Dawson and Madison rezoning initiated

The corner of Madison and Dawson will be the subject of a rezoning initiated by Imani Development.  4485 and 4495 Dawson will see a 37 story high-rise tower built atop a 3 story commercial podium.  If successful, this project will move forward to a public hearing next month on October 17.

REZONING REFERENCE #16-27 High Rise Apartment Tower with

 Commercial Podium Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan

Site of Brentwood Motors part of massive development

The current site of Brentwood Motors and Enterprise Rent-a-Car at 4756 and 4828 Lougheed Hwy will be the subject of a rezoning application (RZ #13-20) to be discussed tomorrow at the Burnaby City Council meeting.  The subject site will include a proposal for the purchase of surrounding City-owned property that extends eastward to Delta Ave and southward to Dawson Ave.  The developer has yet to be identified.

The development will include a combination of high, mid and low-rise apartment buildings along with a commercial component to serve the needs of immediate area residents.  If the proposal gains approval, the stretch of the south side of Lougheed Hwy between Beta and Delta Avenues will look markedly different once completed over multiple phases.  The area to the south along Dawson Avenue will likely see Dawson Avenue  extend straight through between Beta Ave and Douglas Rd.

New elementary school and park space

This development will also lay the groundwork for a future elementary school south of Dawson Ave to meet the needs of a growing residential population south of Lougheed Hwy.  I expect that the school will be built on the site of the large red warehouses known as the Dragonwood Lands near the foot of Beta south of Dawson Ave.  The site of these warehouses is part of the land mentioned in the project writeup for this rezoning reference.

Pedestrian/Cyclist overpass on Beta

One of the requirements of the City of Burnaby is that a pedestrian and cyclist overpass be built over the railroad tracks to connect to Still Creek Ave.  Such an overpass will definitely benefit locals that need to take a quick walk to the Costco rather than having to drive around along Dawson to Willingdon  to get there.  A quick connection to the Central Valley Greenway will also be nice.

Area plan needed for south of Dawson

The following article in the Burnaby NewsLeader highlights difficulties that developers may face when seeking approval of rezoning applications for property owned in and around Brentwood.  In this case, it's not an issue of conflict with an existing community plan but rather an issue with the fact that a community plan currently does not exist.  The area in question is the land located south of Dawson Ave between Willingdon and Beta on Alpha Avenue.

The City of Burnaby needs to develop a plan for the area in question and give prospective developers a definitive guideline for their plans and create more interest in the Brentwood area.

Stuck in redevelopment limbo near Brentwood

By Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader

Published: April 23, 2013 11:00 AM

Wiinton Williams will likely one day get a nice windfall from the sale of a property he owns in the Brentwood area.  

Today, though, his industrial property has a breathtaking property tax bill based solely on its development potential. 

If only he could develop it.  For now, with the taxes so high, he’s having trouble just leasing out the place. Williams says he can’t redevelop his property and sell it for what it could be worth because Burnaby city hall has been slow to come up with an area plan.

Since 1993, his company, Vernon-based Sako Pacific Properties Ltd. has owned the property at 2450 Alpha Ave. in Burnaby where it also owned and operated Universal Concrete Accessories, a business that first opened there in 1970. Starting in 1995, Burnaby city hall started sending Williams’ company notices about redevelopment plans for the Brentwood area, including the industrial lands south of Dawson Street where Sako’s property is located. Williams said since then, his property taxes have soared from about $17,000 in 1995 to an expected $70,000 this year.

Seeing the writing on the wall, he started working with a developer several years back and has spent about $70,000 on site investigations necessary for any redevelopment. But while Burnaby city hall has indicated for years that redevelopment is on the horizon for the area, the planning department has yet to complete a plan for the area south of Dawson to allow any such transformation to begin. 

To make matters worse, when Sako sold its Universal Concrete business it continued to lease the property to its new owners. The business’ owners just vacated the site a couple months ago, relocating to an area with lower property tax costs.  Williams said he found two possible tenants in the film industry, but they decided to look elsewhere when they found out Sako planned to redevelop in the next few years and that the property taxes they’d be expected to help pay were high.

“We’re stuck in limbo, we can’t sell it, we can’t rent it, all we can do is click off 25 grand a month,” said Williams.  About eight years ago when the taxes went up to $32,000, Williams spoke to B.C. Assessment Authority and explained the land is zoned industrial, it’s being used for industrial so it should be paying industrial-level taxes.

“They said, ‘yeah, but it’s going to be high density and then it’s going to be worth a lot more.’”  Williams replied, “When it is high density then it will be worth a lot more, just like you actually have to win the lottery before [you can benefit].”

Sako has yet to appeal its assessment and while they’ve missed this year’s deadline, Williams said they may do so in future. He recently wrote to Burnaby’s community development committee describing his company’s predicament.

Coun. Colleen Jordan, chair of the committee, said the city’s master plan for the area bounded by Dawson and the railway tracks and Gilmore and Holdom avenues, “is kind of up in the air.”   Even in the late 1990s it was designated for redevelopment but the form and type was never defined by city hall, Jordan explained.

A property on the western section of the area was rezoned several years back for highrises but council decided to put any further applications on hold until a plan could be developed.

One of the issues to be determined is whether some areas are suitable for highrises since some of the land is peat bog.  “You have to consider whether or not stuff is going to sink,” she said.  As it stands currently, property owners could apply to rezone “but we would say no.”  Jordan said she sympathizes with the situation Williams and others in the area find themselves.  “We appreciate that so we’re just asking our staff how much work it would take to get this on the table and moving forward,” she said, noting staff already have their plates full doing similar work for other areas of the city.

Jordan hopes the planning work for the area south of Dawson will be completed by the end of the year.  Kash Kang, B.C. Assessment Authority’s area assessor for the North Fraser region, said Brentwood town centre is a “really good example” of such situations which are not unusual for urban areas in transition.

Kang stressed that property assessments are based on market value and take into account what similar properties in neighbourhoods have sold for recently.  The market will discount properties if there are constraints, such as the fact redevelopment is not yet able to go ahead. But if land is at the stage where it could be rezoned, its value would be “substantially higher,” he noted.

“There’s a distinction between what somebody could do with it if it’s already rezoned versus something that has a horizon that’s possibly three to five years out.”   Kang said similar situations have occurred in Richmond since the Canada Line has gone through there, and will likely also occur with the Evergreen Line out to the Tri-Cities.

He said property owners could appeal their assessments if they believe they’re higher or lower than those given to similar properties in a similar situation.  As for Williams, he said he’s been “pleasantly surprised” by the responsiveness of city hall staff and council.  “While we feel a little hard done by it’s not really anybody’s fault.”

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

Brentwood Mall development mentioned at Burnaby City Council meeting

The Brentwood Mall development was brought up for discussion at the City of Burnaby Council meeting on August 29th.

7.              Rezoning Reference #06-47

              Mixed-Use Retail, Office and Apartment Towers

              Brentwood Town Centre                           

The City Manager submitted a report from the Director Planning and Building seeking Council authorization to forward this application to a Public Hearing on 2011 September 20.  The purpose of the proposed rezoning bylaw amendment is to permit development of a major mixed-use residential/commercial project.

The City Manager recommended:

1.              THAT the introduction of a Highway Closure Bylaw be authorized according to the terms outlined in Section 4.4 of this report, contingent upon the granting by Council of Second Reading of the subject Rezoning Bylaw.

2.              THAT the sale be approved in principle of City-owned property for inclusion within the subject development site in accordance with the terms outlined in Section 4.4 of this report and subject to the applicant pursuing the rezoning proposal to completion.

3.              THAT a Rezoning Bylaw be prepared and advanced to First Reading on 2011 August 29, and to a Public Hearing on 2011 September 20 at 7:00 p.m.

4.              THAT the predecessor Rezoning Bylaw, Amendment Bylaw No. 40/08, Bylaw No. 12491, be abandoned contingent upon the granting by Council of Second Reading of the subject Rezoning Bylaw.

5.              THAT the following be established as prerequisites to the completion of the rezoning:

a)              The submission of a suitable plan of development.

b)              The deposit of sufficient monies, including a 4% Engineering Inspection Fee, to cover the costs of all services necessary to serve the site and the completion of a servicing agreement covering all requisite services.  All services are to be designed to City standards and constructed in accordance with the Engineering Design.  One of the conditions for the release of occupancy permits will be the completion of all requisite services.

c)              The installation of all electrical, telephone and cable servicing, and all other wiring underground throughout the development, and to the point of connection to the existing service where sufficient facilities are available to serve the development.

d)              The removal of all existing improvements from the site prior to Final Adoption of the Bylaw, but not prior to Third Reading of the Bylaw. 

              Demolition of any improvements will be permitted after Second Reading of the Rezoning Bylaw has been granted provided that the applicant acknowledges that such permission does not fetter Council’s ability to grant or not to grant Third Reading and/or Final Adoption of the Rezoning Bylaw.  In addition, the demolition of any improvements will be permitted at any time if they are vacant and considered by staff to be subject to misuse and vandalism.

e)                The utilization of an amenity bonus through the provision of a 4,570 sq. ft. community “flex” space owned by the City and established through the creation of an airspace parcel and protected by a 219 Covenant in accordance with Section 4.3 of this report.

f)              The utilization of an amenity density bonus through the deposit of funds equal to the estimated remainder value of the density bonus in accordance with Section 4.3 of this report.

g)              The consolidation of the net project site into one legal parcel.

h)              The granting of any necessary covenants, including, but not necessarily limited to, Section 219 Covenants:

• restricting the enclosure of balconies,
• restricting development to those phases which have contributed related amenity bonus funds,
• indicating that project surface driveway accesses will not be restricted by gates,
• allocating development densities on the overall site,
• guaranteeing provision and maintenance of public art,
• ensuring commercial entrances on Lougheed Highway remain open and operable,
• restricting commercial/retail uses fronting Lougheed Highway from having obscured fenestration,
• to assure the provision and continuing maintenance of end-of-trip facilities for cyclists and bicycle storage rooms, and
• providing that all disabled parking to remain as common property. 

i)              The granting of a Section 219 Covenant for the provision of three surface car co-op spaces per residential tower, with cars and memberships for the residential units to be held as common property in accordance with Section 4.2 of this report.  

j)              The granting of any necessary easements.

k)                The provision of statutory rights-of-way guaranteeing public access to a north-south pedestrian walkway linking Lougheed Highway to the internal public plaza area through the commercial buildings and guaranteeing public access to the proposed plaza, public open space and pedestrian walkway/linkage areas. 

l)              The provision of a statutory right-of-way guaranteeing public access to an east-west vehicular and pedestrian route (private road) connecting Rosser Avenue to Willingdon Avenue. 

m)                The provision of a statutory right-of-way securing area for a future landing of a possible grade-separated pedestrian crossing of Willingdon Avenue south of Lougheed Highway.

n)                Compliance with the guidelines for surface and underground parking for residential visitors and commercial patrons.

o)                Submission of the applicant’s schedule for the construction / development phasing of the subject proposal. 

p)              The dedication of any rights-of-way deemed requisite.

q)              The completion of the sale of City property.

r)              The provision of covered car wash stalls and adequately sized and appropriately located garbage handling and recycling material holding space to the approval of the Director Engineering within the residential portions of the development and a commitment to implement the recycling provisions.

s)              The approval of the Ministry of Transportation to the rezoning application.

t)              The design and provision of units adaptable to persons with disabilities (the provision of special hardware and cabinet work being subject to the sale/lease of the unit to a disabled person) with allocated disabled parking spaces.

u)              The submission of a suitable on-site stormwater management system to the approval of the Director Engineering, the deposit of sufficient monies for its provision, and the granting of a Section 219 Covenant to guarantee its provision and continuing operation.

v)              The deposit of the applicable GVS & DD Sewerage Charge.

w)              The deposit of the applicable Parkland Acquisition Charge.

x)              The deposit of the applicable School Site Acquisition Charge.

y)              Completion of the Highway Closure Bylaw.

z)              The provision of facilities for cyclists in accordance with this report.

aa)              The undergrounding of existing overhead wiring adjacent to the site.

bb)              Compliance with the Council-adopted sound criteria.

cc)              The review of a detailed Sediment Control System by the Director Engineering.

dd)              The submission of a Site Profile and resolution of any arising requirements.

ee)              The submission of a written undertaking to distribute area plan notification forms, prepared by the City, with disclosure statements; and, to post area plan notification signs, also prepared by the City, on the development site and in the sales office in prominent and visible locations prior to Third Reading, or at the time marketing for the subject development commences, whichever is first, and remain posted for a period of one year, or until such time that all units are sold, whichever is greater.

Community amenities discussed for Rosser and Lougheed

Although specific details were not discussed, the community spaces slated to accompany the Vantage and Brentwood Crossing developments at Rosser and Lougheed were mentioned at the August 29th Burnaby City Council meeting.

City of Burnaby

    Community Development Committee

              Re:               Community Benefit Derived Through

                            Rezoning #06-47

                            4420, 4444 Lougheed Highway; 2060 Rosser

                            Avenue; 4461, 4408 Sumas Street & 2131

                            Willingdon Avenue                           

The Community Development Committee submitted a report recommending on-site amenity space and a cash-in-lieu contribution as the approved community benefits to be derived through Rezoning Reference #06-47 for a large mixed-use commercial-residential project at the subject address.

The Community Development Committee recommended:

1.              THAT Council approve the on-site amenity space and a cash-in-lieu contribution as the community benefits to be derived through the density bonus granted to Rezoning Reference #06-47.

 Proposal Call Process for Community Amenity Space at

              Rosser Avenue and Lougheed Highway (RZ #08-06)             

The City Manager submitted a report from the Director Planning and Building seeking Council approval to initiate a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to identify a community organization(s) to occupy City-owned non-profit office/program space in a mixed use development at 2085 Rosser Avenue (at Lougheed Highway).

The City Manager recommended:

1.              THAT Council endorse the proposed process to select a non-profit tenant(s) for a community amenity space associated with RZ #08-06, as outlined in Sections 2.0 and 3.0 of this report.