POLICY REPORT

BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT

Date: June 18, 1998

Author/Local: EFiss/7929

CC File No. 2605

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of Central Area Planning on behalf of Land Use & Development
SUBJECT:	Proposed Redevelopment at 3200 East 54th Avenue (Champlain Shopping Centre) DE403146

RECOMMENDATIONS

Staff recommend A below. If Council does not wish to pursue the course recommended in A, B is presented as an alternative.

A.THAT Council advise it is prepared to consider a significant change to the approved form of development of this CD-1 site and that staff continue to process it as a major preliminary development application DE403146, 3200 East 54th Avenue (Champlain Mall), to the Development Permit Board, with the revised form of development to be referred to Council for approval in the normal manner.

OR

B.THAT Council advise it is not prepared to consider a significant change to the approved form of development on this site.

If Council approves A, C below is submitted for CONSIDERATION

C.THAT Council direct that, if the preliminary application is approved by the Development Permit Board subject to approval of the form of devevlopment, Council’s consideration of the form of development take place at an advertised public meeting where delegations are invited .

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS A and C, as an extension of the normal development application process. Otherwise, B is put forward for as an alternative to A and C.

CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The City Manager notes that the policy question of considering changes without a rezoning to the form of development under one of the older CD-1 by-laws will be reviewed in a later report. This is a significant policy question which warrants careful consideration; there may be advantages to the City through utilizing a more general CD-1 zoning, guidelines, and Council approval of form of development than more detailed CD-1 zoning followed by rezoning for any changes. This report deals only with a specific application where the applicant has submitted a development application.

As indicated in the report, Council’s practice has been to require rezoning applications when significant changes to the form of development under a CD-1 by-law are proposed. However, as the report also indicates, this is a matter of practice, not a legal requirement. Council has discretion on the form of development under CD-1 zoning within the constraints of the specific CD-1 by-law. In the case of this application, staff have stated in the report that the major development application process may be sufficient to address the substantive issues raised by this submission. In addition, Council can require procedures and accept community amenity contributions similar to those afforded by the normal rezoning process should it so choose.

The City Manager suggests that the broader question of rezoning rather than a change in the form of development await the full report on this subject, RECOMMENDS approval of A and C, and submits B as an alternative to A and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

There is presently no specific policy pertaining to the issues raised in this report.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

A preliminary development application has been received for 3200 East 54th Avenue (Champlain Mall) proposing to demolish half the shopping centre and construct 344 dwelling units in its place. This is a significant change to the existing form of development approved for this CD-1 site by Council in 1971 and 1975, in addition to a change in focus for this site.

The existing CD-1 By-law (No. 4550) lists uses but no other regulations in the by-law (See Appendix A).

Staff and Council practice since the early 1970s has been to consider significant changes to an approved form of development on sites with old CD-1 zoning through new CD-1 By-laws and/or a text amendment and rezoning process to provide updated uses and regulations in these old by-laws. This has been done to clearly specify the "contract" that is made between the neighbourhood and the City, and to ensure that any future significant redevelopment would require a formal public hearing process. The applicant for this current DE questioned this practice. Where uses are listed in a CD-1 By-law, Council may simply amend the form of development by resolution, without the need for by-law amendment. A separate report will be forwarded to Council shortly to consider a specific policy for changes within the scope of CD-1 by-laws.

In the absence of specific Council policy preferring old CD-1 By-laws to be amended through the rezoning process, staff have identified two options for consideration of the redevelopment of Champlain Mall on this particular site.

Option 1Council could indicate it is willing to consider significant changes to the form of development. The major development permit process would involve the normal report to Council on the proposed new form of development after Development Permit Board review of a preliminary development application.

Option 2Council could indicate that it is unwilling to consider significant changes to the form of development. The proponent might then decide to pursue a rezoning.

Staff recommend Option 1 and put forward Option 2 for consideration. Option 1 is recommended because:

·530·in the absence of specific Council policy and upon legal advice, staff concluded a rezoning application could not be required; ·530

·530·the comprehensiveness of the major development application process may be sufficient to address the substantive issues raised by this submission.·530

Option 2 is put forward for consideration as Council is under no obligation to consider a change to the present form of development.

