Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

The Chair, on behalf of the Development Permit Board

SUBJECT:

900 Burrard Street: Commercial Cinema Entertainment Proposal
DE404053 - CD-1 By-law Number 6421

 

CONSIDERATION

OR

Should Council approve A1, the following is also submitted for CONSIDERATION:

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

· Downtown South Goals and Policies (adopted May 16, 1991, amended July 11, 1996): Specifically under Section 3.3 Granville Street Sub-Area "Encourage theatres and cinema as part of `Theatre Row';" and

· CD-1 By-law Number 6421 and Companion Guidelines (900 Burrard Street CD-1 Guidelines) adopted November 30, 1993.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report reviews the recent Development Permit Board discussion (see Appendix A)* of a major commercial entertainment development proposal at 900 Burrard Street (DE404053), including 16 cinemas and an IMAX theatre. The Board, while inclined to approve the proposal, has referred this complete development application to Council to seek any advice it may choose to offer on the proposal, including:

If Council is supportive of the proposal in its advice to the Board, Council is also asked to consider whether it is prepared to approve the form of development at this time.

*Note: Full DP Board report, including applicant's submission, is on file with the City Clerk.

SITE DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND

This 0.55 ha. (1.35 ac) site consists of an L-shaped lot on the south side of the 900 block Smithe Street, between Burrard and Hornby Streets. To the south of the site is `The Electra' (former BC Hydro building), a 23-storey residential tower, Heritage `A'.

The site and surrounding zoning are shown on the attached Appendix B.

This site was rezoned from DD Downtown District to CD-1 Comprehensive Development District in November, 1988.

In November, 1993, Council enacted a text amendment to the CD-1 By-law, permitting development of residential, commercial or mixed-use development. This amendment was accompanied by Companion Guidelines adopted by Council resolution.

In February, 1995, Council enacted a further text amendment to reduce the maximum permitted density on this site from 8.5 to 8.148 Floor Space Ratio (FSR).

PRELIMINARY COUNCIL REVIEW

On May 6, 1999, the proposal was presented for information to Council's Standing Committee on Planning and Environment. Minutes of the meeting are as follows:

"Ralph Segal and Mike Kemble, Planners, reviewed the application and answered questions, with reference to factors such as building height, density and density bonusing, parking and traffic circulation, views, noise, design, liquor licensing potential and possible impacts on nearby area residents and the Granville Street Entertainment District. Mr. Segal advised the proposed development is within the site's CD-1 zoning, so will be considered by the Development Permit Board, but will come to Council for approval of the form of development."

Following discussion, the following motion was approved by the Committee:

"THAT the Planning Department presentation on the development application for 900 Burrard Street be received for information."

DISCUSSION

The proposal involves the construction of a 13-storey 68.58 m (225 ft.) mixed-use commercial entertainment complex with 6.6 FSR comprising:

· 7 785 m² (83,800 sq. ft.) of retail use;
· 2 689 m² (28,945 sq. ft.) of restaurant use;
· 385 m² (4,144 sq. ft.) of office use;
· 25 619 m² (275,770 sq. ft.) of cultural/recreational uses, including 16 cinemas and one IMAX theatre, having a total 3,715 seats, 40 bowling lanes, and other amenities; and
· 873 underground parking spaces.

Simplified plans, including a site plan, floor plans, elevations, and a building section of the proposal, have been included in Appendix C.

Compliance with approved CD-1 Guidelines, and Proposed Form of Development: The Guidelines for this site were adopted by Council in November 1993. At that time, the Guidelines assumed a more typical mix of commercial/residential uses on the site, and the original illustrative form of development as shown in Appendix F (upon which the Guidelines were based) envisaged a more conventional massing arrangement for this site that featured:

· a higher (24-storey) tower located at the Hornby/Smithe corner;
· a lower (10-storey) tower at the Burrard/Smithe corner; and
· medium-height terraced buildings along Hornby Street, stepping down from

Staff note that this illustrative scheme was not part of the Guidelines and was never approved by Council. It was intended to show generally what form of development the Guidelines and zoning might encourage.

The massing presented in DE 404053 differs from the original illustrative form in the following ways:

· the main portion of the building is located on the easterly side of the site, and configured as an integrated slab tower extending along both Hornby and Smithe Streets;

· the height of the building along Hornby Street steps down from 13-storeys 68.58 m (225 ft.) at the Smithe corner to 10-storeys 48.77 m (160 ft.) at the southerly end adjacent to `the Electra,' with a gently curving roof form integrated with this massing;

· the southerly end of the building adjacent to `The Electra' is higher and bulkier partly due to the overheight theatre spaces; and

· additional massing has been added to the interior of the site, adjacent to the easterly side of the Dal Grauer Substation, presenting a bulkier mass when viewed from the south and west.

