Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Community Planning on behalf of Land Use & Development

SUBJECT:

1850 West 5th Avenue and 2132 Cypress Street - Designation and Heritage Revitalization Agreement

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Council’s policy on heritage designation states, in part, “that legal designation will be a prerequisite to granting certain bonuses and incentives”.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council’s approval to designate and enter into a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) with the owner to secure the conservation and protection of the heritage houses at 1850 West 5th Avenue and 2132 Cypress Street. Council is also being asked to approve the preparation of a legal agreement to secure the heritage houses when vacant and being moved, and to ensure their prompt restoration.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The site is located in the RM-4 zone of Kitsilano (see the map on pg.3). The southerly border fronts onto the CPR Right-of-Way. The site consists of a large consolidated lot containing a total of 9 houses, all constructed around 1906-1910 and one apartment building (see Appendix, pg.1). Until recently, the City owned the larger lot and rented it out for residential use. The house at 1850 West 5th Avenue was added to the Vancouver Heritage Register (VHR) in 1996. In January of this year, the house at 2132 Cypress Street was evaluated and nominated for inclusion on the VHR, by the new owner. Development Application DE403696 proposes to restore and designate 1850 West 5th Avenue and 2132 Cypress Street and construct two new Multiple Dwellings containing 60 dwelling units. The results of the neighbourhood survey are described under the Notification section of this report. The Director of Planning, after considering the concerns of the neighbourhood, approved this application, subject to Council’s approval of the requisite HRA and designation.

MAP HERE

DISCUSSION

Heritage Value: The house at 1850 West 5th Avenue was constructed in 1906 by local builders. When the CPR opened this area back in 1905, this was one of the first buildings constructed and is the earliest on this site. The first occupant was the auditor for the railway,Albert E. Reeve, who worked for the CPR until 1935. The building forms an important relationship between the railway and early housing for CPR staff. It demonstrates a simple house form with a front gable roof and asymmetrical entry way and is clad in wood siding and period trims. The building is listed in the “B” category on the Vancouver Heritage Register.

The house at 2132 Cypress Street was evaluated on the owner’s request and added to the VHR in the “B” category in January of this year. Built in 1909, it is a good example of an early “Classic Box” form. The two-storey massing is clad with original clapboard siding and some of the original leaded windows are still present on the building. It was first occupied by Charles Henderson, a local grocer.

Revitalization Program and Economic Viability: The owner proposes to restore both buildings to their original form and detailing and relocate the houses to front on Cypress Street. All original material will be retained and restored or matched where it has deteriorated beyond repair. 2132 Cypress Street will be converted to create 3 dwelling units. 1850 West 5th Avenue will remain a single-family dwelling. The owner proposes to make the units saleable strata lots.

To offset the additional costs of heritage conservation, the owner has requested zoning variances for the new multiple dwelling buildings and a floor area increase (see Zoning Chart). The Manager of Real Estate Services advises that a floor area increase of 3,218 sq. ft. (980.8 m²) would not provide the applicant with an extraordinary profit based on staff’s analysis of the financial proforma submitted by the applicant. The Director of Planning is prepared to support a further increase in floor area by 221 sq. ft. (67.3 m²) to allow for porch areas and areas below decks which are typically counted as floor area in the RM-4 District Schedule.

The Director of Legal Services has prepared the necessary legal agreements and the notification requirements, as specified in the Vancouver Charter, have been met. The owner is prepared to enter into an HRA and designate the heritage houses and has agreed that the variances to the Zoning and Development By-law represent fair, full and complete compensation in exchange for the designation of the property and has waived his rights to further compensation.

Compatibility with Community Planning Objectives: The intent of the RM-4 District Schedule is to permit medium density residential development, including a variety of multiple dwelling types and encourage the retention of existing buildings. In this application, the objectives are met through retention and designation of two buildings and the development of a compatible new medium density project (see Appendix, pg.2). The height relaxation requested for one of the new multiple dwelling buildings will produce a marginal view loss for the upper floors of the development to the south. Staff’s analysis of all theissues is that on balance, the project will produce a more compatible development with the neighbourhood than what could be achieved through the zoning (see the Zoning Chart and Notification section for analysis of the relaxations proposed).

Zoning Variances: The recommended HRA will vary the RM-4 District Schedule as described in the zoning chart and require the preservation of the heritage buildings. Unless otherwise indicated, the variances apply to the two new multiple dwelling buildings.

