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Posted May 27, 2013, 11:26 PM
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Ferris Wheel Hater
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,371
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The Oakridger rezoning is going to council this week regarding issues and directions. I'll cut and paste some of the details out of the 32page report.
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RECOMMENDATION *
A. THAT Council indicate it is willing to consider an intensification of the Oakridge Centre site beyond density envisaged in the 2007 Oakridge Centre Policy Statement to include additional residential, office, and retail space as generally outlined in this report, noting that the final density will be refined and analysed through the rezoning process, which will include additional public consultation and a Public Hearing.
B. THAT Council indicate it is willing to consider tower height of up to 45 storeys for the tower closest to the intersection of 41st Avenue and Cambie Street, with heights decreasing as distance from the intersection increases, noting that the final built form will be further refined and analysed through the rezoning process, which will include additional public consultation and a Public Hearing.
C. THAT Council direct staff to work with the applicant to revise the rezoning application to better address the City’s inclusionary housing policies, with a focus on maximizing the number of social housing units that can be achieved within the development.
D. THAT Council accept payment-in-lieu of park land to satisfy the outstanding obligation to provide 1.15 ha (2.83 acres) of park space on the Oakridge Centre site;
E. THAT Council endorse in principle the use of the rooftop of Oakridge Centre as public space for the community, noting that all obligations for operation, ongoing maintenance and capital renewal will be the requirement of the owner of Oakridge Centre;
FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to report back at time of Public Hearing on programming options for the public space as part of the public benefits package for Oakridge Centre, informed by additional public consultation.
F. THAT Council endorse its commitment to prioritizing walking, cycling, and transit as transportation options for Oakridge Centre;
FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to continue to work with the applicant to determine appropriate parking supply, measures to reduce the required parking, and methods to manage parking spill-over onto nearby residential streets.
G. THAT Council endorse in principle the proposed public benefits package for Oakridge Centre, including a City-owned civic centre and affordable housing, noting that the ultimate configuration and location of the public benefits will be further refined and analysed through the rezoning process;
FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to develop a comprehensive funding strategy for public benefits associated with the Oakridge Centre redevelopment.
H. THAT the passage of the above resolutions will in no way fetter Council’s discretion in considering any rezoning application for Oakridge Centre, and does not create any legal rights for any person or obligation on the part of the City; any expenditures of funds or incurring of costs is at the risk of the person making the expenditure or incurring the costs.
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Affirmation of the mix of land uses and overall density on the site, including the amount of commercial floor space on site, noting that there are still built form issues to be resolved that may affect the ultimate density of the Oakridge Centre proposal;
- A maximum tower height of 45 storeys for the tower closest to the intersection of 41st Avenue and Cambie Street, with heights decreasing as distance from the intersection increases, noting that there are still built form issues to be resolved that may affect the ultimate density and massing of the Oakridge Centre proposal;
- Resolution of the outstanding obligation for 2.83 acres of open space resulting from a 1983 subdivision and a 1993 rezoning of the site;
- Affirmation of the City’s policies to prioritize walking, cycling, and transit over automobile use, including parking ratios for the residential and commercial density proposed on the Oakridge Centre site, which support Transportation 2040 goals of improving environmental impacts, the economy, people, and sustainable transportation choices (including transit); and
- A public benefits strategy for Oakridge Centre which includes a mix of affordable housing, open space provided on site, and a co-located civic centre comprised of a community centre, seniors centre, expanded library, and child care.
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The rezoning application for Oakridge Centre proposes over 4,500,000 square feet of development.
Uses Current Uses Proposed Rezoning
Retail (sq. ft.) 620,000 1,430,600
Office (sq. ft.) 126,000 424,259
Amenity (sq. ft.) 26,000 45,000
Residential (sq. ft.) 50,000 2,697,700
TOTAL (sq. ft.) 822,000 4,597,559
Oakridge Centre is designated as a Municipal Town Centre in the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy. Municipal Town Centres are intended to be the among the region’s primary focal points in terms of concentration of residential density, job space, civic/cultural facilities, and transit service. Noting that Downtown is identified as the metropolitan core of the region, Oakridge Centre is the Municipal Town Centre identified within the City of Vancouver.
