701 Kingsway rezoning application

Traffic control plans and traffic management plans will be required at a future Development Permit stage if the rezoning application is approved by Council. The applicant will need to meet traffic control standards. These standards are:

1. Set by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the BC Motor Vehicle Act, and
2. Enforced by WorkSafe BC.

The City will review traffic control plans and traffic management plans, WorkSafeBC may require additional traffic control documentation for construction.

The traffic control plan will need to consider specific care and attention necessary for work on pedestrian facilities to ensure pedestrians are safely accommodated.

Here is the City’s guide to construction on pedestrian facilities PDF file (1.5 MB), and additional information on traffic management for construction: Traffic management for construction and special events | City of Vancouver.

Pre-construction the site is required to meet with and coordinate construction and street use with our Engineering team. Appropriate permits are required to secure street space and any closures must be permitted in advance with proper traffic management plans approved. Closures of the lane are likely to be prohibited and if permitted neighbourhood notification would be required in advance. Residents are encouraged to file complaints of prohibited activity or street use with 3-1-1 for staff to investigate.

As part of the rezoning process, Engineering staff include a review of the application with respect 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.

An arborist report and information on tree retention conditions, together with architectural drawings, will be reviewed by staff. If the proposed removal of trees is too aggressive or not reasonable, staff may set conditions of development including revisions to the site plan or building footprint, and the retention or replacement of trees.

Staff use a specialized system with Canada Post to send postcards prior to the Q&A Period to a standard two-block notification radius. This system uses a barcode scanning system to target the specific addresses to bypass junk mail filters. Staff will also provide several other channels for community members to be informed about the project, such as updates to the site signs, Shape Your City webpage, City event calendar, and email sign up list.

As per Chapter 6 Character Areas of the Broadway Plan, this site is within the Centres – Shoulder Areas which are described as: outside the station areas but within the centres, the shoulder areas will have a mix of housing, job space, shops, services and amenities, with some places having a primarily residential character. Many of the institutional campuses are also within these areas. Building heights will generally be up to 20 to 30 storeys. Streetscape improvements, active ground floor commercial uses and gathering places will foster a lively public realm, particularly along commercial streets.

A geotechnical engineer would be required at the Building Permit stage to ensure the parkade and building complies with requirements for building in peat areas. This is a standard requirement for building in peat areas.

Staff are currently exploring what future improvements can be made to create more places to play, relax, socialize, and feel more connected to nature in Kitsilano, Fairview, and Mount Pleasant. The Broadway Public Realm Plan will identify what public open space and street enhancements would best support the current need and future growth in the Plan Area. It will consider public open spaces on City-owned streets and properties, as well as privately owned public spaces (POPS). It will be a practical guide to leverage opportunities for public realm improvements as the area grows.

The solar access exceptions in the Broadway Plan area states: 

• For some parks, maintaining solar access is particularly challenging due to size and location. Solar access objectives may not be feasible when considering smaller parks including Choklit, Willow, Laurel Landbridge, Major Matthews, Carolina, McAuley, and Arbutus Greenway Park; and  
• Solar access objectives for village high streets may not apply to developments within the Mount Pleasant Centre Areas A and B (MCEA and MCEB). Developments within Mount Pleasant Centre Area C (MCEC) in proximity to the village high street will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The final question was previously answered by the Applicant, this was their response:

 We understand that redevelopment at 701 Kingsway will disrupt the operations of the seven existing commercial tenants. Given their significance to the neighbourhood, the welfare of these tenants before and after the redevelopment is of utmost priority and we are committed to keeping tenants fully informed and adhering to the City’s tenant relocation guidelines, as well as our lease agreements. We have consistently provided updates to tenants to keep them informed of development plans and timelines to assist with business planning, and met with each tenant individually on multiple occasions to ensure frequent and transparent communication throughout the approvals process. We have not provided any formal notices to vacate, and will continue to honour the terms of our lease agreements with each individual tenant.

The solar access requirements in the Broadway Plan area apply to parks, public school yards, and village shopping streets/plazas existing or in development at the time of adoption of the Broadway Plan. Staff will be reviewing the application in detail to confirm the proposed development is meeting the intent of the solar access requirements within the Broadway Plan. 

The question was forwarded to the Applicant, this was their response:

 The roof of the low-rise podium building along Kingsway will include a green roof at level 3, planted with flowering sedum succulents. This roof level will be inaccessible to residents but provides visual and seasonal interest via vantage points from the adjacent residential tower and from the street level below. The green roof is necessary for the project to meet its rainwater management requirements, and is also beneficial for reduced heat loss and overall energy performance. This area cannot be programmed into a public patio amenity while still meeting these requirements. However, the project is proposing a significant amount of outdoor amenity space for building residents and the public, including: 

 Tower rooftop: Our intention for the tower's rooftop space is to host the building's residents in an outdoor, urban agriculture garden that overlooks Downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains. The garden will feature large planted areas and community gardens plots. To enhance social connection, multiple gathering spots will be located around the roof with the focal point being a large harvest dining table at the center of the garden.

 Low-rise podium level 1 rooftop: A designated section of the rooftop at level 2 of the low-rise podium will act as a rooftop servery/patio for the retail where patrons can enjoy their food and drink. The remaining space will be a hybrid of outdoor workspace, children’s play areas, and outdoor lounge areas for building residents which includes various landscape garden plantings of trees, hedges, shrub masses and flowering climbing vines.

 Privately owned public space (POPS) courtyard: To enhance the public realm and connect with surrounding public parks, 701 Kingsway will offer a Privately Owned Public Space (POPS) courtyard on the ground floor. This courtyard will act as additional space for the building's street level café’s and restaurants to extend seating throughout the year, and allow residents and members of the community to gather in an outdoor courtyard setting.

