Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines
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Co^itlam For Council October 30, 2017 Our File: 13-6480-20/08/1 Doc#: 2718075V.1 To: City Manager From: General Manager Planning and Development Subject: Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines For: Council Recommendation: That Council endorse the Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines as outlined in the report from the General Manager Planning and Development, dated October 30, 2017 and entitled "Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines". Report Purpose: This report presents the updated Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines (Attachment l), a companion document to the Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan (BLNP) which is intended to update the previous streetscape guidelines while incorporating more recent design elements that have been introduced through Council approved or endorsed policy. Strategic Goal: The updated Burquitlam-Lougheed Streetscape Guidelines support the strategic goal of Strengthening Neighbourhoods'. Background: The existing Burquitlam-Lougheed Design Guidelines were endorsed by Council in 2008 and served as a cornpanion document to the 2002 Burquitlam and Lougheed Neighbourood Plans. The Design Guidelines established standards that have helped to create a strong neighbourhood character as redevelopment takes place throughout the Burquitlam-Lougheed area. Since the endorsement of the 2008 Design Guidelines, Council has approved additional strategies and policies to improve design elements in the City. These include the Strategic Transportation Plan (2012), the consolidated Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw (2012), the Transit-Oriented Development Strategy (2012) and the new Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan (BLNP, 2017). Council also supported the North Road and Clarke Road Corridor Enhancement Project on February 16, 2015 (Attachment 2) which established modern streetscape standards to areas near new Skytrain stations where redevelopment and street improvements would precede the new BLNP. The updated BLNP Streetscape Guidelines incorporate Council's previously approved design directions and build on recently completed capital projects, to provide a clear set of standards for future development in the BLNP area. Page 2 October 30, 2017 Discussion/Analysis: This update to the Burquitlam-LougheedStreetscape Guidelines has been prepared to guide improvements to the overall look and feel of key public areas in the Burquitlam-Lougheed area. These improvements include on-street parking areas, improved sidewalks, street furniture, public walkways and plazas, public areas, art, street trees and landscaping that will be built incrementally as redevelopment takes place. The updated guidelines do not seek to introduce new design direction or elements, instead the proposed Guidelines are intended to update the 2008 Guidelines with current best practices while incorporating the capital improvements made during the North Road and Clarke Road Enhancement Project and turning engineering drawings into guidelines for future development. Streetscape Levels The areas where enhanced streetscapes are to be constructed, originally established in the 2008 Design Guidelines, have been carried over in the new Streetscape Guidelines and reflect the revised land-uses, allowable densities, traffic pattern changes, street frontage requirements and transit-oriented development in the BLNP. Building on the approved and constructed Clarke Road and North Road Corridor Enhancement Project, five levels of streetscape are outlined in these guidelines. The new streetscape levels (see Attachment l. Figure 3) include Levels la and lb along portions of North Road and Clarke Road, where development density will be highest, frontage is commercial use, and developments will be mixed-use. The distinctive differences set out in the Clarke Road and North Road Corridor Enhancement project necessitate separate requirements for the two distinctive portions of the corridor. Levelsi2a and 2b apply to portions of Lougheed Highway, Austin Avenue, Como Lake Avenue and North Road along the perimeter of high-density development and where the urban character supports a strong pedestrian presence. Level 3 streets are located along heavy-traffic areas that radiate outwards from the core where urban character is moderate and commercial uses are located at- grade. All other streets will continue to apply the standard requirements included in the City's Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw (2012). File #: 13-6480-20/08/1 Doc #: 27l8075.vl Page 3 October 30, 2017 Discussion/Analysis: cont'd/ Green way and Node Design The Streetscape Guidelines have also been updated to reflect the vision of the BLNP and the Strategic Transportation Plan. The major Citywide Greenways are planned to be funded by the City as capital projects from DCC charges. These will be further connected by a network of Neighbourhood Greenways which typically are funded as off-site improvements during redevelopment (though other potential sources of partial funding for the Neighbourhood Greenways is currently being explored, subject to certain qualifying criteria e.g. applicable to smaller scale, low density infill redevelopment proposals). Both types of Greenways are intended to serve as multi-modal corridors encouraging and supporting walking and cycling for both recreational and commuting purposes. The Streetscape Guidelines also clearly articulate the required dimensions, character, furnishing and development requirements for Nodes throughout the BLNP area to be developed as small plazas or parkettes. Node locations were established in the BLNP, and these spaces form an integral part of the Greenway network, supporting neighbourhood and city-wide walkability and providing a place to sit for seniors and children in a public plaza or green space. Site Furnishing Site furnishing requirements from the 2008 Design Guidelines have been updated in the Streetscape Guidelines to meet specifications that have been determined in more recent plans, such as the Clarke Road and North Road Enhancement Project and Burquitlam Station Plaza Design. \Nayfinding and Identity The Streetscape Guidelines have brought together elements of both the Citywide Wayfinding Strategy as well as corridor themes previously identified for the Burquitlam-Lougheed area through the North Road and Clarke Road Enhancement Project. These updated wayfinding measures connect residents and users to the City's major facilities and projects, and allow individuals to easily identify the neighborhood when they enter it. The already-constructed streetscapes along the North Road and Clarke Road Corridor Enhancement Project focus themes specific to each road. Given North Road's prominent place in history as the second oldest road in the lower mainland, running due north and connecting New Westminster with Port Moody, the previously supported North Road theme is heavily tied to the North Star, compass and multi-modal transportation. Clarke Road's theme celebrates the evolution of travel over time. Originally built to provide a travel route with a more manageable grade, Clarke Road facilitated travel first by foot, then by horse, stagecoach, car and eventually multi-modal transportation today including Skytrain, bus and bicycle. File #; 13-6480-20/08/1 Doc#: 2718075.V1 Page 4 October 30, 2017 Financial Implications: The BLNP and supporting documentation is identified as a key part of the Planning and Development Department's 2017 Work Plan and is being undertaken with existing staff resources, and is funded within existing budgets. Financial support for achieving Greenways in the community is as noted above, plus the option for partial funding of Neighbourhood Greenways is being explored through the Five-Year Financial Plan process. Conclusion: Over the next 20-to-25 years the new Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan will guide growth and reinvestment in the neighborhood to help create a complete community. This companion document is intended to ensure that as growth occurs, and as the streetscapes in this neighborhood evolve, they will be continually improved and will be guided by the core design objectives within this document. The updated BLNP Streetscape Guidelines are intended to be used as part of the design and review of public and private developments within the Burquitlam- Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan area. By updating the Guidelines to reflect policy and design direction that has been endorsed or approved by Council since 2008, the development community, staff and the public will have a greater degree of direction and certainty with respect to the form that future streetscapes will take in the BLNP area. ( J.L Mclnt /re,MCIP, RPP J Attachments: 1. BLNP Streetscape Guidelines (Doc# 2740213) 2. Report to Council, dated February 8, 2015 "Evergreen Line Corridor - City Enhancement Plan Update (Doc# 1869899) This report was prepared by Leifka Vissers, Community Planner with input from Transportation Planning, Development Servicing, Parks Planning and Design and Traffic Operations, and reviewed by Andrew Merrill, Manager Community Planning and Michelle Hunt, General Manager Finance and Technology. File #: 13-6480-20/08/1 Doc #: 27l8075.vl Attachment 1 0 Doc# 2740213 Burquitlam-Lougheed Shaping growth in a neighbourhood of Neighbourhood Plan neighbourhoods Streetscape Guidelines CoQuitlam Planning & Endorsed xxxx xx, 2017 Development This document provides guidelines for development within the Burquitlam - Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan area which are for general guidance only. Site specific conditions will