One of the target strategies contained in Vancouver’s Economic Action Strategy is to protect, enhance, increase, and densify employment spaces. The application for Oakridge Centre proposes to increase the amount of retail floorspace from 620,000 square feet to over 1,400,000 square feet. Combined with the additional 300,000 square feet of office space proposed, staff estimate that the number of jobs accommodated on the site would increase from 2,000 to over 5,000 jobs following redevelopment. The 2007 Metro Core Jobs and the
Economy Plan identified the need to accommodate approximately 24,000 additional jobs outside the Downtown and Broadway areas by 2031. The additional jobs provided at Oakridge Centre would help the City meet its job targets and would constitute approximately 3000 jobs toward this total (12.5%).
Staff support the land use and overall density proposed at Oakridge Centre based on its unique role and prominence in the City and region. While staff is seeking an indication from Council that it is willing to consider the proposed land use mix and overall density, it is important to note that the exact floorspace figures are subject to change based on revisions to the form of development. This may result in some variation in the density proposed in the application.
2. Built form and Height
The rezoning application for Oakridge Centre proposes a variety of building forms ranging from low and mid-rise buildings of 6 to 12 storeys, to towers and terraced buildings of 18 to 45 storeys.
As noted above, Oakridge Centre is designated as a Municipal Town Centre in the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy. Therefore, in assessing the proposed height and form of development, Oakridge Centre should be considered in the context of Metro Vancouver and the City of Vancouver as a whole, development along the Canada Line, and the immediate local surroundings.
In Vancouver and the region as a whole, planning policy emphasizes greater levels of development intensity and height at rapid transit and in key urban centres, reflecting the increasing sustainability of locations that offer high walkability and decreased automobile reliance. Vancouver has recently approved developments up to 31 storeys at Joyce- Collingwood on the Expo Line, and up to 35 storeys at the Cambie and Marine Station on the Canada Line. Regionally, recent approvals at rapid transit locations are trending upwards to approximately 50 storeys, with up to 70 storeys at Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre.
The Cambie Corridor Plan identifies Oakridge as the “centre” of both the city and the Canada Line which should represent the most significant concentration of urban uses and density. The importance of Oakridge as a Municipal Town Centre, its location at an important crossroads (noting that 41st Avenue is a priority for future rapid transit), and the singular scale of theOakridge Centre site places it at the top of the hierarchy of Vancouver station areas outside the downtown. As such, staff consider that the building height range proposed for Oakridge Centre is consistent with directions in transit-oriented development in Vancouver and elsewhere in the region.
Staff analysis suggests that the patterning of height and massing proposed is generally consistent with the principles in the 2007 Policy Statement, and that the expanded height range gives greater ability to meet the principles of the policy for massing and transitions to the local neighbourhood while carrying a density appropriate to this significant transitoriented site. Additionally, the height range and building forms proposed are important to achieving residential and job-space density without compromising the functioning and viability of the retail mall which is the economic engine of the site.
The surrounding properties adjacent to the site were analyzed based on their existing and future context within the Cambie Corridor. Staff believe the proposed built form provides an appropriate transition to the evolving neighbourhood. While the taller buildings in the proposal cast longer shadows on the local neighbourhood, the impact on immediately adjacent areas is minimized based on the proposed tower forms and placement on site.
The existing residential development most impacted is the Terraces, a 32 unit strata residential building at the northeast corner of the Oakridge site immediately adjacent to the Canada Line station. Its context will be significantly altered by the proposed redevelopment. While acknowledging the degree of change, staff believe that the shadowing impacts and adjacencies are acceptable. However, staff will be looking to further improve solar access and reduce visual impact of upper level massing along Cambie shopping street and boulevard.
