City votes to delay rezoning in Grandview Woodland, Marpole

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – After three days of listening to speakers from across Vancouver, city council has voted in favour of allowing some neighbourhoods more time to look at plans designed to increase population density.

Many people living in those areas felt public consultation was inadequate.

The most contentious plans for the Downtown Eastside, the West End, Marpole and Grandview Woodland involve provisions for more highrises, stacked townhouses and laneway housing.

Councillor Andrea Reimer says contrary to popular thought, they’ve actively sought out a wide range of opinions, including those from renters.

“In these four communities, renters represent at least 57 per cent of residents. In Marpole and the West End that figure is 80 per cent. We really wanted that to be reflected in the mix of participants. That has been happening. Not at the level we had hoped but certainly a stronger turn-out from aboriginal populations, renters and new immigrants.”

The Grandview Woodland neighbourhood, which includes the Commercial Drive area, has been given another year to gather public input on the changes.

“They had a fairly high level of community engagement, but they’re not nearly far enough along in terms of building consensus around key issues. There’s agreement that there’s a problem with affordable housing, but not agreement on what that solution might look like,” explains Reimer.

The people of Marpole have been given an extra six months to provide input. Plus the city has decided streets west of Cambie will continue to feature predominantly single-family homes.

The local area planning process for the Downtown Eastside has been extended to January.

The community plan for the West End will be presented to council in November. That deadline has not changed.

“The reason we’re undertaking these community plans is to ensure our neighbourhoods deliver more housing affordability in the years ahead,” says Mayor Gregor Robertson.

“It’s not an easy process, as people have different opinions about how their neighbourhood should evolve over time. The adjustments we’ve made to the community plans clearly respond to the calls we’ve heard from members of the public who want more time and more opportunities for engagement.”