PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT

Transcription

1 PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT Planning Services 1450 K.L.O. Road Kelowna, B.C. V1W 3Z4 Telephone: (250) Fax: (250) For the Board February 21 st, 2005 TO: FROM: Chair & Members of the Regional Board Katherine Adsett, Planner I DATE: SUBJECT: Development Permit DP (Anterra Westbank Towne Centre Ltd., c/o Anthem Properties Group Ltd.) LOCATION: 2475 Dobbin Road LEGAL: Lot A, DL 486, ODYD, Plan RECOMMENDATION: THAT the Regional Board approve Development Permit application DP based on the site plan and elevation drawing nos. A0 A5 prepared by Scientific Architecture Inc., dated December 17, 2004, subject to the following conditions: Removal of existing asphalt adjacent to the rear property line such that the entry way to the loading area is narrowed from 36 metres to 12 metres; Receipt of a landscape plan showing a minimum 3-metre wide landscape strip along the rear property line adjacent to Ingram Road and side property line adjacent to Elliot Road, prepared in compliance with the Landscape Design Guidelines of the Westside Official Community Plan to the satisfaction of Planning Services Department staff; Receipt of a letter of credit or bank draft in the amount of $49,610.00, in order to ensure completion of the asphalt removal, landscaping, mulching and installation of an automatic irrigation system within 1 year of the issuance of the Development Permit. This amount is refundable upon completion of the landscaping to the satisfaction of Regional District staff. /2

2 Page 2 PURPOSE: The applicant is proposing to construct a new single-tenant commercial building in the southeast corner of the subject property and partially rebuild and upgrade the adjacent single tenant building. POLICY: This application is subject to the Economic Development policies, the Westbank Town Centre Plan, and the Commercial Development Permit Guidelines of the Westside Official Community Plan. RATIONALE: It is staff s belief that the proposal may not meet all of the objectives of the Commercial Development Permit Area Guidelines contained within the Westbank Town Centre Plan, therefore, under Procedure Bylaw No. 944, it must be considered by the Regional Board; This is a redevelopment to replace a business that was destroyed by fire and had been in this location for many years; The Regional Board has approved similar development permit applications in downtown Westbank for façade and signage improvements in order to reflect a company s new corporate architecture; Landscaping and screening should be provided at the rear of the subject property as the importance of Ingram Road as a pedestrian and vehicular link will increase due to existing and anticipated additional multiple family development adjacent to Brown Road and Ingram Road. BACKGROUND: Planning staff notes that building permits were originally issued for the subject property in We have no record of a development permit being issued for the site. The proposed redevelopment will replace the bowling alley and adjacent retail units destroyed by fire in December The proposed new Shoppers Drug Mart building will be rebuilt smaller than its original size and is approximately 1562 m 2 (16,815 sq ft) in area and 6.9 metres (22 9 ) in height, extending to 8.9 metres (29 5 ) in height at its highest point. The new Home Hardware building will also be smaller than previously, and is approximately 893 m 2 (9615 sq ft). Its height will remain the same as before at 6.3 metres (20 8 ). The new building is will be finished in grey painted smooth face concrete blocks at the base of the building, grey EIFS panels (Exterior Insulation & Finish System i.e. exterior lightweight wall cladding system; stucco finish), storefront glass panels, with a contrasting red canopy and signage fascia elevated above the main entrance. The cornice atop the signage fascia will have grey prefinished metal flashing. The building appearance and signage will be in keeping with the latest corporate architecture for all Shoppers Drug Marts across Canada, as shown on the coloured elevation drawings. /3

