Public Hearing — March 7, 2023 — Transcript
← Public Hearing March 7, 2023
Thanks, everyone. This is my second chair of the meeting, the first time chair of the public hearing. So bear with me if I'm still not familiar with the process. Okay. I will now call for the public hearing as of March 7, 2023, to order. This meeting is convened by electronic means. As such, council members may participate in person or by electronic means. For council members participating by electronic means, please ensure your video is turned on and let the clerk know if you are leaving the meeting. For the purpose of confirming the quorum, council members are reminded that in accordance to the section 14.13 of the procedure bylaw, members must enable their video to confirm quorum. If council member attending by electronic means lose the connection during the portion of the hearing, we will recess the meeting until the connection is restored. If council member lose connection during the voting process, staff will also get you back online quickly. We always suspend the voting process and the contact information has been circulated to you. Members of the public can view this proceeding via the live stream and the YouTube link, which will be tweeted out by Van City Clerk. We acknowledge that we are on the unceded homelands of Musqueamamamam, Squamish, and the Sleaze Wattoos people. We thank them for having care of this land and look forward to working with them in partnership as we continue to build this great city together. In the case of emergency, where we need to evacuate the building, I would like to direct your attention to the exits. And there are two exits beyond the glass door and to the left. And if this exit is obstructed, please direct your attention to the four exits in this chamber. Please use the stairs and do not use the elevator. I would also like to highlight that there is a defibrillator located at the end of the hallway outside of the council chamber. I also want to take a moment to recognize the immense contribution of the City of Vancouver staff who work hard every day to help make our city an incredible place to live, work, and play. Clerk, may we have the roll call, please?
Mayor Sim is on a leave of absence for personal reason. Council Carr. Council Kirby Young.
Present. Council Dominado is on a leave of absence for civic business. Council Bly is on a leave of absence for civic business. Council Boyle. Present. Council Fry. Present. Council Montague. Present. Council Classen. Present. Council Meisner.
Present.
And Council Joe is in the chair. You have quorum acting Mayor Joe.
Thank you, clerk. Before we begin, I have some announcement. The public may participate by speaking in person, by phone, or by submitting written comments to mayor and council. Electronic participation is highly encouraged as there are capacity limits within the city hall. Speakers will have five minutes to make their comments and should limit their comments to the merit of this report being considered. Speakers should also state whether they are in support or opposed to the recommendations and also if they are the resident of Vancouver. Speakers may only speak once and should follow along the Twitter at vancityclerk for updates on the progress of the meeting so they don't miss their turn to speak. Any comments on the agenda can be submitted in writing through our online web form at vancouver.ca slash public dash hearing dash comments. This link will also be tweeted. Those speaking on behalf of other persons or groups will have eight minutes to speak, and only if those represented are also on the line or in person and must not be the speakers themselves. Speakers who pre-register with presentations are reminded that the public live feed has a slight delay. So to navigate through the slide of your presentation, please see next so that clerk may advance your slides. I also want to note City of Vancouver's longstanding commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including almost respect for all genders. So I remind council that when addressing speakers and staff, we will avoid using gender honorifics and will instead refer to the person by first and last name, roles, or title. Remember that council's role at public hearing is to be quasi-traditional's body, which means council is to only consider the merits of the rezoning application or heritage designation. Council members may ask clarifying questions from speakers, including the applicant, or technical advice from staff, but should save debate for after the close of the speaker's list. After hearing from the speakers, Council may, one, approve the application in principle, second, refuse the application, or three, refer the application to staff for further consideration. Finally, if Council does not conclude hearing from all speakers this evening, we will recess and reconvene the meeting on March 30, 2023, at 3 p.m. Okay, so the first item is miscellaneous amendments concerning various CD1 bylaws. Does any member of council wish to declare conflict of interest on item 1? Okay, didn't see anyone. So the clerk will now read the applications and the summary of the correspondence received.