RM-4 Regulations

Permitted/Required

Proposed

Floor Space Ratio/Floor Area Increase

1.45 FSR(conditional)

1.52 FSR *
{3,439 sq.ft. (1,048 m²) 4.5% over the permitted.}

Number of buildings on site
si’

One (1)

Four (4) *

RM-4 Regulations

Permitted/Required

Proposed

Street Frontage

150 ft. (45.7 m)

250 ft. (76.2 m) *

Frontyard Setback

20 ft. (6.1 m)

4.6 ft. (1.4 m) and **
9.8 ft (3 m)

Sideyard Setback

6.88 ft. (2.1 m)

4 ft. ( 1.2 m) **
2.8 ft. (.87 m)

Rearyard Setback

35 ft. (10.6 m)

17ft. (5.18 m) ***

Building Height

35 ft. (10.6 m)

36.9 ft. (11.24 m) *

Horizontal Containing Angle

135 degrees

143 degrees ***

Horizontal Angle of Daylight

1 angle @50 degrees, or 2 angles @70 degrees

1 angle @40 degrees, or 2 angles at 70 degrees ***

* See Notification section for relaxation rationale.
** The Frontyard and Sideyard setback relaxations were granted to the two heritage houses to provide for their realignment to Cypress Street.
*** The Rearyard setback, Horizontal Containing Angle and Angle of Daylight relaxations were granted to the new Multiple Dwelling Buildings to provide for a larger landscaped courtyard, facing the CPR Right-of-Way.

Notification: As part of the Development Application review process, a sign was placed on the site and 490 neighbouring property owners were notified. Twenty-seven responses were received, all opposed. Of the twenty-seven responses, 14 were in the form of a shell letterfrom the Strata owners of a multiple dwelling project to the south of the proposed development.

The major concerns were the proposed height relaxation, the frontage of the proposed new buildings, unit density, proposed floor area, and the potential increase in traffic in the neighbourhood. On the advice of Planning staff, the property owner arranged an information meeting for the neighbours on November 18, 1998. Thirty-five neighbours attended the meeting but only 20 signed the registry. The property owner presented the project with the aid of drawings and a model. The major issues discussed were the proposed height of the new buildings and the potential increase in neighbourhood traffic. On January 12, 1999, the author of the initial petition and another neighbour, met with City staff, the owner’s representative and the project architect to discuss specific issues regarding the building and the zoning. No new issues arose.

With regard to the height relaxation, staff notes that most of the building is well below the maximum height at the rear (south) of the site and at the west. The applicant could have increased the height in these areas in order to capture more view for his own development, but chose instead to keep the building lower. The height relaxation is not a consequence of the increased floor area, but rather an effect of the slope on the site. The requested relaxation is for a triangular area of the flat roof which projects through the outright height envelope at the northeast corner of the site (see Appendix, pg.3 ). View studies prepared by the applicant show that the effect of this relaxation on views across the site from the south will be minimal. Staff’s judgement was that the voluntary reduction in height at the rear was highly beneficial to surrounding residents’ views and that the actual relaxation requested had little impact and was reasonable given the slope on the site. The street frontage relaxation was granted on the basis that the new multiple dwelling buildings are divided into two structures, thereby reducing the overall width of the buildings fronting 5th Avenue. The RM-4 zone does not restrict the number of dwelling units on a site. Therefore the density, or the associated traffic as a result of that density, are not regulated by the zoning. The floor area increase has been applied to the new multiple dwelling buildings and makes the restoration of the heritage buildings economically viable. Given the large size of this site, the resultant massing of the new buildings, as seen from 5th Avenue, does not differ from what could be achieved under the zoning.

Staff’s analysis of the concerns expressed by the neighbourhood, are that a majority of the issues are with the RM-4 zoning and not with the proposed development. The relaxations proposed have been evaluated as fair and reasonable given the quality of the project, the RM-4 zoning regulations and the benefits of providing long-term protection to two heritage houses.

Comments of the Vancouver Heritage Commission: The Vancouver Heritage Commission reviewed and supported the Development Application on December 7th, 1998, andcommended the applicant for adding another house to the Heritage Register. In addition, it supported the retention, restoration and long-term protection of the heritage buildings.

CONCLUSION

The heritage houses at 1850 West 5th Avenue and 2132 Cypress Street are valuable fragments of the history of the area. The requested zoning variances and floor space increase represents fair, full and complete compensation to the owner for the conservation of the heritage houses and will ensure the development is economically viable. Staff’s analysis is that the proposed revitalization scheme introduces the additional density in a manner that minimizes negative impacts and maximizes fit with the surrounding neighbourhood. Therefore, it is recommended that Council support the HRA and the registered agreement and that Council amend Schedule A of the Heritage By-law to designate the houses at 1850 West 5th Avenue and at 2132 Cypress Street, as Protected Heritage Properties.

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