BACKGROUND

Project History: The Champlain Mall is located at the southeast corner of East 54th Avenue and Kerr Street. At present, the Champlain Mall consists of 17,643 m² (189,915 sq. ft.) of building with commercial uses and a public library. The CD-1 zoning for the site containing no regulations was approved in 1971. Council also approved the form of development at that time specifying the mall development now in place. The mall contains an Extra Foods grocery store, a Zellers department store, a pharmacy, liquor store, numerous fashion stores, restaurants, as well as a public library and medical/dental offices, located in the basement level. In January 1997, the developer, PCI, enquired about redevelopment of the site through a development application, noting that in addition to commercial, residential is a permitted use in the zoning. What was instigating this initiative was the impending closing of the Zellers store and the fact that the mall had, since the opening of Metrotown and expansion of Oakridge Shopping Centres, underperformed financially. Staff advised the developer:

·530·he is free to submit a development application;·530

·530·the ultimate approval of the new form of development is Council’s decision;·530

·530·prior consultation with mall tenants and the affected neighbourhood should be documented in the development application submission;·530

·530·the application should provide continual (and possibly improved and increased) branch library space, noting that typically the City would incur additional costs unless otherwise arranged for by the developer, and possibly other public benefits as might be suggested by the neighbourhood comments;·530

·530·processing of the development application and evaluation of a commercial impact study to be prepared by the applicant would be undertaken in the context of the South-East Sector (Champlain Heights) Development Plan (approved by Council in 1968); and·530

·530·a letter of intent and outline of the proposed consultation process was recommended, prior to commencement of consultations, to facilitate staff and Councillor response to any calls which might be received from the public.·530

Further, the developer was advised that before a substantive review and public notification of the development application was commenced, staff would report to Council to determine whether Council was prepared to consider a substantive change to the approved form of development through a development application process.

Project Description: The proposal is to demolish the easterly half of the existing mall (the Zellers wing) and replace it with low- to medium-density low-rise residential development. The grocery store in the west half of the mall would be retained, and augmented with new commercial buildings along the edges of East 54th Avenue and Kerr Street.

The redevelopment proposal for the site is for a mixed use development which will total approximately 46,517.5 m² (500,727 sq.ft.), including 36,797.7 m² (396,100 sq.ft.) of residential development and 9,719.8 m² (104,627 sq.ft.) of commercial of which 5445.5 m² (58,617 sq.ft.) is existing to be retained. The application is to construct three new free standing commercial buildings totalling approximately 4,275.2 m² (46,020 sq.ft.) and renovations to the existing shopping mall totalling 5,445.5 m² (58,617 sq.ft.), and to construct two four-storey apartment buildings (146 units) and 198 townhouses totalling 356 units, and approximately 37,183.6 m² (400,255 sq.ft.) of residential area. (Note: After the applicant neighbourhood consultation process the number of residential units was reduced to this figure from an initially proposed 400 units total).

The proposed development includes a pre-school, new public library replacing the existing, seniors centre, new classrooms for the neighbouring elementary school and a police office. This application will result in a reduction in size of the current Champlain Mall commercial building from approximately 17,643.1 m² (189,915 sq.ft.) to approximately 9,719.8 m² (104,627 sq.ft.), with a net loss of approximately 7,922.3 m² (85,278 sq.ft.) after completion of the new commercial buildings.

Project Summary:

	Existing	Proposed	Change
Commercial:
Existing	189,915 sq.ft.	58,617 sq.ft.
New	0	46,020 sq.ft.
Total	189,915 sq.ft.	104,627 sq.ft.	-85,288 sq.ft.
Residential:	0	396,100 sq.ft.	+396,100 sq.ft.
Total	189,915 sq.ft.	500,727 sq.ft.	+310,812 sq.ft.