This is an application by the general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability to make miscellaneous amendments to CD-180 at 4949-4951 Heather Street, CD-1312 at 1529 West Pender Street, 560-588 Cardero Street, 535 Nicholas Street, 499 Broughton Street, and 1199 West Cordova Street. CD-1643 at... 1335 Howe Street and CD-1845 at 728-796 Main Street to improve clarity, update references, correct inadvertent errors or omissions, and or improve the administration of the bylaws. The General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability recommends approval subject to conditions set out in the summary and recommendation. No correspondence has been received since referral to public hearing and up to 5 p.m. today.
Okay, thank you, clerk. Any speaker for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. There will be an opportunity for those on the phone or in person to speak at the end of the registered speaker list. We have Simon J., a planning analyst for rezoning center, planning, urban design, and sustainability, here to present the application.
We need a seconder. Moved by the Councilor Kerr, seconded by Councilor Meisner. Are there any questions from Council to team members?
Okay, so now we will hear from the public.
Point of procedure, Chair?
Councilor Kerbion, please go ahead.
Yeah, we usually don't move for a second until you've completed the other components, such as hearing from the public or taking a pause for speakers.
Okay, so... It seems our order is just out of sync tonight. Oh, okay.
You guys feel the same? No?
Okay. So, Councilor Kerbian, so everyone in the chamber feel it is okay?
Okay, so you're not doing a call for speakers or anything first before moving and seconding the report?
Oh, it's coming. Councilor Kerbian, it's coming. Yeah, it's coming.
That is my point. We usually complete those formalities before we move any recommendations to see if there are any speakers.
Okay, so I'm going to call the speaker now, Councillor Kerbion.
Okay, so if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to the council, please call toll-free 1-833-35...
audience i guess i have to call three times right
Okay, so there's no speakers right now, but I'm going to call second time. So if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. Any speakers in the council chamber, please come forward to the podium.
I think there's still no speakers. I'm going to speak the third time, right? Okay. So if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to the council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. If the phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream, any speaker in the council chamber, please come forward to the podium.
Still didn't see anyone. So do we want to take five minutes recess or?
Okay. Perfect.
So seeing there's no other speakers, the speakers list will now be closed.
Okay, so as few of no public comments were received on this item after 5 p.m. today, I suggest we now close the receipt of the public comments and move on to hearing the closing comments, asking further questions to staff, and to make a decision. Does the applicant have any closing comments?
Staff is the applicant. We have no closing comments.
Thank you. Does staff have any closing comments? No. Thank you. Does council have any questions to staff?
So council will not make a decision on this application. Do we have a mover for our recommendation? Moved by Councillor Kerr. Seconded by Councillor Meisner.
Is there any debate?
Okay, so seeing now, so we can actually go to the voting panel.
So, clerk, can you take us to the voting panel, please?
Sorry.
Okay, so I guess Councilor Kirby, did you vote?
Okay, I'll vote. So I think this item carries unanimously with Councilor Dominardo and Councilor Bly and Mayor's in absent.
Okay, thank you. So now we're going to move to the second item, Heritage Revitalization Agreement, 995 Butte Street, Rent House. Does any member of Council wish to declare conflict of interest on item two? Okay, so the clerk will now read the application and the summary of correspondence received.
This is an application by Don Piner in Teresia Design Limited to bring forward for enactment a bylaw to amend the Heritage Revitalization Agreement currently registered on title for protected heritage property addressed at 995 Butte Street, also known as the Rand House. The proposed modification to the HRA is limited to changing the number of dwelling units from four to three. The General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability recommends approval, subject to conditions set out in the summary and recommendation. No correspondence has been received since scheduled for public hearing and up to 5 p.m. today.
Thank you. So if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. So we have Eli, Sebastian, sorry for mispronouncing your name, Heritage Planner, Heritage Group, Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability here to present the application.
Staff is okay to wave if the council is okay?
Yeah, we need more for the wave. Okay, seconder. Yeah, so moved by the Councilor Messner, seconded by Councilor Kerr. Are there any questions from council to staff?
Okay. Okay, so all agree, yeah?
Opposed, aye? Okay, so the motion carried unanimously. Okay, now, are there any questions from the council to staff? Is the applicant team here to speak to the application?