3 Page 3 Changes to the Home Hardware building will be primarily located to the left of the existing entrance and include the addition of a new recessed split faced concrete wall to match the existing material, replacement of the existing fabric awning with a sign bearing the Home Hardware corporate logo, and removal of the existing signage above the store entrance. The remainder of the existing building façade will remain as is. A total of parking stalls 642 are provided for the entire shopping centre, including 2 handicap spaces and 7 loading stalls (including a loading area provided at the rear of the proposed building). This is more than double the number of stalls required under RDCO Zoning Bylaw No. 871 for a commercial development. Although no additional landscaping was proposed in conjunction with this application, Planning staff has been working with the applicant to try and obtain additional landscaping at the rear of the subject property and provide advice with respect to their future development plans for the site. There have been no variances requested in conjunction with this Development Permit application. RELEVANT INFORMATION: General Location: Adjacent to Highway 97 (Dobbin Road), Brown Road, Ingram Road and Elliott Road, in the Westbank Town Centre shopping plaza, Area Westside S Lot Area: +/- 3.9 hectares (9.65 ac) Land Use: Commercial Current Zoning: C1 Town Centre Commercial OCP Designation: Town Center Commercial Surrounding Uses: North Highway 97 / Commercial South Ingram Road / Multiple Family Residential East Residential / Brown Road / Multiple Family Residential West Elliot Road / Institutional AGENCY REFERRALS: The Inspection Services Department has no comments or objections to the application proceeding. The Westside Electoral Area South APC recommends approval of the development permit as proposed, subject to meeting current landscape design guidelines within 12 months. The Ministry of Transportation has no objections to the issuance of the development permit and is agreeable to Planning staff s recommended improvements to the access on Ingram Road. Comments were not available from Westside Fire Rescue at the time of drafting this report. /4

4 Page 4 PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The subject property is located within downtown Westbank and is encouraged to have development that meets the Westbank Town Centre Plan objectives and guidelines for commercial development, such as: renovations within the Main Street segment should correspond closely with adjacent buildings to re-establish an attractive and traditional theme the design of new buildings and renovations should be sympathetic to the small town ambience all new and replacement signage should be designed to discourage sign overload by avoiding excessively large or garish sign types conventional internally lit plastic signs should be avoided The Commercial Development Permit Area Guidelines in the Westbank TCP Strategic Plan also discourage generic corporate architecture. Planning staff believes that the proposed changes are not in keeping with the above noted objectives and guidelines, however, we recognize that the applicant is limited in the changes they can make given that they must adhere to the national corporate architecture for Shopper s Drug Mart. Notwithstanding the above noted observations, Planning staff also notes that in the past the Regional Board has approved similar applications to allow for changes to building façades and signage to reflect a company s national corporate architecture, at highly visible locations in downtown Westbank, such as Petro Canada, Boston Pizza, and, most recently, KFC/Taco Bell. The applicant does not wish to upgrade landscaping adjacent to Highway 97 at this time, noting that they are under tight time constraints to complete construction for their anchor tenant (Phase 1), and they have further plans to redevelop the overall site. Under their proposal, Phase 2 will entail an internal realignment of tenants and introduction of new tenants along the eastern side of the mall; no building permits are anticipated. Phase 3 proposes to replace the former IHOP restaurant located in the SE corner of the property with a multi-tenant building and upgrade landscaping and signage adjacent to Highway 97. Planning staff met with the applicant to stress our belief that with the increase in multiple family development adjacent to Ingram Road and Brown Road and potential linkages from Power s Creek through to the Johnson Bentley Aquatic Centre, pedestrian and vehicle traffic will increase along this route. Given this, we feel there is a need for improved landscaping and a reduction of the 36 metre long entry way to the loading bays at the rear of the subject property adjacent to Ingram Road. The applicant and the Ministry of Transportation have verbally agreed to these changes. (It should also be noted that neither the Ministry of Transportation or the Regional District have the ability to require servicing upgrades, such as sidewalks, in conjunction with this application). /5

5 Page 5 To date, the Planning Services Department has received no correspondence as a result of public notification. In recognition of the above, the Planning Services Department recommends support of the development permit application, subject to the above noted conditions. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Adsett Planner I (Dan Plamondon, Deputy Director of Planning Services) Encl. H:\PLANNING\APPLICA\KAT\DP\2004\DP-04-21\Board Report.doc