While staff is seeking an indication from Council that it is willing to consider the proposed building height range at Oakridge Centre, it is important to note there are still significant built form issues to be addressed in further evolution of the application. The built form and pedestrian experience along 41st Avenue and Cambie Street, the setting back of buildings from the property line to retain existing mature trees, building sculpting, variety in building forms, reduction in mass of some buildings, and the building forms along the high street are just some of the topics that require further discussion with the applicant. This may result in a variation in the density contained in the application.
Should Council indicate that it is willing to consider the building heights as proposed, staff will utilize the objectives of the General Policy for Higher Buildings to achieve Council’s direction for architectural excellence and green building performance. While these are normally reserved for buildings in the downtown, staff recommend that buildings over 114 metres (375 feet) in height be subject to an augmented Urban Design Panel, with two additional architects with experience in mixed use building design and green building practices.
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To fulfil the requirements of the 2007 Policy Statement, as well as future demand in the Oakridge area, staff is recommending a new co-located civic centre be developed on the Oakridge Centre site. This civic centre would be comprised of the following:
- A community centre of approximately 36,000 square feet, including a gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, a dedicated seniors centre space, community kitchen, and circulation space;
- An expanded branch for the Vancouver Public Library of approximately 25,000 square feet, including expanded programming, work and study spaces, which will help meet existing and future demand in the area; and
- A 69 space child care facility with adjacent outdoor play space
Staff project that future population increases at Oakridge Centre and within the Cambie Corridor as a whole will be in the order of 26,000 to 30,000 additional people over the next 30 years
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Oakridge Centre Proposed Affordable Housing Mix
Units % of Res Units Gross Area % of Res Area
Market Condominium 2123 75% 2,224,600 82%
Spectrum of Affordable Units
Market Rental 391 14% 264,000 10%
Affordable Home Ownership 100 4% 68,700 3%
SAFER Housing 54 2% 27,000 1%
Social Housing (seniors) 90 3% 51,900 2%
Social Housing (families) 60 2% 61,500 2%
Sub‐total Affordable Units 695 25% 473,100 18%
Total Residential Units 2818 100% 2,697,700 100%
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8. Canada Line Capacity
Through the public processes for Oakridge Centre and other developments along the Cambie Corridor, residents have regularly expressed concerns about the ability of the Canada Line to accommodate the additional demand that Oakridge and other development along the corridor will create. Staff is working closely with the applicant and TransLink to understand the impacts on the transit system. There are two Canada Line capacity issues that will be addressed through this process – the line capacity and the station capacity.
The line capacity is the ability of the system to carry passengers in the peak direction in the peak hour. TransLink is working to identify the level of passenger demand along the line with the level of proposed development along the entire corridor. The initial review suggests that there is potential for significant growth in capacity on the Canada Line – currently the line can accommodate approximately 6,500 people per hour per direction (pphpd) and carries about 5,500 pphpd at the busiest point on the line. This is based on the current operation of two-car trains with a frequency of 3 minutes and 20 seconds between trains at the peak period.
This capacity can be expanded to 10,000 pphpd by increasing the frequency of two-car trains to 90 seconds between trains at peak periods. By upgrading to three-car trains at the maximum frequency of 90 seconds between trains, the number can be further expanded to 15,000 pphpd. It should be noted that some station modifications will be required to accommodate a three-car train operation.
The station capacity is the ability of the station to allow enough pedestrian flow to meet the demand of people travelling to and from the trains. Analysis of station capacity has been initiated by the applicant’s consultant. Staff recommend that the review of the line and station capacity be a condition of rezoning and that any upgrades required to the Oakridge- 41st Avenue station to meet the increased demand that the development will be creating will be the sole obligation of the applicant.
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Lots more of details and some massing examples in the docoument.
http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/...ents/ptec3.pdf
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I don't think they have a community plan, it's a free for all.
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