The applicant is available online.
Okay, so the applicant, do you want to speak to the application?
Hi, it's Lori Schultz and Randy Smallwood, the owners of the property. We're here to otherwise take questions, but support the application as amended in the minutes. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any questions from council to staff or the application team? Noting this is the only opportunity for council to ask questions of the applicants.
Okay, hearing none, we will now hear from the public. So this item, we do have one public, one speaker. So Vangan Evans, sorry if I mispronounce your name. Are you on the line? Oh, are you in person?
My name is Mr. Vaughn Evans. Am I the one you want? Okay, so it's the C-L-P-A-U-G-H-A-N.
Yes, so that's you, sir. So please.
I called the city, the hotline today, and I told them I wanted to speak about the motion about the place of 1095 field and the one at 62145. But it seems to me that those items are not on today's agenda. But the person I spoke to today said they were on today's agenda.
Oh, so I have to ask clerk about this question. So this is the item for the number two, 995 Butte Street. I think that's this item, yeah. Please come to the podium.
Okay, I'll repeat. It was about a place on Butte Street in Nelson about to reduce the number of suites in the Heritage House from four to three and the one at 631. That's right. I mean, 6-1-2 and Grenville, are those topics on tonight's agenda?
Yeah, both of those items are on the agenda.
Okay, so you can tell me when it's my turn to speak. By the way, my name is pronounced Vaughn for your intro. Sorry about that. I apologize. You can come to the podium to speak now. What's the topic of today's motion? The one about Granville Street or about the one on Butte Street?
So you said you want to speak for two items, right? So this item is the 995 Butte Street.
0995, which topic should I speak on? about this one, 995 Butte Street. Okay, I might mention that the motion is about whether we should reduce the number of strata suites between 4 and 3, but could I ask this question for verification? Why has there been a motion to reduce the number of suites from 4 to 3?
So is this related to this particular item? I spoke to one of the receptionists, you know, the hotline you want to call for inquiries, and if you want to register to speak, and she told me what the issue was about this place at 995 Butte. It seemed to me the motion was whether the number of strata units within the house be reduced from four to three, but before I could speak intelligently, I would like to know why someone has suggested reducing the number of suites from four to three.
Okay, so clerk, can we answer the question?
This is Laurie Schultz of Manny Smallwood. Shall we answer that question right now?
So, you know, before that, so please, we're going to ask the general manager planning department, Teresa O'Donnell, to explain the process to you. So maybe there's some confusion about the process.
Is that okay?
It's okay for us, Lori and Randy. Thanks.
Yeah.
Thank you. We absolutely hear you. So we're going to ask the general manager to explain the process to you, okay?
Sounds good. So what we're going to do now is I'm going to call a second time, and then we're going to take five minutes recess. So Teresa, you can explain to the speaker about the process. Thank you. So if there are any other speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on live stream. So now we're going to take five minutes recess, and then we're going to come back.
Chair, I have a point of procedure. Does that really require a five-minute recess? Can staff not do that? while we continue with the hearing. That's not something we normally take a recess for. Okay, so yeah, the clerk will speak up about that, Councillor Kerbion. Through the Chair, Councillor Kerbion, we only have one speaker sign up so far, and we are taking a five-minute recess to give others opportunity to sign up while the process is being explained to our speaker. Okay, that makes more sense to me. Thank you for the clarification. Thank you. Thanks, everyone.
We have the quorum now, right?
So we're going to continue our meeting.
So I think we do have one more speaker on the phone.
Okay, so are there any other speakers on the phone? Clark? No other speakers, so...
Okay, so the third time is if there are any other speakers for this item who wish to speak to console, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. So this is the third time of this for the speakers.
Okay. Seeing no other speakers on the list, the speakers list is now closed. So as few or no other public comments were received on this item after 5 p.m., I suggest we now close the receipt of the public comments and move on to hearing the closing comments, asking further questions of staff or to make a decision. Does applicant have any closing comments?
Uh, no, nothing other than, uh, you know, we've been here seven years. We're committed to the neighborhood and, uh, look forward to any additional feedback.