Refer to Existing Site Plan (Appendix B)

Relevant Council Actions and By-laws

·530·Overall Concept Plan for South-East Sector of City of Vancouver and Conditions of Development, approved by Council May 31, 1968 (see Appendix C).·530

·530·CD-1(68) Comprehensive Development By-law No. 4550 (see Appendix A):·530

-carried at Public Hearing April 9, 1970;

-enacted April 20, 1971;

-amended September 23, 1975; and

-conditions of development and design guidelines for City-owned parcels at East 58th Avenue adopted by resolution of City Council September 14, 1982.

·530·CD-1(372) Comprehensive Development By-law No. 7723:·530

-text amendment to delete one site from the CD-1 zone, and to rezone that site, 7572 Kerr Street (Southview Lodge), and to provide regulations and a form of development to a new CD-1(372) by-law, enacted April 8, 1997.

See map of CD-1 (Appendix A).

DISCUSSION

Development Application vs. Rezoning Process: Initially the principle issue is whether it is appropriate at this stage for this proposal to proceed as a development application. It should be noted that under this development application:

·530·Contributions for public amenities cannot be imposed as a condition of the development permit, but Council may impose requirements as a condition of approval of a form of development.·530

·530·Formal public hearings before Council are not required. Council could choose to require an advertised public meeting at which presentations would be invited from the public. Public information meetings may be organized by the applicant, without staff assistance. The Development Permit Board which reviews major applications does meet in public.·530

·530·The restructuring of the commercial entity and the introduction of more housing units than was envisioned for this site in the Proposed Plan of Development for the South-East Sector is proposed.·530

Other scenarios for use of existing buildings without redevelopment include lease of the soon to be vacant Zeller’s space to another tenant such as a big box retail store. Such occupancy as an outright use would not require a DA unless exterior changes to the building were needed.

Proposed Community Amenity Contributions: A community amenity contribution (CAC) could not be imposed as a condition of the Development Permit Application, but may be required should this application be processed as a residential rezoning. Council could also require that necessary amenities be provided in its consideration of the form of development. However, the applicant has proposed a voluntary community amenity contribution based on its evaluation of community needs following a comprehensive public consultation process.

The amount of the proposed voluntary contribution is $1,010,139, in cash and facilities. It is based on a contribution of approximately $35.00 per square metre ($3.25 per square foot) of incremental development area. It should be noted that the incremental development area is significantly less than the total proposed residential development area.

The scale, appropriateness, and details of the proposed contribution have not yet been evaluated by staff. The proposed contribution includes relocation and expansion of the existing Branch Library for which the City would normally incur additional operating costs, and provision of a Seniors Centre and Pre-school Facility, the operations of which has not yet been stipulated, construction of new classrooms for the neighbouring Elementary School, and cash to the City. (Refer to Appendix D for further description of proposed amenities.)

NEIGHBOURHOOD FEEDBACK

Applicant’s Public Consultation Process: The application prepared by W.T. Leung Architects Inc, on behalf of The PCI Group, has documented a community consultation process conducted by Douglas Purdy & Associates. This process involved contact with over 6,000 households through exhibits, public information meetings, questionnaires, and other meetings with specific groups. The results of the applicant’s public consultation process reflected a range of issues, from a concern for the loss of existing retail operations, to concerns about density, the impacts on neighbourhood traffic, and on the capacity of existing school, parks, and recreational facilities resulting from the proposed increase in residential density and the reconfiguration of the commercial facilities. The applicant has submitted a commercial impact study and a traffic study with the development application.

IMPLEMENTATION

If this application were to be processed as a major development in the normal manner (if Council directs staff to proceed), the review process would include the following:

·530·notification through the applicant’s installation of sign(s) on the site and City mailing of an information letter to surrounding property owners;·530

·referral of the application along with a comprehensive staff report and recommendation to the Development Permit Board for a decision, either approval, subject to Council’s approval of an amendment to the approved form of development, or refusal; and,

·if approved by the Board, approval or refusal of the amended form of development by Council. Council could choose to refer the matter to a public meeting to hear neighbourhood input prior to making its decision.

