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

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL Council Report

TO: Council DATE: July 13, 2022 FROM: J. Chow, Senior Planner MEETING DATE: July 19, 2022 FILE: 3090-20-2022/02

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

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 for 280 Island Highway be approved as per the July 13, 2022 report from the Senior Planner;

AND THAT Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 include the following variances to requirements of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014 a. Variance to the required number Class 1 (secure and covered) bicycle parking spaces within Section 5.5.1 of the bylaw from 37 to 24. b. Variance to the required width of maneuvering aisles in an underground parking area within Section 5.7 of the bylaw from 6.7 to 5.5m.

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 consider a development variance permit application to address bicycle parking.

BACKGROUND:

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.

DISCUSSION:

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 was submitted to seek a compromise solution by:

1. Creating 24 parking spaces in a courtyard as shown in Figure 3 by installing two bicycle racks accommodating six bikes each and 12 wall hung racks (see Attachment 4 for details). The configuration would meet Class 1 parking requirements because the courtyard is covered and can only be accessed from within the building.
2. Retaining the 22 existing wall mounted U-hooks 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 22 existing racks in the underground parking area (which is covered but only nominally secure) would offset the variance of 13 spaces. Following the April 12, 2022 Committee of the Whole meeting the strata corporation agreed (in Attachment 5) to remove two floor mounted racks shown in Figure 2 as they conflicted with vehicle parking.

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.

Conclusion

Staff recognizes that the proposal may not satisfy all owners and residents, but the acknowledges the strata corporation is providing the best possible solution given the limited options.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 for 280 Island Highway be approved as per the July 13, 2022 report from the Senior Planner ;

AND THAT Development Variance Permit No. 2022/02 include the following variances to requirements of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014 a. Variance to the required number Class 1 (secure and covered) bicycle parking spaces within Section 5.5.1 of the bylaw from 37 to 24. b. Variance to the required width of maneuvering aisles in an underground parking area within Section 5.7 of the bylaw from 6.7 to 5.5m.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Subject Property Map
2. Letter from Applicant – Alan Lowe Architect, February 18, 2022
3. Ground Floor Plan – Alan Lowe Architect
4. Underground Parking Plan – Alan Lowe Architect
5. Letter from Property Manager – Atrium Pacific Properties, June 3, 2022