Thank you. Thank you. So the staff have any closing comments?
Uh, no closing comments. Thank you.
Does council have any questions to staff? No. Okay. So, uh, recommendations, recommendations, chair. Okay, so second by the Councillor Kerbion. Is there any debate?
Oh, Councillor Kerbion, please go ahead.
Thank you. I just wanted to say that this is such an incredible community asset. I mean, everybody loves this house in the West End. And the decorations are phenomenal at holiday times. And I'm just, when I saw the first development signs go up, I was... so afraid it was going to be torn down until learning that it was going to be simply an internal renovation that would keep the exterior intact. It is an absolutely gorgeous example of the heritage of Vancouver. So I'm happy to see that this is still going to stay in place. and people are going to continue to live in it, and one would hope that it's going to continue to be the iconic place where people take tons of photos at Halloween and Christmas time.
Thank you, Councillor Kerr.
Seeing no other questions, so now we're going to put on to the vote.
So the item passed unanimously with Councilor Domenado, Councilor Bly, and Mayors in absent. Thank you.
Okay, so now we're going to move on to the third item, rezoning 1522 West 45th Avenue and 6137 Granville Street. Does any member of Council wish to declare conflict of interest on item three?
Okay, so the clerk will now read the application and the summary of correspondence received.
This is an application by Intracorp Homes to rezone 1522 West 45th Avenue and 6137 Granville Street from RS-3 Residential District to RR-2B Residential Rental District to permit the development a five-story rental building, a building height of 16.8 meters or 55 feet, and a floor space ratio of 2.4 are proposed. The general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability recommends approval subject to conditions set out in the summary and recommendation. The following correspondence has been received since referral to public hearing. Seven pieces of correspondence in support and one piece of correspondence in opposition. This represents all correspondence received up to 5 p.m. today.
Okay, so if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. We now have Nicholas Danford, the Planning Analyst for Rezoning Center Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability, here to present the application.
WE DO HAVE TWO SPEAKERS. GO AHEAD, NICHOLAS. CONFIRMING YOU CAN SEE MY SCREEN.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNSELORS. AS MENTIONED, I'M NICK DAMFORD, THE REZONING PLANNER FOR THE FILE. So the enabling policy for the rental residential zone is the Secure Rental Policy, or SRP. The SRP encourages construction of new purpose-built rental housing in Vancouver that's in line with the Housing Vancouver strategy. THERE'S SIGNIFICANT AMENDMENTS THAT WERE MADE TO SRP IN 2021 TO CLARIFY THE LOCATIONAL CRITERIA FOR ENCOURAGING NEW PURPOSE BUILT RENTAL HOUSING IN LOW DENSITY AREAS CLOSE TO PUBLIC TRANSIT, SHOPPING, PARKS AND SCHOOLS.
KEY UPDATES INCLUDED THE CREATION OF THREE NEW RENTAL RESIDENTIAL ZONES AND A BLOCK BY BLOCK REFINEMENT OF ELIGIBLE AREAS FOR THE STANDARDIZED RR ZONES.
Rezonings to standard rental districts have a simplified rezoning process. The intent is to streamline the review and provide greater clarity about building forms that may be built in low-density areas. Instead of creating customized or negotiated site-specific CD1s, the RR districts established clarity on the use, density, and height permitted. The schedules are accompanied by comprehensive design guidelines. They were also approved by council. In the simplified process, architectural drawings are not required at rezoning. Public input is sought based on the standards of the particular RR zone being sought and the form of development expectations that are included in the associated design guidelines. The specific building design will be reviewed through a future development permit process when the neighborhood will also be notified again and public input and comments will be sought then. So the map on the screen is from the secured rental policy that shows sites zoned RS or RT that are outside of recent community plan areas that are also eligible for rezonings to RR districts. The purple star indicates the site, the project site, which is located at West 45th and Granville Street. Local shopping is just shown in red to the north. As shown in blue, the blocks to the north and the south of the site are also eligible for rezonings to rental residential.
