When the Vancouver City Council is in session, Abundant Housing Vancouver will be providing a breakdown of important public hearings, housing related motions and other housing business.
Highlights:
2538 Birch Street
243 rental homes, with 53 moderate income rentals (20% of the floor area), located two blocks from the future Broadway & Granville Skytrain Station and a short walk to Vancouver General Hospital. This project adds needed rental and moderate income housing near a key employment center in the city.
This project is facing an organized opposition, your support is needed to get these needed moderate income rentals built. Please write in support or request to speak at the July 9th public hearing to tell council to approve affordable rental housing.
1111-1123 Kingsway
Part of the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP), this project proposes to bring 131 rental homes to Kensington-Cedar Cottage area at the intersection of Kingsway and Glen Drive. 20% of homes (by floor area) will be permanently affordable to moderate income households.
Please write in support or request to speak to let council know you support affordable rental housing.
Missing Middle Pilot
A motion by Councilor Dominato to create a program for demonstration projects of ground oriented, missing middle type housing in the low density zones that cover most of the city.
Please support this motion by writing to council or requesting to speak in favour (deadline to register to speak is 1 hour before the start of the meeting).
Public Hearings
July 07, 2020
1. CD-1 REZONING: 1111-1123 Kingsway
Part of the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP), this project proposes to bring 131 rental homes to Kensington-Cedar Cottage at the intersection of Kingsway and Glen Drive. 20% of homes (by floor area) will be permanently affordable to moderate income households.
Please write in support or request to speak to let council know you support affordable rental housing.
Housing: 131 rental homes
FSR: 5.58
Height: 44.2m (145 ft)
Parking: 44 underground and 262 bicycle spaces
Original Zoning: C-2
New Zoning: CD-1
2. 3350 Marine Way and 3565 Sawmill Crescent - Amendments to CD-1 (566) and East Fraser Lands Official Development Plan
Amends the East Fraser Lands Plan and the implementing zoning to allow secured rentals and retail in parcels 14 and 19, and permits a community energy center in parcel 19.
3. AMENDMENTS to the False Creek Area Plan for Area 10B
Rezoning of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, a lot purchased by the city as part of the Arbutus Corridor purchase from CPR rail. The city has decided as part of its Arbutus Greenway Plan that this lot at the north end of the corridor is not required for the greenway and wants to rezoning it for a 6 storey rental building. This rezoning will trigger a clause in the purchase agreement that will allow CPR to repurchase the lot for $1.00.
July 09, 2020
1. 2538 Birch Street (formerly 1296 West Broadway)
Located two blocks from the future Broadway & Granville Skytrain Station and a short walk to Vancouver General Hospital, this project would add 243 rental homes, with 53 moderate income rentals (20% of the floor area), to this walkable, transit oriented section of Broadway. This site was originally to be a 16 storey building and received zoning approval at a January 16, 2018 public hearing. The builders have gone back for a second rezoning, as part of the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP) in order to build more needed rental homes, including moderate income housing.
This project is facing an organized opposition, your support is needed to get these moderate income rental homes built. Please write in support or request to speak to let council know you support affordable rental housing.
Housing: 243 rental homes
FSR: 10.52
Height: 84.25 m (276.40 ft)
Parking: 187 underground and 438 bicycle spaces
Original Zoning: CD-1 (708)
New Zoning: CD-1
Council Member Motions
Enabling Creative and Easily Replicated “Missing Middle” Housing Pilots (Lisa Dominato)
The majority of residential land in Vancouver is currently subject to bylaws that ban all but the most expensive types of housing. Plans to ease those bans got rolled into the City Wide Plan at the start of this council term, despite continuing affordability problems.
Councillor Lisa Dominato is bringing forward this motion to direct city staff to develop a program to build pilot missing middle projects in the RS (single family) and RT (duplex) zones. These ground oriented pilot projects would provide a real world demonstration of housing types that can be incorporated into the Vancouver Plan that is happening concurrently, while preventing progress from being stalled out during the multi-year Vancouver Plan process.
The motion calls for a report to council by staff during the fall of 2020 with short term actions that can be approved by council and a report in the spring of 2021 with options for expanding additional housing options near transit hubs, arterial roads and to deliver more units than the existing Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP).
Please support this motion by writing to council or requesting to speak in favour (deadline to register to speak is 1 hour before the start of the meeting).
Other Motions
Ending Street Checks in Vancouver (Kennedy Stewart) - Asks council to direct the Mayor to write to the Police Board to request the ending of police street checks.
Retail Revolution: Bringing Digital Main Street to Vancouver to Support Brick and Mortar Neighbourhood Small Business (Sarah Kirby-Yung) - Seeks to expand the Digital Main Street Program from Ontario to Vancouver.
Decriminalizing Poverty and Supporting Community-led Safety Initiatives (Jean Swanson) - Seeks to de-emphasize policing in the policy response to mental health, homelessness and substance use.
Enhanced Mobility Options to Support Post Pandemic Recovery Through a Shared e-Scooter and an e-Bike Pilot Program (Sarah Kirby-Yung) - Would direct staff to create a e-scooter and e-bike pilot program.
If you want to support these motions you can contact council or request to speak (deadline to register to speak is 1 hour before the start of the meeting).
Other Business
2020 Transportation Safety Update
This report details proposals from the city staff to create a slow zone pilot project in Grandview-Woodlands, a joint project with the Province for a blanket speed reduction, information on the Neighborhood Traffic Management program and extending speed reductions in school and playground zones to 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.