2000 W 12th Ave rezoning application

This question was forwarded to the applicant, and this was their response: 

The applicant is GBL Architects, who have over 4 decades of multi-family project experience in the Lower Mainland. The property is owned by a local group with experience in business, real estate & engineering looking to expand into residential development in their community. 

As part of the rezoning process, Engineering staff include a review of the application with respect to transportation impacts and, if identified, may include development conditions for off-site requirements to improve transportation operations and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists adjacent to the site. The application is still under review, and the details of any transportation-related upgrades will be included in the final report to Council, which will be posted on the Shape Your City page once available.

The question about traffic in the alley has already been answered, here is a copy of the earlier response: As part of the rezoning process, Engineering staff include a review of the application with respect to transportation impacts and, if identified, may include development conditions for off-site requirements to improve transportation operations and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists adjacent to the site. All loading operations will be required to take place on private property and accesses have been set back from the property line at the lane, allowing increased visibility and maneuvering to/from the site.

Regarding the building height, this site is located in the Broadway/Arbutus South – Area D section of the Broadway Plan. This area allows rental and below-market rental housing up to 20 storeys. Although a 4- or 6-storey building would also be allowed under this policy, the applicant chose to propose a 16-storey building. Regarding the commercial spaces, this site already has commercial uses (an existing office building). For sites such as this one with existing job space, the Broadway Plan requires a minimum 0.25 Floor Space Ratio (FSR) of commercial uses to replace that job space. 

As part of the rezoning process, Engineering staff include a review of the application with respect to transportation impacts and, if identified, may include development conditions for off-site requirements to improve transportation operations and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists adjacent to the site. All loading operations will be required to take place on private property and accesses have been set back from the property line at the lane, allowing increased visibility and maneuvering to/from the site.

If the rezoning is approved by City Council and moves forward to a Building Permit, the Permit will be reviewed against the Vancouver Building By-law, which contains safety requirements and provisions for protection of adjacent buildings. Building inspections will also be carried out to ensure that Building By-law requirements are met.

Please note that this building contains market- and below-market rental units, not condos for purchase. We forwarded this question to the applicant, and this was their response: 

We’ve carefully designed these layouts for efficiency. For example, they don’t have a long, narrow, jogging corridor like you see on a lot of larger units. The entry is wide with a large closet and space for an entry bench/furniture, two bathrooms are provided for families, and generous closets in all the bedrooms. Each unit has 40 square feet of storage provided in the unit, which is ideal for families. The living/kitchen areas include reasonable space for both an island and full-size dining table and large sectional sofa. Balconies are provided for all two-and three-bedroom units, and the building has generous indoor and outdoor amenities with additional play and dining areas for larger gatherings.

Engineering staff conduct a review of the application regarding transportation impacts and, if identified, may include development conditions for requirements to improve transportation operations, including access for waste trucks. The details of any transportation-related upgrades will be included in the final Council report. We also forwarded this question to the applicant, and this was their response: 

We will work with a traffic consultant in the design development stage to ensure the turning works efficiently. Traffic consultants complete maneuvering/turning radius drawings which generally only allow for a couple simple movements.

Noise and emissions from vehicles are regulated by the Motor Vehicle Noise and Emission Abatement By-law and the Provincial Motor Vehicle Act. The applicant also indicated that given the size of the commercial units, they don’t anticipate a use that will be high in traffic (for example, likely not a large grocery store).

We forwarded this question to the applicant, and this was their response: 

Construction will adhere to all City Construction Noise By-law requirements, which includes permitted hours of work to minimize disturbances. We don’t have a contractor on board yet so we can’t speak to specific strategies that are within their scope, but construction sites do have strict safety and cleanliness protocols. For example, other projects we’ve worked on have included debris netting to prevent building materials and dust from falling on neighbouring buildings. Generally, contractors do their best to be respectful of neighbours, because they also want to avoid conflict, noise complaints, stop work orders, etc.

City-owned trees proposed for retention, and neighbour-owned trees will be protected throughout the development process. Before a project can be approved, the applicant team must present a design that minimizes impacts to all retained trees. The applicant’s arborist will outline specific mitigation measures that must be undertaken, prior to, and during construction to ensure retained trees are not negatively impacted.