Agenda Index City of Vancouver


ph990330.htm

6
CITY OF VANCOUVER

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

MARCH 30, APRIL 12 and 26, MAY 4 and JUNE 21, 1999

PRESENT:

Mayor Philip Owen
*Councillor Don Bellamy
*Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario
Councillor Jennifer Clarke
Councillor Alan Herbert
*Councillor Lynne Kennedy
Councillor Daniel Lee
Councillor Don Lee
Councillor George Puil
Councillor Sam Sullivan

ABSENT:

Councillor Don Bellamy (May 4 and June 21)
Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (May 4 and June 21)
Councillor Lynne Kennedy (April 12 and 26, May 4 and June 21)
Councillor Gordon Price

CLERK TO
THE COUNCIL:

Nancy Largent

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Herbert,

1. CD-1 Rezoning 4470 West 8th Avenue File: 1401-4

(a) THAT the proposed form of development be approved by Council in principle, generally as prepared by Roger Hughes + Partners, Architects, and stamped "Received City Planning Department, October 13, 1998", provided that the Director of Planning may allow minor alterations to this form of development when approving the detailed scheme of development as outlined in (b) below.

(b) THAT, prior to approval by Council of the form of development, the applicant shall obtain approval of a development application by the Director of Planning, who shall have particular regard to the following:

(c) THAT, prior to enactment of the CD-1 By-law, the registered owner shall:

OR

OR

OR

OR

Staff Opening Comments

Applicant Opening Comments

(Councillor Kennedy left the meeting at 8:35 p.m.
on May 30, due to illness, and did not return)

Summary of Correspondence

Speakers

Reva Dexter
Gary Bogdanovich
Marian Macworth
Gordon Harms, West Point Grey
Residents' Association (brief filed)
Susan Balfour-Hunt
Michael Rosen
Jack Turner (brief filed)
Allan Macworth
Tony Crossman
Gerry Macken
Carolyn Rogers
Dorian Rae
Ron Hunt
Pari Asarm-Motaedi
Ian Ross
Bob Brewater (brief filed)
Greg Taylor
Richard Kerekes
Frans Gerber
Paul Williams
Norman Shearing
J. D. Waters
Louise Krivel
Mark Scivier

Phil Downey
David Clark
Leonidas Hill
Mel Comisarow
Mansour Montamedi
Bill Dorfmann
Stella Atkins
Amanda Hill
Norman Walker
Terry Collette
Sharon Treanor (letter read by Susan
Balfour-Hunt)
George Rudolph
Evelyn Taylor
Hank Starek (letter read by representative))
Elizabeth Newton
Sheila Starek
Joyce Ozier
Pamela Starek (letter read by Al Dexter)
Elizabeth Rowan
Dr. Susan O'Reilly
Murray Sharp (brief filed)
Lies Botman (brief filed)
David Dexter
Margaret Gardiner
Al Dexter

· a survey carried out by the West Point Grey Resident's Association indicates that over 81% of residents between 4th and 16th Avenues and Alma and Blanca Streets are opposed;
· the poll carried out by the applicant was biased;
· a precedent-setting development of this size should not be considered before the CityPlan visioning process in West Point Grey is completed;
· this site may be sold and a future developer my attempt to change the CD-1;
· the application is not in accord with neighborhood values;
· the development would change the family orientation of the neighborhood;
· the developer is not offering enough amenities or social benefits to pay for this intrusion into an RS-1 area;
· the developer should be required to work out a community benefits plan in consultation with staff and the West Point Grey Residents' Association;
· a gated, walled, inwardly oriented compound would not fit the character of the neighborhood;
· area homes will be sandwiched between two commercial-sized developments;
· building heights in excess of RS-1 should not be permitted;
· the scale of the development should be reduced, with no units over two stories permitted;
· the design is too uniform - there should be more diversification;
· the developer has ignored the adjacent neighbors' requests for amelioration;
· the development is too high and bulky;
· views will be negatively affected and adjacent properties will be shadowed;
· other alternatives should be found to meet regional densification quotas without going into the heart of a single-family neighborhood;
· the present RS-1 zoning should be retained; alternative housing can be accommodated in C-2 zoning such as applies on West 10th Avenue;
· there will be a disproportionate impact on the area to accommodate only 19 or 20 more residents than could be accommodated by RS-1 development on the site;
· this development is being promoted as suitable for seniors and for aging in place, but is not suitable; reasons for viewing the development as unsuitable included: stairs rather than elevators; the development is not affordable housing; this inwardly focussed development lacks ties to the surrounding community;
· the term "aging in place" rightly refers to seniors remaining in their own homes with community assistance;
· the Special Advisory Committee on Seniors opposes this application;
· there have been so many changes to this application that the neighborhood is thoroughly confused and unable to judge the proposal coherently;

· this development would set an unfortunate precedent for this single-family neighborhood;
· many people want a chance to bring up their families in single-family neighborhoods like the ones they grew up in, but such neighborhoods in Vancouver are under great pressure to densify, and may become endangered species;
· seniors who have already enjoyed the advantages of bringing up their families in single-family neighborhoods are now supporting changes to meet their own needs at the expense of others wishing to raise their families in a similar environment;
· access onto 8th Avenue as requested by developer would be hazardous to cyclists using this important bicycle route to UBC (see further comments in section following);
· traffic and parking in the area will increase, and the area already has too much traffic and too little parking; added traffic will be hazardous to children and seniors in the area;
· even if the access were changed to Sasamat, there would be conflicts with school children and other pedestrians on this heavily used pedestrian route;
· the developer's proposal to close the lane will break the neighborhood pattern of lane use as a pedestrian thoroughfare and contribute to the development's isolation from the surrounding community;
· because of the closed lane proposed, the garbage pick-up point will be close to the edge of the development, disturbing the neighbors with noise, odors, etc.;
· a lane is essential for emergency access;
· design features of this development do not fit into the neighborhood well;
· this property is held in trust, and the developer will be unable to proceed without obtaining a Court Order varying the conditions - it is improper for the City to deal with this application until these issues have been resolved;
· the site would be better developed as an open public park;
· a number of speakers indicated they would be more supportive of the proposed development provided all conditions recommended by City staff were approved..