So the site outlined in yellow on this map is zoned RS3 and is comprised of two lots containing single detached houses. There's no rental tenancies on the site that would be eligible under the tenant relocation policy.
The site is surrounded by similarly zoned RS properties developed with single detached houses. Council, you may remember last month's public hearing, a rezoning application that was approved in principle for a six-story community care facility. That proposal is just to the south of this site and along the same block.
So consistent with the intent of SRP, the site shown in red here is located near parks and community spaces. To the east is Sir William Osler Elementary School in Montgomery Park, and to the west is Maple Grove Elementary and McGee Secondary School, about 800 meters away.
The RR2B district allows five-story market rental buildings with a density up to 2.4 for corner sites, which in this case, it is a corner site. The proposed rental tenure for the project is market rental. Rental tenure offers folks an alternative to home ownership. And according to the 2021 CMHC data, rents on average on the west side range from just under $1,600 for a studio, just under $2,100 for a one-bedroom, $3,000 for a two-bed, and $3,800 for a three-bed. A virtual open house was held in late May 2022. 29 pieces of correspondence were received through the rezoning process. Support was expressed for development of rental units along arterials within the Carisdale neighborhood. Concern was raised about the impacts of the proposal on parking and traffic safety. Noting that the proposal does meet the intent of SRP, engineering staff have reviewed the proposed development for transportation safety issues and included rezoning conditions to deliver improvements that will address safety for all road users.
The DCL contribution estimated is just over $1.8 million. The project is eligible for a waiver of the citywide DCL. However, the applicant did not seek the waiver in this instance. So the proposal meets the intent of SRP by delivering secured rental residential building. Staff support the application to rezone to RR2B district schedule subject to the conditions outlined in Appendix B. Staff and the applicant are available for questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Nicholas. Is the applicant team here to speak to the application?
Good evening, Acting Mayor and Council. My name is Farouk Bebo, and I'm Vice President of Development at Intracorp Homes, and I'm joined here with my colleague Carly Morgan and Peter Huggins from BH Architecture. We're waiving our presentation tonight, but are available to answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you. Are there any questions from Council to staff or to the applicant team? Noting this is the only opportunity for Council to ask questions of the applicant.
Would I be allowed to ask a question at this time?
You will be later, so we have to follow the process. Yes, I will let you know. Okay, thank you. Okay, so now we're going to hear from the public. So if there are any speakers for these items who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. We have one speaker in the council today, Vagan Evans. So please come to the podium. So now it's your turn to speak to the council.
By the way, my name is pronounced Vaughan, spelled V-A-U-G-A-J-A-N. Sorry about that.
Sorry about that. Again, my apologies for mispronouncing. No problem. Thank you for coming to the conference.
Okay. To answer this, I'll ask a question before I make any comments. It seems to me that when you want to make a renovation on your home, even a small one, you have to go to the Department of Licences and Permits. Is the Department of Licences and Permits a team player to be sure that the...
Thank you, Speaker. Okay.
Let's suppose you were, just for the purpose of time, you worked for the Department of License and Permits, and I wanted to do some renovation in my house. Would one of your jobs was to help me liaise with people who would ensure that the renovation would meet current standards on things like fire, electricity, structural? Is that one big reason why?
Okay, so you have five minutes for speaking out of all of your questions. We're going to respond to your question at the end, okay? So please ask all your questions and your comments.
Okay. I don't...
I mean... You see, I want to know what I'm speaking on. You see... I might ask this question too. When a person applies for a change of zoning, like in your example about 152 West 45th, when he makes the application, must he specify whether he wants to use the new units for rental or for strata?
Yeah, speaker, so your question is about the general process, not specifically about this project, right? So I think we're going to ask staff to speak with you outside and explain to the process with you. Is that okay?
Okay, I'll just ask, are the proposed developments, does the developer want to make rental units or strata units?
Yeah, so again, that's the same question. So, staff, it's going to explain to you.
