BURST
Vancouver city council sent a rezoning application for a new residential rental tower in Mount Pleasant back to staff this week for more work, a move some interpret as a response to growing public criticism of the high-density Broadway plan.
Some residents and observers hope the decision to ask questions rather than just approve the application is a sign the city’s governing ABC party is paying more attention to how the plan affects public spaces and amenities, given the party’s loss in April’s byelection to fill two council seats.
Addressing the main problem identified by council will be possible only if there is a big cut to the height and density of the building, according to staff, who said it will take at least six months before a revised application can be presented at a public hearing.
When politicians oppose a development, they often “camouflage their true intentions with other considerations,” said Michael Geller, a retired architect, planner and developer, who is an opponent of the project.
He noted council voted to explore reducing the shadow the proposed tower would cast on Major Matthews Park, a small green space on a single lot that is beside the site. This is despite the Broadway plan listing parks, including this one, where it “may not be feasible” and “particularly challenging due to the size and location” to avoid shadowing by towers.
“While (shadowing) is very much a concern for them and the community, I was trying to read the minds of the councillors. Were they also using this to perhaps camouflage other concerns?” suggested Geller.
He said he hopes “council is now getting the message and is slowly going to look at ways to refine the plan and maybe this decision is the first indication of that.”
The Broadway plan was approved in 2022 by a previous council and aims to add about 50,000 residents by allowing tall towers in an area of 500 city blocks.
HAVN Developments Ltd., which submitted the rezoning application, hasn’t responded to Postmedia News questions. HAVN’s website lists plans for three rental towers in the Broadway plan area.
In late November, council approved a rezoning application by HAVN for an 18-storey rental tower on West 14th Avenue near Arbutus.
But this time, at public hearings for the West 11th Avenue rezoning, there was discussion about the developer’s lack of a building track record and about the design renderings it submitted.
Liesbeth Thoraval, who lives in the area, said she got the impression city councillors were unhappy with the developer because a representative didn’t show up at the meeting and because they’re proposing a similar design to its other proposals.
Former city planner Sandy James, who believes the Broadway plan needs more public spaces and amenities, said the plans for all three of HAVN’s proposals “are remarkably similar and there is no design context. It is the same building and design.”