POLICY REPORT

URBAN STRUCTURE

Date: January 23, 1998

Author/Local: J. Barrett

CC File No. 5302

TO:	Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM:	Director of Central Area Planning, in consultation with the General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	Rezoning Request for Area 5B of False Creek North Official Development Plan

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CONSIDERATION

A.THAT a CD-1 rezoning application for Area 5B of False Creek North be accepted in September 1998, following completion of already scheduled work and resolution of outstanding policy issues related to the False Creek North Official Development Plan.

OR

B.THAT a CD-1 rezoning application for Area 5B of False Creek North be accepted and processed now on the basis of the current False Creek North Official Development Plan and recognising that other currently scheduled False Creek North tasks will have to be rescheduled.

RECOMMENDATION

C.THAT the Director of Central Area Planning, in consultation with appropriate staff and Pacific Place Holdings Ltd., report back on terms of reference and a funding proposal to undertake an urban design study of North East False Creek to reconcile the various needs and patterns of development and circulation as well as soils issues in the area.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services put forward the choices of A or B for Council’s CONSIDERATION and RECOMMEND C.

There are a number of issues, and significant changes in the area, that have arisen since the FCN ODP was enacted . Staff believe there are good reasons to review those issues before proceeding with a rezoning for Area 5B. However Pacific Place Holdings Ltd.consider there are also good faith reasons to continue under the existing ODP which is why staff are putting the report forward with consideration items.

Council need to know that staff are not recommending additional staff and that current staff cannot accomodate all the proposed projects as well as Area 5B

COUNCIL POLICY

On April 10, 1990, Council approved the False Creek North Official Development Plan (FCN ODP).

On June 19, 1997, Council adopted the Payment-in-Lieu Major Project Non-Market Housing recommendation which, among other things, stated:

"C.THAT the Director of Central Area Planning and the Manager of the Housing Centre explore options to expand the capacity for non-market housing in the major projects, and in particular Concord Pacific Place, with the intent to maintain to the extent possible the objective of 20% non-market housing."

PURPOSE

This report assesses the request from Busby and Associates, on behalf of their client, Wall Financial Corporation, and in consultation with the current land owner, Pacific Place Holdings Ltd., to make a CD-1 rezoning application for Area 5B, FCN ODP, a piece of land at the north foot of the Cambie Bridge.

Staff consider the rezoning premature and believe public interests and long term private interests would be better served when the surrounding issues of non-market housing, density, soils and land use patterns in FCN have been more fully addressed.

DISCUSSION

Busby and Associates wish to make a rezoning application for a 1.0 FSR commercial building in Area 5, FCN ODP ( see Appendices A and B for location and background on the area). Under normal circumstances the staff team dedicated to FCN would proceed with the preparation of a rezoning report to Council. However, there are extenuating issues surrounding this proposal that suggest a rezoning for this site are premature. The issues are: density, non-market residential, soils and staff resources.

Density: A primary objective for FCN is to satisfactorily achieve the maximum densities with the appropriate land uses allowed by the ODP. There are good private and public interests served by those objectives. To date, of the 5 areas that have been rezoned, 4 of them have not achieved full density: estimated unused density to date is 6,884 m2 (74,101 sq.ft.). Based on that track record, it would be reasonable to surmise that of the seven areas that remain to be rezoned, several will also not achieve full density. Therefore, by processing a CD-1 rezoning for Area 5B now at 1.0 FSR, this sub-area is removed as a potential location for accommodating unrealized density from other areas.

Non-market residential: In June 1997, when dealing with non-market housing options in large downtown projects, Council instructed staff to "explore options to expand the capacity for non-market housing in the mega projects, and in particular False Creek North, with the intent to maintain to the extent possible the objective of 20% non-market housing."

In July 1997, Council approved a payment-in-lieu for 150 non-market, non-family residential units for Area 4 (FCN ODP). This increases the pressure to identify other site opportunities for non-market residential. Staff have recently started work on a non-market housing strategy for False Creek North and will not finish until at least the second quarter of 1998. Calculations indicate that there is a deficit of approximately 150 non-market residential units. Area 5B may or may not be appropriate for non-market housing, but it may have the potential to accommodate other uses and density, thereby freeing up other sites for non-market. Staff would prefer the opportunity to explore these options before rezoning of Area 5B proceeds.

Soils: Since the approval of the overall FCN ODP two areas, Area 6C and 9, have been identified as having significant soil contamination. Area 6C is planned to accommodate non-market and market housing. Area 9 is planned as park. Over the last year there have been discussions, between the Province and City Manager, amongst others, regarding the need to reduce the potential high cost of remediating these contaminated areas. One method to potentially resolve this concern would be to change the land use pattern in the area around the B.C. Place stadium. This may have implications on the eventual use and density of Area 5B. A limited analysis of the soils issues may be achievable in 3-4 months.

