A Richmond property currently zoned for convenience store on it can’t be redeveloped because it’s designated as park.
The property, along with four others at No. 5 and Cambie roads, are the subject of council deliberation Monday afternoon whereby removing the park designation is being recommended by city staff.
In its rationale to change the park designation to commercial, city staff say there is already a lot of park space in the neighbourhood.
The five properties are adjacent to King George Park.
The other four properties are residential, but can't be densified without the park designation being removed. (The lots are designated "park" in the Official Community Plan, but they are currently not zoned as park.)
The property owner of 4080 No. 5 Road has submitted a development application to build a new commercial building on the property.
The city aims to have about eight acres of park space for every 1,000 residents.
The area, however, exceeds this goal by three times in the East Cambie area, with almost 25 acres of park per 1,000 residents.
Richmond Nature Park, King George Park as well as Cambie Community Centre are located in this area.
Privately owned lots that are designated “park” can be acquired by the city, but these five lots haven’t been put on the acquisition list.
The properties will be dealt with at Monday's general purposes committee meeting at 4 p.m. The meeting is livestreamed on YouTube.