While the proposal complies with most of the Guidelines, it significantly deviates in the following principal areas:

· Hornby Street Streetwall Setback: The Guidelines seek a 3 m (10 ft.) setback of the building facade above the lower streetwall element ranging in height from 22 m (72 ft.) up to 28 m (92 ft.) height (sixth storey level). The proposal departs from this guideline by a setback provided at the 46 m (150 ft.) height (tenth storey level). This is shown on a building cross-section attached as page 14 of Appendix C.

· South End Height: The Guidelines suggest a stepping down in height to about 35 m (115 ft.) at the south end, adjacent to `The Electra'. The proposal requests a height of approximately 48 m (160 ft.) at the south end.

· Tower Floorplate Size (commercial): The guidelines limit the maximum commercial tower floorplate to about 1 100 m² (12,000 sq. ft.). The proposal presents a four-fold increase, seeking a floorplate of approximately 4 500 m² (48,000 sq. ft.).

Staff note that the general form of development proposed, and its departures from the Guidelines, have been strongly supported by the Urban Design Panel (UDP)) and members of the Development Permit Board Advisory Panel. Staff believe the draft "prior-to" conditions of approval for the project (see Appendix D) are sufficient to address concerns related to use, massing, and other impacts on neighbouring properties, including:

· improving the project's south interface with `The Electra' and its west exposure on Burrard Street; and

· reducing potential noise impacts on residential neighbours by reconfiguring and acoustically buffering upper level recreational uses.

Parking Relaxation: The Parking By-law requirement for the commercial uses proposed in this application, and including 150 required for the use of `The Electra' residents, totals 2,456 spaces. The applicant proposes a lower amount of 873 spaces (36 percent of the By-law requirement). Staff, however, feel even the reduced amount the applicant is proposing is too much for the actual needs of the mixed uses on the site, and would promote automobile use, contrary to the City's Transportation Plan. Accordingly, staff are recommending a reduced total of 610 spaces (25 percent of the By-law requirement), which is consistent with parking standards adopted for adjacent areas of the Downtown District. Relaxation of parking requirements can be approved by the Director of Planning under the hardship provisions of Section 3.2.1 of the Parking By-law. The Development Permit Board was not prepared to approve a 75% relaxation of the parking required by the CD-1 By-law without first receiving Council support.

The value of this recommended parking reduction of 263 stalls from the developer's proposal, based on a cost of approximately $13,500 per stall, is about $3.5 million. (The value of the recommended parking reduction of 1,846 stalls from the full By-law requirement is about $25 million.)

Urban Design Panel: The Urban Design Panel reviewed this complete development application on May 5, 1999, and unanimously supported the proposal.

The UDP found the proposed design to be of exceptional architectural quality, and was concerned mainly that it be executed to the high quality level as shown on the model and drawings. The UDP minutes are attached as Appendix E.

Public Input: Two signs were erected on the site on May 11, 1999. In addition, 1,181 letters were sent to neighbouring property owners. In response, four letters had been received, two supporting and two objecting to the proposal. Further, at the Board meeting on June 14th, two delegations spoke generally in favour of the proposal: one representing `the Electra' strata council; and the other representing Granville Street entertainment use owners.

Development Permit Board Advisory Panel: The comments of the four Advisory Panel members present are contained in the Board Minutes (Appendix D). In general, Advisory Panel members were very supportive of the proposal and not concerned with its departure from the Guidelines or the substantial reduction in off-street parking spaces.

CONCLUSION

The Development Permit Board is inclined to approve Development Application Number DE404053 for a major commercial entertainment complex at 900 Burrard Street, subject to various conditions to be met prior to the issuance of the development permit. One of these conditions is that the form of development be approved by Council. The Board appreciated the exceptional quality of the proposed development and felt it will help to further reinforce the attractiveness of the downtown as a major entertainment and commercial centre for the region.

However, this proposed development reflects a significant departure from what was contemplated in terms of the Guidelines and the By-law requirement for off-street parking. Therefore, prior to reaching a decision, the Board is seeking any advice that Council may offer. Two alternatives are presented for consideration.

If Council's advice to the Development Permit Board is supportive of the development proposed, a further item is presented for Council's consideration. Since the site is zoned CD-1, the approval of Council is required for the form of development. Further design changes will be required by the Development Permit Board if it grants approval but these will not fundamentally alter the development concept. Consequently, approval of the form of development is also presented for Council's consideration.

* * * * *

pe990722.htm

APPENDIX F

900 BURRARD STREET

· Illustrative form of development shown at the CD-1 rezoning stage in 1993.

Site Plan

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