DEVELOPMENT VARIANCE PERMIT NO. 2022/02 – 280 ISLAND HIGHWAY

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the April 6, 2022, report from the Senior planner titled “Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 – 280 Island Highway” be received for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To introduce a development variance permit application to address bicycle parking

DISCUSSION:

The Maija London is a 37-unit apartment building that was completed in 2019. After occupancy, a conflict arose when the secure bike parking room was converted to accommodate 35 storage lockers. 22 wall mounted steel U-hooks (Figure 1) and two floor-mounted racks (Figure 2) were installed within the main underground parking area.

Secure bicycle parking is a Zoning Bylaw requirement while storage lockers are not. However, the disclosure statements apparently indicated to purchasers that units included a storage locker.

The Town sent the strata corporation an order on April 8, 2021, requiring that the secure bicycle parking room be restored. In response, this application has been submitted to seek a compromise by:

Creating 24 parking spaces in a covered courtyard (Figure 3) by installing two bicycle racks accommodating six bikes each and 12 wall hung racks. The configuration would meet Class 1 parking requirements because the courtyard is covered and can only be accessed from within the building.
Retaining the existing wall mounted U-hooks and floor mounted racks in the parking area (Figure 4).

A petition has been submitted in support of the application. It was signed by the owners of 32 out of 37 units, and of the 32 units, seven were also signed by tenants. The petition is not attached to this report for the protection of personal information.

Requested Variances

The following variances would be necessary to facilitate the proposal:

1. Bicycle parking spaces A variance to the number of Class 1 (secure and covered) bicycle parking spaces from 37 to 24 is requested. The 24 existing racks in the underground parking area (which is covered but only nominally secure) would offset the variance of 13 spaces.

2. Width of maneuvering aisles A variance to the width of maneuvering aisles in an underground parking area from 6.7m to 5.5m is requested to accommodate the worst-case scenario of a pinch point where vehicles either side of a maneuvering aisle protrude because bicycles are stored at the end of each parking space. While in some instances there could be a minor inconvenience where one vehicle would have to yield to another to pass, it would likely make entering and exiting neighbouring parking spaces more challenging. The applicant inspected the site on two occasions and provides the study results in Attachment 2 to rationalize the variance.

Figure 3. Ground floor plan showing covered courtyard

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR MANEUVERING AISLES

Staff does not support the retention of the floor mounted racks at Parking Spaces 15 & 16 as shown in Figure 2 because parked bicycles would encroach into the neighbouring parking space.

Staff supports consideration of alternatives to minimize inconveniences in the underground parking area. These could include the following:

OPTION A. Remove the wall mounted racks from the ends of small parking spaces Standard parking spaces must be at least 5.5m long. Small car parking spaces may be 4.8m long, which would accommodate compact cars such as Toyota Corollas or Honda Civics,

OPTION B. Remove the wall mounted racks along one side of the maneuvering aisle Removing wall mounted racks along one side of the maneuvering aisle would reduce requested variance for the worst-case scenario pinch point from 5.5m to 6.1m where 6.7m is required. 6.0m is usually sufficient for two vehicles to pass.

While both of these options would reduce the number of available racks, it would preserve the long-term functionality of the underground parking area.

NEXT STEPS:

Staff recognizes that the proposed solutions may not satisfy all owners and residents, but the acknowledges the strata corporation has proposed possible solutions where there are limited options.

Once the owners have had an opportunity to review and consider comments from the Committee of the Whole meeting, notification of a Council meeting to consider the final proposal can be conducted.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the April 6, 2022, report from the Senior planner titled “Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 – 280 Island Highway” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY: J. Chow, RPP, MCIP, Senior Planner

REVIEWED BY: L. Chase, RPP, MCIP, Director of Development Services