a representative).
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
The foregoing opposed the application on one or more of the following grounds:
·Council received substantial correspondence in opposition to any RS-5 or RS-6 zoning from members of the Vancouver Property Owners’ Association;
·at a previous Public Hearing, Planning staff indicated that many of these letters were not from within the RS-1 Review areas; but any who deem themselves affected may express their opinion on a proposed rezoning;
·surveys may not be accurate tools, as shown by the very different results obtained through the associations’ surveys;
·the proposed guidelines are very complex and confusing and will lead to a lengthier and more expensive design review process;
·the proposed guidelines are dictatorial ;
·any homeowner who employs a design professional should be exempted from the design review process.
The following opposed the rezoning of the North West Point Grey area:
Lynn Buckland, 4600 Block Bellevue Drive
John McCormack, North West Point Grey Home Owners' Association
Dr. Bob Seraphim, 4600 Block West 3rd Avenue
Izak Benbasat, 4500 Block West 4th Avenue
Gideon Rosenbluth, 4600 Block Simpson
Leonard Schein, 4600 Block Drummond Drive
Michael Price, North West Point Grey Home Owners' Association.
The foregoing opposed the application on one or more of the following grounds:
·Council should honour the residents’ wishes as indicated by the survey showing 88% are now opposed to the rezoning;
·the potential for view blockage and bulk is greater under RS-5;
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
·the area is very eclectic and requires housing for a broad spectrum of needs, which may be more difficult to achieve through the more restrictive RS-5 design process;
·RS-5 requires a degree of conformity to adjacent homes which may be difficult to comply with in an area where houses are so different, and may not help the situation where there are already too many monster houses for comparison;
·many residents may not have been aware, when surveyed by the City, that the process was no longer exploratory but approaching decision making;
·many residents wanted better zoning, but were not aware of the potential for greater bulk and height; nor were residents offered any choice other than RS-5 or 6;
·neither greater height nor a larger footprint should be permitted where a house is being demolished without a very good reason;
·the neighbourhood needs protection against traffic from the university and noise from the Folk Festival, but it does not need higher roofs;
·examples were offered of instances where the neighbourhood has dealt directly with builders to achieve more compatible replacement houses;
·a precedent has been set by the exclusion of the area east of Wallace based on the wishes of its residents;
·the area is view-sensitive, and higher buildings would not be welcome;
·the subsequent survey was fair, and provided residents with more information on the potential impacts of RS-5 of which they were not aware.
·it was never Council's intent to impose RS-5 on areas which don't want it;
·Council should forget about RS-5 and address the real problem of protecting the neighbourhood.
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
The following opposed rezoning of the area east of Blanca Street:
Karl Schmidt, 4600 Block Belmont.
Grounds for the foregoing position were as follows:
·RS-5 is a bad law, which discourages freedom of expression and rewards conformity with additional floor space and height;
·RS-5 gives too much discretion to City staff;
·RS-5 caters to the rich;
·many area residents do not want the zoning change.
The following opposed the rezoning of the area surveyed by the West Point Grey Residents’ Association:
Kim Dotto, 4400 Block West 15th Avenue
Reva Dexter, 4500 Block West 9th Avenue
Edward McRae, West Point Grey Residents' Association.
The foregoing opposed the application on one or more of the following grounds::
·Council should honour the residents’ wishes as indicated by the survey showing 72% are now opposed to the rezoning;
·residents who initially voted in favour of RS-5 but changed their minds on the later survey were probably not aware, initially, of the potential for greater height and bulk under RS-5:
·the RS-5 regulations are draconian;
·there is a mistaken belief that only views of mountains or the sea are important, but views of trees and the sky are important to residents of this area and would be jeopardised by RS-5, as would sunshine and quality of life;
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
·RS-1 is not perfect but is the lesser of the two evils, and this will not be the area's last opportunity for change in view of the CityPlan visioning process;
·not everyone in this neighbourhood is wealthy, but the wealthy will take advantage of the extra height and larger footprint, leading to neighbourhood acrimony;
·Council was thanked for deferring this item previously to permit the extra survey to be carried out (it was noted the 41% return rate is high for surveys).
Speakers from several areas also suggested that in view of the neighbourhood's changes in attitude, it would be more sensible to retain RS-1 for the entire area of West Point Grey pending the outcome of the CityPlan process.
Staff Closing Comments
Mr. McGilvray summarized the speakers' comments and views expressed by correspondents. Mr. McGilvray also provided further detail on how the two neighbourhood groups' subsequent surveys were carried out and explained assistance provided by the Planning Department. Although they were perhaps not as balanced as the City surveys, he felt they did present a reasonably objective view.
Council Discussion
Some Council members felt that it was unfortunate additional surveys had been carried out in this way, since it was not now possible to sort out what the neighbourhood wants without additional polls. Although the survey forms themselves appear reasonable, the inclusion of letters from the respective associations appears biased. It was suggested that should staff feel, in future, that additional surveys are warranted, they approach Council for additional funds for this purpose.
It was also felt it would be unfortunate to split the neighbourhood at this point, and preferable to review the issue again at some point in the future. However, it may be some time before further review can take place.
Some Council members felt the association surveys were a substantial indication that the neighbourhood no longer favours rezoning to RS-5, and that its wishes should be honoured.
cont’d....
Clause No. 1 (cont’d)
MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,
THAT Council respect the wishes of the residents of West Point Grey as indicated in the surveys conducted by the West Point Grey Home Owners' Association (88% in favour of retaining RS-1) and the West Point Grey Residents Association (72% in favour of retaining RS-1), and not approve the proposed rezoning of the West Point Grey RS-1 Area to RS-5.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Price,
THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
The Special Council adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
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