Resources and Scheduling: The current staff dedicated to the FCN area have a fully committed work program which includes, among others, the following main projects: Beach Neighbourhood rezoning, Plaza of Nations rezoning, Quayside Marina rezoning, non-market residential strategy, four major development applications and public realm development. As additional staffing is not considered an option, if Area 5B rezoning proceeds now, a rescheduling of these projects will be required. Rescheduling would involve Concord and the associated City departments jointly establishing project priorities and schedules. A rezoning for Area 5B will take approximately 10 months. Staff estimate that the schedules for the five main Concord projects would be extended by approximately two months each.

North East False Creek (NEFC): Staff recommend Council request a report back on a proposal to undertake an urban design study for NEFC. A full urban design review of this area, stretching within the ODP boundaries between Cambie Bridge and Science World, is highly desirable at this time, not only to resolve the issues noted above, but also to deal with significant urban design, functional and aesthetic deficiencies that have become evident with development thus far in the area. Terms of reference for this study are being shaped from our experience of a preliminary urban design assessment that was undertaken by staff with Concord last year at Concord’s cost. ( See Appendix B.)

Staff , and Concord, believe this will conclude in a new plan for NEFC that better meets private and public interests. Even if Council decides it is appropriate to proceed now with a rezoning for 5B (see Consideration B) staff consider the urban design study terms of reference should proceed. A study of this magnitude will take approximately a year.

Development Timeframe: The rezoning proponents consider the development of this property as a short to medium term holding use that could be redeveloped in 15 to 20 years. This may or may not be so, but would still remove Area 5B from potentially resolving the surrounding issues.

Meetings: Planning staff met with the rezoning proponents and land owners to discuss the implications of proceeding with a CD-1 rezoning. While recognizing the possible long-term limitations of proceeding immediately, such as not achieving full density by the time the whole of the FCN is built out, both Concord Pacific and Wall Financial Corporation wish to proceed with a CD-1 rezoning.

Correspondence: The rezoning proponents and land owners have sent letters describing their intentions (see Appendix C and D). In summary, their intent is to: rezone consistent with the FCN ODP; and develop a short- to medium-term office development with a life span of approximately 15-20 years.

CONCLUSION

There is an understandable private sector business rationale put forward by the proponents to proceed with the CD-1 rezoning for Area 5B. However, staff consider the rezoning premature and believe public interests would be better served when the issues of density, non-market housing, soils and land use patterns, among others, in the area have been appropriately addressed. Staff consider Area 5B a key part of achieving those objectives that could be characterised as a future safety valve. Staff also believe that Concord’s long-term objectives of achieving full ODP density are better protected by not proceeding too quickly with their proposed rezoning.

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APPENDIX A

(FCN ODP Site Plan)

APPENDIX B

BACKGROUND

FCN ODP: The FCN ODP intent: Section 1.2 states, in part, "In order to provide effective guidance for the long-term development of False Creek North, this plan should be reviewed from time to time to ensure it accurately reflects prevailing public objectives." This implies that when Council originally approved the FCN ODP they recognized that the densities, uses and built form may have to be revisited when areas were rezoned in the future. For Area 5B, the FCN ODP allows for 1.0 FSR commercial 18 000 m² (200,000 sq. ft.) with a height limit above grade of approximately 50 m (164 ft.). Section 5.5 states, in part, "Offices in this area are intended to be low density, low-rise structures containing non-head office functions."

Zoning Status: Overall there are seven FCN ODP unzoned areas: 1A, 5B, 6A, 6C, 7A, 7B and 9 (see Appendix A for FCN ODP site plan), which are not tested by a rezoning to determine what densities can be achieved. There is, unused density of approximately 6 884 m² (74,101 sq. ft.) from FCN ODP areas 1B, 2, 3 and 4. That is, of the 5 areas that have been rezoned, 4 of them have not achieved approved and expected density. Staff note that at 1.0 FSR, Area 5B is by far the lowest density in FCN with more typical densities ranging from 4.0 FSR to 7.0 FSR.

North East False Creek Design Assessment: In June 1997, Concord, and Planning, organized two design meetings that focussed on the FCN area between the Cambie Bridge and Science World. The intent was to assess the ODP land use pattern and urban design structure and form of the area in light of new information and development that has occurred since the formulation of the ODP. The GM Arena, Plaza of Nations Hotel proposal and soils information are examples of new factors. The consensus from all parties involved in the design charette was that there were a number of different concepts for Area 5B worthy of pursuing. Staff and Concord are in agreement that, while the details have not been clarified, a comprehensive urban design study for this whole area should be undertaken in 1998.

Other Issues: There are other issues that would influence a CD-1 rezoning for this site. They include: the forthcoming Downtown Streetcar Alignment Study; a potential ALRT corridor beneath the site; an existing walkway on the site and there may need to be others to connect the northerly sites to the waterfront; a legal agreement between BC Place and Concord regarding the seating storage may have to be resolved; and the Stadium Parking agreement, amended July 19, 1997 and approved by Council, will require 50 public parking stalls in addition to the requirements of the on-site development and a pay-in-lieu for 250 stalls.

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(c) 1997 City of Vancouver