Thursday, September 15, 2011

Lougheed Hwy commercial front to be part of Brentwood Mall development

According to the August 29 City of Burnaby council meeting minutes, it appears that the Brentwood Mall development will include the construction of street-level commercial space fronting Lougheed Hwy between Beta Ave and Brentwood Station.  The appearance of commercial storefronts will dramatically transform the look of Lougheed Hwy.



As for what will occupy the area above the commercial/retail front, details are have not yet been mentioned.  It will most likely be commercial office space which will either take the form of low or high-rises.  It will be interesting to see how the Lougheed-facing commercial spaces will be connected for access to and from  the rest of the inner property where other phases of the project will take place.



As for one of the items on my wish list for the mall project; since Tim Horton's has seen it's parking spaces encroached upon by the increasing numbers of Steve Nash Fitness World patrons, hopefully it will relocate to one of the newly developed spaces at Brentwood Mall.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

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.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Taller not necessarily greener

Rick McGowan of the Burnaby Green Party recently expressed his view on the allowing of taller residential towers to be constructed in Burnaby. Although "building up" has been touted as a sustainable way to increase residential density in Burnaby, McGowan believes the heights are going too far.


Taller highrises a bad plan
 
 
BY RICK MCGOWAN, BURNABY NOW SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
 
 
DEAR EDITOR:

Recent changes that allow developers to build taller highrises will not make Burnaby more sustainable. These bylaw amendments were introduced by city staff last November and quietly passed in December without proper public debate. One would think a change that allows developers to add 10 or 20 floors to a 30storey highrise would be worthy of a comprehensive public consultation process.

Since the adoption of the amended bylaw, a flurry of applications for significantly taller buildings have been proposed. The latest proposal for station square calls for four new towers up to 57 storeys. The new rules are unfair to residents who currently reside in Burnaby's four town centres.

As a resident of Metrotown, I am surrounded by highrise residential apartment buildings, mostly under 30 storeys, and three-storey condominiums. I live in a three-storey condo that has 26 units. My building was constructed about 20 years ago and each unit is relatively large compared to today's standard. The recently constructed condo behind us has 26 units also but is built on a smaller property assembled from three single-family lots. What is most appealing to me about my neighbourhood is the opportunity to get to know my neighbours in the building, and, to a lesser extent, a few of the people in other buildings. Another aspect of the urban lifestyle my family enjoys is the convenience of being able to walk to the grocery store or Metropolis. The opportunity to walk or take transit reduces my family's carbon footprint and makes us healthier also. Cycling could make daily errands even more convenient, but with so many cars in the area creating hazards and pollution and inconvenient storage facilities it is usually less hassle to walk.

While the benefits to living at Metrotown are great, the people who currently live there have also had to make sacrifices. We are forced to breathe the toxic pollutants emitted from commuters who travel on the streets. Also, we share our green spaces and walls with our neighbours and families, so we have to show consideration for them. SkyTrain is crowded at certain times of the day and shopping at Metropolis can be stressful. All in all the benefits outweigh the costs.

That said, Metrotown's density is well above what is considered a "compact neighbourhood" and is approaching a density close to what is called a "pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood" and this has been achieved without resorting to constructing towers above 30 storeys.

It is unfair for city hall to expect residents in the Metrotown area to absorb greater and greater numbers of people and residents, while other neighbourhoods in Burnaby continue to live at densities far below what is considered "compact."

Other parts of the city including the other town centres can absorb more people without the need to build the higher towers and without the need to encroach on existing commercial and industrial space.

Furthermore, the process and people that introduced these changes have demonstrated a lack of consideration for the residents of Burnaby.

Rick McGowan, Burnaby Municipal Green Party

© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now
 

Friday, September 9, 2011

Views on taller buildings determined by the resulting view

Recently a resident of the Brentwood neighbourhood wrote a letter to the Burnaby Newsleader opposing the Brentwood Crossing project.

Poor planning reaches new heights in Burnaby's Brentwood area

Published: September 08, 2011 9:00 AM
Updated: September 08, 2011 9:20 AM
Re: Proposed development to transform Brentwood (NewsLeader, Sept. 2)

I read the article about the proposed development with towers 39 to 48 storeys for the southwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway and find that the proposal is at the best obscene. Perhaps Burnaby needs a change of leadership, for allowing developments like these to go ahead. They allowed highrises on the north side of Lougheed that cost $400,000 to $2 million and now are proposing to lower the value of these properties by cutting off all views from the north.

People on the east and south sides of the buildings on the north side of Lougheed will have nothing to see but cement buildings. This will certainly lower the property values for all the buildings on the north side (but probably not their property tax assessments).

It appears Burnaby does not have anyone in its employ, or even a consultant with any idea of how to keep views for everyone. The new buildings should be lower than the buildings on the north side and any new ones to the south after these new buildings should be shorter than the proposed buildings. The whole area is turning into a mini-Toronto but with no amenities to match.

So now we have the option of selling and moving, or staying and suffering from lowered property value. What is wrong with Burnaby’s city council and planning department?

Patricia Muss

Burnaby

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Carter GM renovating

The Carter GM dealership across the street from Brentwood Mall has been busy constructing a building next to an existing one.  The fact that the dealership is investing money in expanding its building there means that it will not be leaving the vicinity of Brentwood Station anytime soon as did the Morrey Nissan dealership recently to Still Creek and Willingdon.  The former site of the Nissan dealership (across the street at Willingdon and Lougheed) will be the location of the "Brentwood Crossing" development by Appia.


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Brentwood Crossing development


The Brentwood Crossing development appears to be moving ahead with a public hearing scheduled on September 20th at Burnaby City Hall.  The development will begin to establish (at its corner) the intersection of Lougheed Hwy and Willingdon Ave as major pedestrian crossing as more residential and commercial/office units are established.   With the Vantage project underway just west of this project and the Brentwood Mall project in it's infancy at the opposite corner, we can expect cranes to be prominent features in the skyline around Brentwood for a number of years.


Below are conceptual images from www.dikeakos.com




Burnaby Newsleader article below

Proposed development to transform Brentwood