March 6th, 2017 Council Meeting Notes: Proposed 4-storey condominium apartment includes balcony sprinklers

Last night’s City of Langley council meeting started with a public hearing to rezone property located at the corner of 201 Street and Michaud Crescent to accommodate a proposed 98-unit condominium apartment building.

Council received an email, and a petition with eleven names of people that live at 5430 201 Street —the apartment building across the street— opposed to the rezoning at the public hearing.

Another resident who lives in the same building as the petitioners spoke in favour of the rezoning application at the public hearing, but had concerns about construction noise, construction crew parking management, dust, and the cleanup of local roads caused by construction projects. These concerns were also raised by another resident that attended the public hearing.

In response to the concerns raised, City staff noted that the rezoning application is consistence with the Official Community Plan. Staff also outlined the City’s noise control bylaw, and how it relates to construction projects. Staff committed to exploring solutions for construction site parking, dust mitigation, and street cleaning.

After the public hearing, the regular council meeting started. The first significant item on the agenda was the rezoning application to accommodate the 98-unit building.

The architects for the building were present, and I highlighted some of the items that I though were important parts of the proposed project.

Artist renders of proposed project at the corner of 201 Street and Michaud Crescent. Select images to enlarge.

Critically important is that the project’s proponent committed to putting in sprinklers on the fourth-floor balconies of the proposed building which is above and beyond what is required under the BC Building Code, but given what happened recently in the City, is critically important.

The proponent also proposed to include secured bike parking for residents of the building, and visitor bike parking at the main entrance of the building. There is no surface parking being proposed for the project; the City only requires resident parking be “covered.” Both visitor and resident parking is underground which maximizes green-space. The proposed building will also include 10 electric vehicle spots.

When it comes to enhancing the streets, the proponent is proposing to use landscaping to hide the top of the concrete base of the building. Exposed concrete walls are bad news for the public realm as they can create dead zones for walking, and are magnets for tagging. The curb exertions at the corner of 201 Street and Michaud Crescent will also be preserved which helps with both parking management and traffic calming.

Site plan of proposed apartment building project at the corner of 201 Street and Michaud Crescent. Select images to enlarge.

I would certainly like to see some of the things that I’ve outlined incorporated into other condominium apartment projects in the City.

Council gave third reading to the rezoning application. Council also gave final reading to an updated Fees and Charges Bylaw which was required due to the update of our Streetlight Banner policy.

Tomorrow, I will be posting about the other items discussed at last night’s council meeting.