 The applicant is proposing to provide more public and resident outdoor amenity space than what is required by policy.

As per Chapter 6 Character Areas of the Broadway Plan, this site is within the Centres – Shoulder Areas which are described as: outside the station areas but within the centres, the shoulder areas will have a mix of housing, job space, shops, services and amenities, with some places having a primarily residential character. Many of the institutional campuses are also within these areas. Building heights will generally be up to 20 to 30 storeys. Streetscape improvements, active ground floor commercial uses and gathering places will foster a lively public realm, particularly along commercial streets.

 The Broadway Plan Phase Four Engagement Summary states 69.02% of survey respondents indicated that they “like” or “really like” the proposed policies of the Draft Plan for Mount Pleasant.

The question was forwarded to the Applicant, this was their response:

 The developer is exploring opportunities with tenants who have expressed an interest in returning to the proposed retail spaces, however, at this early stage of the approvals process, no firm commitments can be made. For tenants looking ahead and planning to find new space elsewhere in the neighbourhood, we remain committed to assisting them in this transition. 

 Given the neighbourhood significance of these seven existing commercial tenants, their welfare before and after the redevelopment is of utmost priority and we are committed to keeping tenants fully informed and adhering to the City’s tenant relocation guidelines, as well as our lease agreements. We have consistently provided updates to tenants to keep them informed of development plans and timelines to assist with business planning, and met with each tenant individually on multiple occasions to ensure frequent and transparent communication throughout the approvals process. 

 When taking into consideration the site constraints provided by its geometry, municipal setback requirements, the addition of the Privately Owned Public Space (POPS), and necessary back-of-house facilities (e.g., loading bays, waste rooms, lobbies, elevators and corridors), it was not possible to one-to-one replace the retail on the ground level.  Great efforts have been made to maximize the amount of retail in the project, including incorporation of a vehicle elevator (rather than a ramp which would have taken away significant ground floor space) and the addition of a retail servery/patio on level 2 overlooking the courtyard. The intention was to prioritize retail along the high streets of Kingsway and Fraser while working with the aforementioned constraints. The resulting commercial spaces have been flexibly designed to accommodate the types of smaller-scale retailers that characterize the neighbourhood. Incorporating these places and spaces in this proposal is intended to complement and contribute to the character of this evolving East Vancouver neighbourhood.

Your question has already been asked. Here’s a copy of the earlier response: As part of the rezoning application, the development was required to submit a Transportation and Assessment Management Study. Preliminary review of the assessment identifies that the new development is anticipated to generate fewer vehicle trips than the existing commercial shops and services. As such, the proposed development is not anticipated to have significant impact to area traffic operations and safety conditions. Further, the proposed development is in compliance with the Parking By-law with respect to off-street vehicle parking spaces and well-sited to encourage reduced vehicle trip and parking demand, being in close proximity to the Frequent Transit Network.

The first question was forwarded to the Applicant, this was their response:

Yes, pets will be welcome, but may be subject to some size and weight restrictions.

The remaining questions were answered by staff:

 As per Section 12.2.15 of the Broadway Plan, all new below-market and market rental housing units will be secured as rental tenure for 60 years or the life of the building, whichever is greater, through legal agreements including a non-stratification requirement. The below-market rental housing units are required to meet the affordability requirements outlined in Section 12.2.16 of the Broadway Plan.

 The site is within the Mount Pleasant Centre – Area C (MCEC Policy 10.12) of the Broadway Plan, at this location the Broadway Plan allows consideration of a secured market and below-market rental housing tenure up to a maximum building height of 25 storeys. 

Your question has already been asked. Here’s a copy of the earlier response: As part of the rezoning application, the development was required to submit a Transportation and Assessment Management Study. Preliminary review of the assessment identifies that the new development is anticipated to generate fewer vehicle trips than the existing commercial shops and services. As such, the proposed development is not anticipated to have significant impact to area traffic operations and safety conditions. Further, the proposed development is in compliance with the Parking By-law with respect to off-street vehicle parking spaces and well-sited to encourage reduced vehicle trip and parking demand, being in close proximity to the Frequent Transit Network.

Your question has already been asked. Here’s a copy of the earlier response:

The site is within the Mount Pleasant Centre – Area C (MCEC Policy 10.12) of the Broadway Plan, at this location the Broadway Plan allows consideration of a secured market and below-market rental housing tenure up to a maximum building height of 25 storeys. Neighbouring sites within the Mount Pleasant Centre – Area C of the Broadway Plan, allows for consideration of similar housing option/tenure and maximum building height, with provisions limiting the number of towers per block face.

Your question has already been asked. Here’s a copy of the earlier response:

As part of the rezoning application, the development was required to submit a Transportation and Assessment Management Study. Preliminary review of the assessment identifies that the new development is anticipated to generate fewer vehicle trips than the existing commercial shops and services. As such, the proposed development is not anticipated to have significant impact to area traffic operations and safety conditions. Further, the proposed development is in compliance with the Parking By-law with respect to off-street vehicle parking spaces and well-sited to encourage reduced vehicle trip and parking demand, being in close proximity to the Frequent Transit Network.

The last question was previously answered by the Applicant, this was their response:

We understand that redevelopment at 701 Kingsway will disrupt the operations of the seven existing commercial tenants. Given their significance to the neighbourhood, the welfare of these tenants before and after the redevelopment is of utmost priority and we are committed to keeping tenants fully informed and adhering to the City’s tenant relocation guidelines, as well as our lease agreements. We have consistently provided updates to tenants to keep them informed of development plans and timelines to assist with business planning, and met with each tenant individually on multiple occasions to ensure frequent and transparent communication throughout the approvals process. We have not provided any formal notices to vacate, and will continue to honour the terms of our lease agreements with each individual tenant.