CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

JULY 9, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Thursday, July 9, 1998, at 3:30 p.m. in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Leave of Absence) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Civic Business) Councillor George Puil
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Nancy Largent

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Herbert,

SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report to Council

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

July 9, 1998

Council considered the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in the following clauses of the attached report:

Cl. 1: Warning to Prospective Purchasers of

Individual Strata Lots at 336 East 1st Avenue

Clause 1

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the recommendation of the Committee, as contained in Clause 1 of this report, be approved.

- 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. Herbert,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ENQUIRIES AND OTHER MATTERS

1. UBCM Resolution on Interpretation of the Charter File: 3252

Council approved the following resolution for submission to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities' annual convention.

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,

SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

WHEREAS the presence of organized and individual criminal activity threatens the sense of security of our communities; and

WHEREAS the application of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has reduced the effectiveness of our police agencies and the justice system to control crime, to the detriment of our communities; and

WHEREAS our inability to enforce effectively against criminal activity has resulted in a loss of confidence in the justice system;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request the Minister of Justice introduce legislation to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement, utilizing where necessary section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Council adjourned at 3:40 p.m.

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REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

JULY 9, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Planning And Environment was held on Thursday, July 9, 1998, at 2:00 p.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Leave of Absence) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Civic Business) Councillor George Puil Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Nancy Largent

RECOMMENDATION

1. Warning to Prospective Purchasers of Individual

Strata Lots at 336 East 1st Avenue File: 2701-1

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated June 15, 1998 (on file), in which the City Building Inspector recommended that 336D Notices be filed against the Certificates of Title of all strata lots in the development at 336 East 1st Avenue. The filing of these notices would ensure that any prospective purchaser is made aware that there are violations of the Zoning and Development and Vancouver Building By-laws in specific suites (outlined in Appendix A of the Administrative Report) which could also adversely affect the other suites in the building, and that if these violations were enforced against the purchaser, would cause significant loss or expense. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval, as set out in the recommendation of this report.

Tom Timm, City Building Inspector, reviewed the report, noting the building is composed of 67 artist live/work strata units. The most serious infraction is a compromised sprinkler system, caused by construction of lofts in 52 of the strata units, without permits Because of the danger of fire, the safety of all units in the building has been compromised. Normally, the City Building Inspector would require that permits be obtained and the units be brought up to code, or that the lofts be removed. However, in this case there is not enough residual floor space for permits to be issued. All the building issues can be dealt with, but the owners would have to obtain additional floor space. Mr. Timm briefly enumerated options to obtain added floor space, and indicated he was prepared to withhold enforcement while the strata owners attempt to resolve the floor space issue, provided an option is chosen and pursued and a definite timetable is established. In the interim, the filing of 336D Notices is recommended to warn any prospective purchasers.

The following speakers requested that 336D Notices not be filed until they have had an opportunity to resolve the floor space issue and obtain permits:

Ross Denotter, Strata Council Chair

Valerie Hennell

Marcel Hilderbrand

Gordon Waselnuk

Sylvie Pelletier

cont'd

Clause No. 1 Continued

Following are some of the points made by the foregoing:

·15 units in the building are currently in compliance, and it would be unfair - and possibly legally questionable - to file against them;

·65% of the units are either in compliance or constructed of non-combustible materials;

·if the notices are filed now, incentive will be lost; people will wonder why they should bother to bring their units up to code, or to pay additional money, when the Notices will be left on the title until all their neighbours' units have also been brought up to code;

·the building obtained its occupancy permit before Council adopted changes to the IC-3 District Schedule which require floor space to be double counted to provide space for lofts; this building is legally non-conforming, and should not be punished because the City amended its policy too late;

·fire safety is a serious issue, and most owners would be willing to sprinkler their lofts to restore safety, but are unable to obtain permits because of this situation;

·it will be difficult to get everyone to agree on how to resolve the floor space problem collectively (low turn-out at this meeting was pointed out), yet there is no way to resolve it on an individual basis;

·it will take time to pursue the available options, and Council was asked to withhold enforcement pending a solution;

·the artist live/work provisions were intended to rescue artists from the intolerable circumstances in which many were living, and provide an exciting opportunity to live in artists' communities; if artists are forced to tear down their lofts, they will be unable to both live and work in the building and will be forced to rent to non-artists;

·the developer of this building told the buyers that they would be able to build lofts;

·Council should have known when this building was constructed that there were going to be lofts, and has a responsibility to those artists who were pioneers in artist live/work;

·this building was not well constructed from the outset; for example, windows are single-pane glass;

·most of the options to obtain additional floor space are too expensive for the artist owners;

cont'd

Clause No. 1 Continued

·the City wants to encourage people to live in smaller spaces, to live downtown and close to their work, and more bicycle use; the pioneers in this building are doing all those environmentally positive things, and should be encouraged;

·336D Notices are unnecessary, because all prospective purchasers must be given copies of the Strata Council minutes, which will certainly make it clear that these problems exist;

·a few units have been put up for sale over the past few years, but they are not selling, so people are aware of the problems.

Lynn Rippon, Manager, Development Information and Application Centre, clarified that this building was built as 2.9 fsr. No plans were submitted for the additions, but it appears the building is now at approximately 3.5 fsr. Taking into account those units which have not installed lofts but may wish to do so, about 10,000 square feet of added floor space is needed. The IC-3 District Schedule permits exclusion of amenity areas and balconies without going through the Board of Variance. This would supply an additional 5729 square feet for loft use. To acquire the remainder needed, the owners could purchase heritage density at $25-30 per square foot, or provide a cultural amenity or low-rental unit to obtain an amenity bonus.

Michael Gordon, Central Area Planner, advised that the owners could appeal to he Board of Variance for additional density. If supported, the owners could then apply for permits. If not successful with an appeal, the owners could supply space for an amenity such as an art gallery or a unit for low-cost rental. This would allow density to be increased without a rezoning. Alternatively, the owners could purchase heritage density to the required amount, requiring a rezoning in this zone. In response to a query, Mr. Gordon advised that Planning would not require a majority of owners to apply for rezoning. A representative group would suffice.

On the question of enforcement, Mr. Timm reiterated he is most interested in having a definite option pursued according to a set timetable. Otherwise, enforcement will be pursued. Ted Droettboom, General Manager of Community Services, added that it is customary to withhold enforcement if a rezoning application is received.

cont'd

Clause No. 1 Continued

The Committee noted that if the additional space described by Ms. Rippon were divided equally among all the units, it would solve the problem for some owners with smaller lofts. There are also options which the owners can pursue to obtain more space. However, in the interim, the City has a responsibility to warn persons who may be contemplating purchase of one of the units, particularly in view of the fire safety issue. Therefore, the 336D Notices should be filed.

The following motion by Councillor Price was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT the City Clerk be directed to file a 336D Notice in particular against the Certificate of Title to the specific strata lots outlined in Appendix A of the Administrative Report dated June 15, 1998 and generally to all strata lots in the development at 336 East 1st Avenue, in order to warn prospective purchasers that there is a contravention of the Zoning and Development and Vancouver Building By-laws related to these individual strata lots.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver