GWAC: 2250 Commercial Drive: Rezoning to CD-1

GRANDVIEW-WOODLAND

AREA COUNCIL

Developer Seeking to Rezone 2250 Commercial Drive from C-2C to CD-1

Wednesday 26 May 2010:

The application to rezone 2250 Commercial Drive was heard at the Public Hearing on 18 May from about 9pm. The hearing was recessed at 12:25am the next morning. Video for item 9: Part 1 (2 hours 50 minutes) and Part 2 (23 minutes). Three Councillors voted against the rezoning (David Cadman, Ellen Woodsworth, Andrea Reimer), but the rezoning was approved.

The motion passed by Council, as recorded in the minutes for the Hearing, states that "the building’s sustainability performances in achieving LEED Gold equivalency" is to include "building reuse points by maintaining 75% of existing walls, floors and roof of the existing structure. Staff are directed to attempt to achieve the second LEED checklist point for maintaining 95% of existing walls, if feasible, at the discretion of the Director of Planning."

A staff report on 8 April, which supported the rezoning application had said, "The majority of the existing structure (applicant estimates 98%) including two floors of underground parking would be retained" (page 3). Preserving 75% of the structure is a long way from the 98% cited approvingly in the staff report.

Sunday 16 May 2010:

GWAC has published the long form of its planned speech revised 18 May at the Public Hearing on 18 May, asking Mayor and Council to not rezone 2250 Commercial Drive from C-2C to CD-1 District. The speech notes that neither the 8 April staff report nor the 7 May staff memo addressed the questions raised by GWAC in its letters of 9 November 2009 and 17 April. — The speech points out that the three-page staff memo fails to even list — let alone address — GWAC's questions in its 17 April letter, despite Councillor Jang asking staff to do so at Council's meeting on 20 April.

Wednesday 12 May 2010:

The agenda for the Public Hearing at 7:30pm Tuesday 18 May has been published and, as expected, the proposed rezoning of 2250 Commercial Drive is likely to be item 9 of 10. Attached to item 9 is a memorandum from staff, dated 7 May that, as per Councillor Jang's request, addresses the questions raised by GWAC in its 17 April 2010 letter. To register to speak at the hearing, contact Lori Isfeld, Meeting Coordinator, at 604.871.6355 or e-mail lori.isfeld@vancouver.ca and ask to speak to Item 9, rezoning of 2250 Commercial, at the 18 May public hearing.

Wednesday 12 May 2010:

Saturday 1 May 2010:

GWAC has heard that the proposed rezoning of 2250 Commercial Drive is likely to be item 9 of 10 (to be confirmed) at the Public Hearing that takes place 7:30pm Tuesday 18 May. People interested in speaking should watch the meeting schedule web page of City of Vancouver website for publication of the agenda. The agenda will likely be published some time after Wednesday 5 May. Attached to the agenda item will be the staff report heard at the 20 April Council Meeting. There will also be a supplemental staff report that Councillor Jang asked staff to produce. This report will address the questions raised by GWAC in its 17 April 2010 letter, which followed a 9 November 2009 letter opposing the rezoning. Members of the public are encourages to look over the letters and staff reports. The agenda will list a meeting coordinator. If you wish to speak at the Public Hearing, contact the meeting coordinator.

Tuesday 20 April 2010:

Council voted to accept the recommendations in the staff report "CD-1 Rezoning — 2250 Commercial Drive" at the Regular Council Meeting today (meeting agenda). GWAC sent a letter to Mayor and Council asking that the report's recommendation not be accepted, noting in particular that the applicant and staff report admit a design is possible that conforms to the existing C-2C zoning, so why rezone? Councillors Woodsworth and Cadman attempted to give citizens an opportunity to speak to the staff report by referring it to a Standing Committee meeting on Thursday 22 April. The motion to refer the report was defeated. The zoning application will likely be heard at the Public Hearing scheduled for 7:30pm Tuesday 18 May. Minutes of the meeting. Video clip of the agenda item: Part 1 and Part 2.

Sunday 18 April 2010:

The City's staff report "CD-1 Rezoning — 2250 Commercial Drive" is on the agenda for the Regular Council Meeting at 2pm on Tuesday 20 April 2010. The staff report recommends that the rezoning application be referred to a Public Hearing. If Council accepts the recommendations of the staff report, then the zoning application will likely be referred to the Public Hearing scheduled for 7:30pm Tuesday 18 May.

GWAC today sent a letter to Mayor and Council. The letter encourages Mayor and Council to ask staff about an option that gets mentioned only in the penultimate paragraph of the staff report and then quickly rejected: That the density can be accommodated within the existing zoning.

The applicant has acknowledged that a zone-conforming design is possible; the staff report also accepts this. If the desired uses and density can be achieved without rezoning, then why rezone?

The letter also addresses the reason for the rejection: Accommodating the density within the existing zoning, according to the applicant, requires demolition of the building. By contrast, rezoning (which apparently doesn't require demolition) is the more sustainable option and hence should be granted.

In sum, the letter notes that both the applicant and the staff report say that desired uses and density can be achieved without rezoning, so why rezone? The letter stresses the failure of the staff report to consider a zone-conforming alternative and asks Mayor and Council to reject the staff report and request that the applicant produce a zone-conforming design.

Thursday 15 April 2010:

The agenda for the Regular Council Meeting at 2pm on Tuesday 20 April 2010 has been published and the staff report "CD-1 Rezoning — 2250 Commercial Drive" is on the agenda.

Tuesday 10 December 2009:

GWAC has learned that the City's staff report is likely to be part of the Regular Council Meeting at 2pm Tuesday 19 January 2010 or, failing that, Tuesday 2 February. Either way, if the report gets referred, it will go to the next Public Hearing, which is on Tuesday 23 March.

Monday 9 November 2009:

Some people in Grandview-Woodland, including the Directors of GWAC, are concerned about a proposal to rezone 2250 Commercial Drive (the Far East building at East 7th Avenue) from C-2C (Commercial) District to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District.

The City's Rezoning Centre has a web page about the proposed rezoning. The webpage has links to documents that show architectural plans for the proposed development, and a traffic study (PDF, 3.64 MB) conducted by Ward Consulting Group.

You may also find helpful a zoning map of Vancouver (PDF, 1.4 MB), available elsewhere on the City's website.

The applicant proposes to convert the existing 3-storey retail and office building, which has the Van East Cinema and CCEC Credit Union among its tenants, into a 5-storey mixed-use building consisting of a commercial ground floor with four residential floors above, containing approximately 66 condominium apartments.

The absolute height allowed under C-2C zoning is 35 feet; the C-2C District Schedule allows 45 feet at the discretion of the Director of Planning; the proposal is for a building height of 63 feet. C-2C zoning allows four storeys; the applicant is asking for five storeys.

GWAC has sent a letter opposing the rezoning to the City's Director of Planning, Brent Toderian. The letter was Cc'd to the City contact for the rezoning, Ian Cooper, and also to Mayor and Council. Among other things, the letter raises concerns about:

The applicant's traffic study,
Environmental aspects of the project, and
The precedent that would be set if this spot rezoning was allowed, given that over half of Commercial Drive from Grandview Highway to Venables Street is zoned C-2C, and the rest is zoned with the similar C-2C1, as is some of East Hastings Street.

GWAC understands that a staff report is being prepared about 2250 Commercial early in the week of Monday 18 November 2009. If you are concerned about the proposed rezoning, then send an e-mail expressing your concern to Mr. Toderian, Mr. Cooper, and Mayor and Council.

Usually, staff reports recommend that rezoning applications go to a Public Hearing. Check the GWAC website and this webpage for updates about the 2250 Commercial Drive rezoning application.