I would gladly support that for rental units because for many people, renting is the only option because many people are having a hard time, especially now with interest rates. have gone up people are it's quite impossible for them to um not only save money for a down payment but to qualify for a mortgage now that mortgage interest rates have gone up and many people are now either unemployed or underemployed as a result of the covert
Yeah, thank you. So I think staff is going to respond to your question in the closing comments. So now staff is going to explain to you the process. So is that okay?
Okay, because I've given this person my email address and my phone number so they could send me a personalized. So they're going to explain to you now.
Thank you so much.
My pleasure. Thank you.
Okay, so we're going to move to the...
The next speakers on the items is William McQueen. Are you on the line? Yeah, can you hear me? Yeah, I can hear you. Before you start, William, can I ask you if you are a resident in Vancouver? I am. Okay, thank you. Please go ahead. You have five minutes.
Hello, Mayor Tim and Council. My name is Will McQueen. I was born and raised on the west side of Vancouver, and I recently moved back to the area with my wife and two young kids. Thank you very much for the opportunity to weigh in on this application. Being able to participate virtually is a game changer for people, especially parents with young kids, so I hope you'll stick with this format for public hearing.
I'd like to comment very briefly in support of this project and increasing access to secured rental housing in this area in general. It's great to see new rental housing proposed in Carisdale. Hopefully we'll see more rental built across the west side as the Broadway plan comes to life.
As a father of young children in Vancouver, I have concerns about the rising cost of living and worry that my kids won't see a future for themselves here when they're ready to leave home. Currently we lack adequate housing choices to serve young adults, moderate and even high income earners. As the previous speaker sort of touched on with interest rates and everything, most people, as you know, especially young people, can't afford to buy a condo or even a single-family home, obviously, in Vancouver, certainly not in Carisdale. The location of the proposed rental building is perfect for people who don't have a vehicle. There's a bus stop right up front. I expect that many residents will take advantage of this. And I know from personal experience, the 45th Ave bike route across town is fantastic as well. More rental housing is definitely needed on the west side. It shouldn't be all single family and strata townhomes or condos. It is my opinion that sensible mid-rise rental density, like what's being proposed here, is the logical way of building a sustainable future for Vancouver. I hope the council will support this application and really appreciate having me on.
Thank you, William. So thanks for speaking to the council. There's no other question for you. This is end of the speaker's list. So I'm going to read the three times for this to see if there's additional speakers. If there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. Okay, so I have to go another time. If there are any other speakers for this item who wish to speak to the council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610 followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. Second time.
The third time, if there are any other speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. So we're going to take five minutes recess just in case any other speakers come to the list.
So we're going to be back in five minutes.
Okay, so we're going to continue our meeting. So we have the quorum now. Looks like we do have one more speaker.
There we go. Perfect. Eric, you can speak now. Thanks. Okay. Hello, counsel.
Sorry, Eric, just give me one minute. So it seems like we do have one more speaker on the list. Eric, could you please spell your last name, please?
Yep, my last name is spelled F-R-E-I-B, as in Bravo, O-T, the letter H.
Thank you, Eric. So can I also ask you if you are a resident of Vancouver?
Yes.
Thank you. So please go ahead, Eric. You have five minutes.
Hello, Council. My name is Eric Freibach. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this application and will keep my input very brief. I am in full support of this project. I grew up in Carisdale, not far from the project site, and my parents still live in the area. My wife and I recently moved back to Vancouver after spending a few years in the U.S., and we were surprised with how difficult it was to find a decent place to rent in this city. We always planned to end up back in Vancouver and pictured ourselves living in Carisdale, close to my parents and my sister. But we had a tough time finding a place in Karisdale. I work from home, so we need a bit of extra space. We also don't want to live in a high-rise building, which made the process of finding a home even more challenging. After months of searching, we found a townhome in Fairview, but we do not have security of tenure. This development, although a few years away, is exactly what we're looking for, a low-rise modern building with secured rental tenure in our desired neighborhood of Carisdale. No doubt there will be lots of demand for these homes. Thank you for your time. I hope that you will vote in favor of this application.
Thank you, Eric. Thank you for speaking to council. So, Clark, do we have any other speakers on the line?