· the affected portion of 8th Avenue is part of the Ridgeway Greenway cycling route;
· the east-west alignment and glare conditions would cause visibility problems;
· the hours of heaviest use will exacerbate conflicts with cyclists;
· sight lines for exiting vehicles will be inadequate;
· the route is heavily used by children and UBC students, during all weathers and after dark;
· vehicles and cyclists are often traveling at high rates of speed on sloping 8th Avenue, making accidents more likely and collisions more dangerous;
· the results of vehicle-cyclist collisions are often devastating to the cyclists;
· the City wishes to promote cycling as a form of alternate transportation, so should take steps to ensure cycling routes are safe;
· the applicant has not been willing to discuss alternatives to 8th Avenue access;
· the Board of Directors of Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) is on record as opposed to the 8th Avenue access.
· the dangers are so apparent, the City would be held liable for accidents if it approves this access;
· if the City does approve this access, traffic calming measures such as 4-way stop signs must be undertaken.

Ashley Hilliard
Jim Cameron
Lesley MacGregfor
Wayne Kennedy
Sharon Low
David Shymko
Kate Farrell
Tom Staniszkis
Joyce Brown
Janet Stamper
Bob Burrow
Merry Wood
Marilyn Harrison
Cathy Kershaw
Carole Christopher
Brian Job
Dick Clark
Susan Richardson
Kai Alderson
Marguerite Ford
Ralph Schmidtke
Robert Simmons
Dr. John Barry
Madeleine Kitos
Helga Lewis
Rita Ferris
Dorian Moodie
Lorraine Twaites
Debbie Kraus
Christine Elliott
Dorothy Longnair
Barbara Bacon
Wendy McGinn
Maureen Brown
Dorothy Wiebe
David Gibson
Lois McPherson
Joslin Kobylka
John Wiebe
Gillian Beattie
Brenda Morrison
Dr. Nancy Heath
Mark Emanuel
Tom Morton
Jan Timmer
Jim McNish
Steve Ladner
Michel Morgan
David McCann
Michel Young
Isabel Cordua
Susan Campbell

Elyne Johnson Judy Steele
Duke and Irene Saunders (letter read John Howes
by Michael Paris) Don Davies
Charlene Luedke Conrad Guelke
Hugh Dempster Christine Wardle
Doreen Johnson

· the proposed development will offer much-needed housing alternatives in the West Point Grey area, suitable for seniors who no longer wish to maintain single family homes but do wish to remain in their neighborhood; it also offers opportunities for singles and single parents who cannot afford single-family homes in the area;
· although there is condominium housing available in West Point Grey, not everyone wants to live in a concrete apartment block along an arterial; many would prefer townhouse-type accommodation in a garden setting like that proposed in this application, which is currently in very short supply;
· Vancouver must meet densification needs and regional commitments, and cannot expect all these needs to be met along arterials or in just some neighborhoods;
· this site offers an opportunity to diversify without demolishing existing single-family housing;
· the site is close to shopping and public transit;
· this development will support area businesses;
· the development will be attractive to seniors, who tend to have fewer cars and use their cars less, especially when transit is available;
· affordability will not be an issue for West Point Grey seniors who sell their single-family homes in order to move to town-home style residence;
· multi-family housing will be more affordable than single-family;
· stairs are not a deterrent to active, healthy seniors, and some units offer single=level accommodation;
· this development will offer a large amount of underground parking and there will be no need for overspill onto area streets;
· predictions of less cars if the site were to be developed as RS-1 lots do not take into account that most new homes in this area will include at least one suite, with no provision for tenants' parking on-site;
· closure of the lane is essential in order to maximize the gardens at the center of the site, which are such an attractive feature of the project;
· traffic access onto 8th avenue will not be unduly hazardous, particularly with appropriate signage:
· traffic from a development housing numbers of seniors will not follow typical patterns of peak hour usage;

· there are other examples of access onto 8th Avenue, for example from an area church parking lot, which have not proven to be serious problems;
· not all lanes in West Point Grey are open, and many open lanes are hardly bucolic thoroughfares, but instead are lined by high fences and enormous garages;
· objections to a walled and gated community do not take into account that many homes in this area have tall fences and often locked gates as well, which is the prerogative of owners of private property;
· the developer has incorporated numerous changes in response to neighborhood concerns;
· design features of this development are excellent and fit well with the neighborhood character.

Council Decision

The Special Council recessed at:
10:05 p.m. on May 30, 1999,
10:00 p.m. on April 12, 1999,
10:00 p.m. on April 26, 1999,
and 10:10 p.m. on May 4, 1999,
and adjourned at 10:45 p.m. on June 21, 1999.

* * * * *


ph990330.htm


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