POLICY REPORT

DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

Date: March 29, 1999
Author/Local: RWhitlock/7814
RTS No. 00508
CC File No. 5303
Council: April 13, 1999

TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: Director of Central Area Planning on behalf of Land Use and Development

SUBJECT: Text Amendment to Pending CD-1 for 6111 Cambie Street (St. John Ambulance)

RECOMMENDATION

THAT, subject to the enactment of the pending CD-1 By-law for 6111 Cambie Street (Lot 1 of B, Block 1008, D.L. 526, Plan 10803), the application by Greystone Properties Ltd. to amend the text of this pending CD-1 By-law to permit an increase in dwelling units from 56 to 62, be referred to a Public Hearing, together with:

(i) revised plans as received on December 18, 1998 in conjunction with DE403844;

(ii) draft CD-1 By-law provisions including further amendments to permit a small height increase and FSR exclusions for a glass-covered entry and walkway connection, and balcony enclosures, generally as contained in Appendix A; and

(iii) the recommendation of the Director of Central Area Planning on behalf of Land Use and Development to approve subject to the condition contained in Appendix B; and

FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal services be instructed to prepare the necessary CD-1 By-law for consideration at Public Hearing.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

On September 15, 1998, following a Public Hearing, Council approved an amendment to a CD-1 By-law which covers several institutional sites, to create a new CD-1 By-law for the St. John Ambulance site at 6111 Cambie Street. The applicant is proceeding to meet the prior-to zoning enactment conditions of approval, and enactment of the CD-1 By-law is anticipated shortly.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report assesses an application to increase the number of dwelling units from 56 to 62, for a pending CD-1 By-law approved at a Public Hearing held on September 15, 1998.

This change is considered to be of little consequence to the overall project or the surrounding neighbourhood, and staff recommend the proposed text amendment.

Staff further recommend minor changes to accommodate additional height, enclosure of balconies on Cambie Street and West 45th Avenue facades and a glass-covered entry and walkway connection between the two proposed buildings.

DISCUSSION

Dwelling Unit Increase: The applicant proposes an increase from 56 units to 62 slightly smaller units with no increase in FSR. Given the slight increase in the number, and the smaller sizes, any increase in activity resulting from the change would be imperceptible.

Other Changes: Development Application DE403844 was submitted on December 18, 1998. Assessment of the application indicates changes from the drawings posted at Public Hearing which are inconsistent with the pending CD-1 By-law as follows:

Height: The pending by-law allows for a height of 13 m (42.65 ft.) on the Ash Street side of the site and 23 m (75.5 ft.) on the Cambie Street side of the site. The proposed height of the residential component on Ash Street is now 13.7 m (44.8 ft.). Staff note that the Oakridge Langara Policy Statement provides for a height of 12.2 m (40 ft.); however, staff also note that the Peretz development proposal immediately south of the lane separating the two sites has a building component at its northerly end of 13.72 m (45 ft.) in height. The "Conservatory" development to the west across Ash Street (620 West 45th Avenue) has a maximum height of 15.24 m (50 ft.). Consequently staff believe that the context provides a basis for this modest increase.

Balcony Enclosures: Enclosure of all balconies fronting onto Cambie Street and West 45th Avenue is proposed because of traffic noise on both these streets. Staff recommend that a relaxation clause be introduced to allow the Director of Planning to authorize such enclosure.

Covered Entry: The applicant has proposed an entry and connecting walkway between the two buildings which is glass covered but not enclosed other than with metal fence railings for security purposes. This design feature is both practical and attractive; however, normally the covered area would be counted as floor space. Staff recommend that this glass-covered entry and connecting walkway be excluded from floor space ratio, by adding the appropriate exclusion clause.

In view of the lengthy process involved in bringing the St. John's proposal through rezoning, staff are initiating these changes, thereby avoiding Greystone Properties having to bear yet further fees in addition to that paid for the current application to increase the number of units.

Public Benefit Analysis: Proforma analysis undertaken with the initial rezoning is based on total floor area. No change is requested with respect to floor space and, therefore, calculations related to public benefits also remains the same. Total CAC and DCL amount to $400,000, with the former paid before enactment and the latter at the building permit stage.

CONCLUSION

Planning staff conclude that these changes will be of benefit to future residents in this development while having little or no effect on the surrounding area. Therefore the Director of Central Area Planning on behalf of Land Use and Development recommends that the application, along with further proposed amendments, be referred to Public Hearing and approved.

* * * * *

APPENDIX A

Proposed Amendments to CD-1 By-law for

6111 Cambie Street (St. John Ambulance)

· Dwelling Units:

Increase the number of permitted units from 56 to 62 [amend Section 2 (Uses)];

· Height:

Increase allowable height on the westerly half of the site from 13.0 m (42.65 ft.) to 13.7 m (45.0 ft.) [amend Section 4 (Height)];

· FSR Exclusions:

Exclude an open-sided, glass-covered entry and connecting walkways [add (g) to Section 3.5 (exclusions from floor space ratio)];

· Balcony Enclosures:

Provide for balcony enclosures on Cambie Street and West 45th Avenue [add new Section 3.6 as follows:

"(a) The Director of Planning may permit the following to be excluded in the computation of floor space ratio:

(i) enclosed residential balconies, provided that the Director of Planning first considers all applicable policies and guidelines adopted by Council and approves the design of any balcony enclosure, subject to the following:

· the total area of all open and enclosed balcony or sundeck exclusions does not exceed eight percent of the residential floor area being provided; and

· no more that 50 percent of the excluded balcony floor area may be enclosed.

(b) The Director of Planning may relax any of the provisions of Section 3.6(a) to provide for enclosure of residential balconies facing Cambie Street and West 45th Avenue."]

APPENDIX B

PROPOSED CONDITION OF APPROVAL

(a) THAT the proposed form of development be approved by Council in principle, generally as prepared by Hancock Brückner Eng & Wright, Architects, as part of the submission for DE403844, received on December 18, 1998.

APPENDIX C

APPLICANT, PROPERTY, AND DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL INFORMATION

APPLICANT AND PROPERTY INFORMATION

Street Address	6111 Cambie Street (St. John Ambulance)
Legal Description	Lot 1 of B, Block 1008, D.L. 526, Plan 10803
Applicant	Greystone Properties Ltd.
Architect	James Hancock
Property Owner	St. John Ambulance
Developer	Greystone Properties Ltd.

SITE STATISTICS

	GROSS	DEDICATIONS	NET
SITE AREA	4 370.6 m²	none	4 370.6 m²

DEVELOPMENT STATISTICS

	DEVELOPMENT PERMITTED UNDER RECENTLY APPROVED REZONING*	PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
ZONING	CD-1 (pending)	Text Amendment to pending CD-1
USES	institutional and residential	unchanged
DWELLING UNITS	56	62
MAX. FLOOR SPACE RATIO	2.10	unchanged
MAXIMUM HEIGHT	East portion of site: 23 m West portion of site: 13 m	Proposed for east portion of site: 13.7 m
MAX. NO. OF STOREYS	Four to six storeys	unchanged
PARKING SPACES	Parking By-law standards with RM-4 applied to residential uses	unchanged

* a new CD-1 will be established when applicant completes prior-to enactment conditions of approval established at Public Hearing held on September 15, 1998.

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver