SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 3
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
SEPTEMBER 28, 1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: September 8, 1995
Dept. File No. WB
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: Director of Land Use and Development
SUBJECT: Proposed Casino at 3350 East Broadway
Development Application Number 400074
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Development Application Number 400074 for a new building on
the site at 3350 East Broadway containing a casino NOT be approved.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Industrial Lands
On March 14, 1995, Council adopted the Industrial Lands Strategy, which
seeks to retain most of the City's existing industrial land base for
industry and service businesses in order to meet the needs of city-
serving, city-oriented, and port/river related industry.
Casinos
On October 1, 1992, Council approved the following recommendation of the
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment:
"THAT development applications for casinos be reviewed by the
Director of Planning, based on the criteria presented in the Policy
Report dated August 28, 1992, and the results of that review, along
with recommendations, be reported to the Standing Committee on
Planning and Environment;
AND FURTHER THAT notification in residential areas include a yes or
no questionnaire to ensure impacted residents have an opportunity
to express their opinions."
The following criteria are used to evaluate casino proposals:
- proximity to residential development and other sensitive uses
such as schools and parks;
- size of the facility;
- hours of operation (limited to 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
currently);
- anticipated traffic and parking impacts;
- Police Department comments; and
- comments from the normal development permit process (including
notification).
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council's advice on a development application to
construct a two-storey building on this site having a Casino and
Restaurant - Class 1 on the upper floor and Wholesale/
Warehouse/Manufacturing uses on the lower floor.
SITE DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND
The site is located on the southeast corner of East Broadway and Rupert
Streets and is within the M-2 Industrial Zoning District (see Appendix A
Map, attached).
The surrounding area, within the 2,000 foot radius survey area, contains
a mixture of wholesale, warehouse and manufacturing uses along with
single-family residential areas located primarily north of
Broadway/Lougheed Highway and south of Grandview Highway. The closest
residential area is directly across Broadway/Lougheed Highway to the
north.
Also within the survey area are: one elementary school, two subsidized
housing projects, one religious centre and two City Parks. There is one
liquor licensed Restaurant - Class 1 located on Lougheed Highway just
east of the subject site.
A copy of the survey area map is attached as Appendix A.
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
The proposal is to construct a two-storey building on this site having
Casino (approximately 14,000 square feet) and Restaurant - Class 1
(approximately 8,000 square feet) on the upper floor and
Wholesale/Warehouse/Manufacturing uses (approximately 26,000 square feet
total) on the lower floor. The casino would be operated by Grand Casino
Equipment and Management Ltd. and would be a relocation from its present
operation at 725 Southeast Marine Drive. The casino is presently
limited under Provincial Regulations to a maximum of 25 gaming tables.
A total of 247 off-street parking spaces would be provided on site.
DISCUSSION
Industrial Lands Criteria
The site is in an area that has been identified to be retained for
industrial uses. Although the proposal does include "outright"
industrial uses on the lower floor, the inclusion of a Casino and
Restaurant - Class 1 on the upper floor is a concern to Planning staff,
particularly in view of Council's recently adopted Industrial Lands
Strategy.
Casinos are not a listed use in any of the District Schedules of the
Zoning and Development By-law; however, they have been considered in the
past as "similar to a Hall", which, along with Restaurant - Class 1, are
conditional uses in the M-2 District.
Staff are concerned that the inclusion of commercial uses such as Casino
and Restaurant may exert upward pressure on the industrial land values,
to the detriment of true industrial uses. All of the current casinos,
and most of the major restaurants in the City are located in commercial
districts. From all indications, casinos appear to be operating
successfully in the commercial areas at present, and there is no reason
to believe that a proposal of this type would not be able to find a
suitable location in one of these areas.
In the past, restaurants in industrial areas have been encouraged only
where they are small in size, and where they cater to the local business
community. This proposal includes a large restaurant that, along with
the casino, may become a "destination" type facility, catering primarily
to customers from outside the area.
Casino Criteria
In terms of the specific criteria for evaluating casino proposals, the
site itself is somewhat isolated from nearby residential properties
because it is separated by a major arterial route (Broadway/Lougheed
Highway) and because the sloping topography of the site would reduce the
impact of a new building. A 40-foot landscape setback is required from
the Broadway frontage and it is felt the neighbourhood would not be
unduly affected by traffic or noise generated by the facility. A nearby
elementary school is not affected in that the casino would only operate
between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.
NOTIFICATION
In accordance with Council's resolution dated October 1, 1992, as part
of the review of this development application, neighbourhood
notification was carried out to the property owners within a 2,000 ft.
radius of the site. A "ballot" was enclosed for their response.
502 neighbouring property owners were notified of the proposal. The
Director of Planning received 141 "ballot" responses from within the
notification area, of which 128 (91%) were in opposition and 13 (9%)
were in favour.
A summary of the concerns expressed on the negative "ballots" is as
follows:
- casino would be too close to an existing elementary school;
- casino would be less than three blocks from a community centre
and low-income housing;
- casino would be too close to residential neighbourhood; and
- casino would generate increased traffic and noise.
SOCIAL PLANNING DEPARTMENT COMMENTS
The Director of Social Planning has no objection to this proposed
casino, on the understanding that it represents the relocation of an
existing casino at Fraser Street and Southeast Marine Drive. Despite
community concerns, experience shows that casinos generally do not have
an adverse effect on neighbouring sites.
POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMENTS
The Police Department has some concerns regarding noise generated by
patrons leaving the establishment and associated parking areas in the
early morning hours, but have no direct policing concerns in relation to
this application.
CONCLUSION
The proposal meets the technical requirements of the Zoning and
Development By-law and the Parking By-law. There are significant
neighbourhood objections; however, Planning staff do not believe a
casino on this particular site would have an adverse effect on
residential neighbours. The Police Department and the Social Planning
Department do not object to the casino relocation.
The Director of Land Use and Development, is concerned however, that
while this site may lend itself to this type of facility in terms of the
criteria used to evaluate casino proposals, it does not meet the intent
of Council's recent Industrial Lands Policy and is therefore
recommending that Council not support this development as presented.
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