If it was dealt with through a rezoning process, the review process would include the following:

·530·notification through the applicant’s installation of sign(s) on the site and City mailing of an information letter to surrounding property owners;·530

·referral to Public Hearing of the application along with a comprehensive staff report and recommendation to Council (or recommendation that the project be refused and not referred to a Public Hearing);

·if referred, then an advertised Public Hearing at which Council would either approve or refuse the application; and

·530·then, a development application dealt with by the Development Permit Board in the normal manner and final form of development subsequently approved by Council.·530

APPLICANT’S COMMENTS

Refer to applicant’s letter, Appendix E.

CONCLUSION

This report recommends a process for considering significant changes to the form of development on this particular site which is regulated by an old CD-1 zoning that contains no regulations.

A conventional rezoning process would ensure advertising and notification, and ensure that Council is generally supportive of the form of development before considerable time is invested in analysis of a detailed development application. Nonetheless, the applicant has explicitly requested to move forward with the development application, there is no explicit Council policy regarding this process that would require a rezoning application, and there is sufficient authority vested in the major development application process to achieve public objectives in the redevelopment. Further, Council could require additional steps in the process should it wish to do so. On this basis, staff recommend that Council instruct the Director of Planning to process this application for redevelopment of Champlain Mall as a development application and, pending an approval and referral to Council by the Development Permit Board, that Council then consider a significant change to the form of development.

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APPENDIX D

PAGE 1 OF 2

PROPOSED COMMUNITY AMENITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Branch Library/Seniors Centre /Community Policing Office: The existing branch library leases basement space of 4,395 sq. ft. plus 322 additional sq. ft. granted by Council in 1994 to alleviate crowded working conditions, at a lease cost of approximately $97,000 per annum. This branch currently ranks sixth out of twenty branches in books and materials circulation activity, 4^th highest in terms of children’s circulation and has increased in overall circulation 15.5% since 1991. The proposal is for 9.225 sq.ft. of space, approximately 8,000 sq.ft. for the branch library and 1,225 sq.ft. to be used and designed for a seniors centre and Community Policing Office - all located on ground floor level.

Although the Vancouver Public Library is interested in exploring the move to the ground floor location and recognizes that the current activity levels of the branch are above library operating standards from the current branch size, it does not have funds to cover increased operating costs represented by an increase in square footage and the resulting increase in rent, maintenance, utilities - although no significant increase in staffing is required and any minimal staffing needs would be covered by internal allocations. Further, shared space with the proposed seniors centre and Community Policing Office could be problematic from the Library’s point of view. The Library also has indicated that the developer’s offer of an allowance to the City of $100,000 to subsidize the incremental operating costs for the branch library to be paid over three years, and the proposal of $250,000 payment to the City for fixturing the new facility (furnishings, seismic shelving) would not adequately address the Library’s ongoing financial needs.

Contribution: $350,000

Pre-school Facility: A pre-school facility would be located in a separate strata lot on the ground floor of one of the proposed apartment buildings. The applicant would convey to the City, at no cost, a finished strata lot of 139 m² (1,500 sq.ft.), to accommodate a pre-school facility to be operated by the City for 20 children. It would include an adjacent outdoor activity area, partially under cover. The cost of the operation of the pre-school facility would be the responsibility of the City.

Contribution: $262,500

APPENDIX D

PAGE 2 OF 2

Captain Cook Elementary School: The adjacent Captain Cook Elementary School is presently at full capacity and utilizing 5 portable classrooms. The applicant estimates that the residential component of the proposed development could house 46 to 81 elementary aged children. The proposal is to design, construct, and pay for, three classrooms, based on Vancouver School Board’s standards of construction, to accommodate up to 90 school children. The Vancouver School Board has approved in principle the proposed offer.

Contribution: $300,000

Cash: A mix of neighbourhood priorities for additional community facilities were identified through the applicant’s public consultation process. A cash payment is proposed to be allocated by the City towards community needs. The Champlain Heights Community Association has identified the construction and equipping of a weight lifting and cardio-vascular exercise facility as an appropriate use for a voluntary contribution.

Contribution: $97,639

TOTAL CONTRIBUTION: $1,010,139

NOTE:ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REPORT THAT DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC COPY ARE AVAILABLE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver