A Richmond-based developer is planning a four-storey apartment building for a vacant lot along Ospika Boulevard.
Chestfield Development (Hopkins) Ltd. requested a development variance permit to build the proposed 55-unit building at 2919 Hopkins Rd. – a treed, roughly one-acre lot at the corner of Hopkins and Ospika Boulevard.
In the permit request, Chestfield Development requested approval from city council to reduce the distance between the parking lot and the front of the building from the required 5.2 metres to 2.1 metres. The city's zoning bylaws require parking areas to be at least 5.2 m from the window of any habitable room in an apartment building.
In a report to city council, acting deputy city manager Ian Wells said the city's administration supported the request to grant the variance.
"The windows in the apartment housing and the parking spaces are separated by landscaping and a concrete walkway (2.1 m). The walkway and landscaping provide both a visual buffer between the apartment housing and the parking space, but also act as a buffer for noise and emissions associated with parking areas," Wells wrote in his report. "The reduced distance between the parking area and the habitable rooms in the apartment housing only apply to approximately 17 parking spaces on the south side of the building, therefore, the cumulative impact will be minor...
Four residents of Asher Place Seniors Residency, which is directly east of the proposed development, wrote letters to city council opposing the development.
"I strongly object to reducing the minimum distance from 5.2 metres to 2.1. The property involved is adjacent to my home..." Lyla Mahon wrote. "If you allow this reduction it will have a detrimental effect on the health of all of us residents. I am sure the current requirement of 5.2metres was established with the health of people in mind."
Lorraine Hunter and Guy Boudreau expressed similar concerns.
"My concern is that this is to close to my Condo and who is responsible if a vehicle ends
up in my back patio," Helen Huxley wrote. "Also the noise and pollution that comes with the parking would be detrimental to my health. I feel this very unfair."
The site plan submitted to city council shows a narrow green belt on the east side of the property, facing Asher Place.
City council voted unanimously to support the variance.