There is seen no other additional speakers. The speakers list is now closed. So as few or no other public comments were received on this item after 5 p.m. today, I suggest we now close the receipt of the public comments and move on to the public hearing, move on to hearing the closing comments, asking further questions to staff or to make a decision. Does applicant have any closing comments?
No closing comments. Thank you.
Thank you. Does staff have any other closing comments?
Yeah, just to confirm that the application in front of you for this item is a rental residential development. That's all. Thank you.
Thank you. Does council have any questions for staff? Seeing none, the council will now make a decision on this application. Do we have a mover for this recommendation?
Happy to move the recommendations, Chair.
Second by, that's Councilor Kirby Young?
Yes, I put myself on the queue to move the recommendations.
Okay, thank you. So moved by the Councilor Kerr, second by Councilor Kirby Young. Is there any debate?
Okay, seeing no other people on the list, so now we're going to make a decision and vote on this item. So, clerk, please take us to the voting panel. Okay, so this item passed unanimously with Councilor Dominardo, Councilor Bly, and Mayor Sim absent. Thanks, everyone. Thank you for coming to the council.
Okay, so now we're going to move to the last item of this public hearing, number four, rezoning 5828-5850 Granville Street. Does any member of council wish to declare conflict of interest of this item? No, okay. The clerk will now read the application and the summary of correspondence received.
This is an application by Strand Holdings Limited to rezone 5828-5850 Granville Street from RS-1 Residential District to RR-2B Residential Rental District to permit the development of a five-story rental building with a three-story townhouse at the lane. A building height of 16.8 meters or 55 feet and a floor space ratio of 2.2 are proposed. The General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability recommends approval, subject to conditions set out in the summary and recommendation. The following correspondence has been received since referral to the public hearing. 14 pieces of correspondence in support. This represents all correspondence received up to 5 p.m. today.
Okay, if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to the council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. We have Jason Liu, Planning Analyst for Rezoning Center Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability here to present the application.
Okay, so second.
Okay, so with the presentation moved by Councillor Messner and seconded by Councillor Kerr, is there any applicant team here to speak? Okay, so we'll have to vote on that. So I'll agree, please say nay. Say yeah.
I was going to add, Mr. Shim, even though I haven't registered to speak on this particular...
Okay, I have to check with.
Well, not there yet, you can still speak.
So we're gonna ask you to speak to the podium later, okay? Thank you, yeah. Is the applicant team here to speak to the application?
Please.
Good evening, Council. My name is Fabian Leitner. I'm the Senior Director of Development from Strand. We're going to waive any presentation, but we're here and happy to answer any questions you or the public may have.
Thank you. Okay. Are there any questions from Council to staff or to the applicant team? Noting this is the only opportunity for Council to ask questions of the applicant. Seeing no other questions, we will now hear from the public. If there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. So we do have one speaker in person today. Sorry, I couldn't pronounce my name. Yeah, so please come to the podium. You can speak to the council now.
Okay, is this a microphone? Yeah, it is. Okay. What I would do if you're going to suggest is give more detailed information about something so that we know how we are voting for. As an example, I would have no problem saying yes on a company that wants to build market rental apartments. That company will also build some social housing and use as a profit from market housing to subsidize old housing. You see, one thing about our city is that they wouldn't use social housing in any old neighborhood. They prefer to use it in a neighborhood where there are a lot of services available, like mental health services. As an example, the downtown east side is It's fairly close to the Kettle Friendship Society, a drop-in center for ex-mental patients. And there are a variety of services along Hastings and Cordova that help marginalized people. And similarly, they ruled out a care home for seniors at Marine Drive in Angus 20 years ago because they felt... A care home for seniors should be close to a commercial district so they can take a walk to the hairdresser, to the store, to the bank. And that location was far from any commercial establishment because when you zone things, it's for practical considerations like much of the area of... the industrial district is near a body of water, like the Marine Drive when the Fraser is long been an industrial area, and so has Folsom Creek. I can remember when there was a cement plant across from the Pacific Central Station. I mean, to try and put your... yourself and our place, you have to give us information which we should vote on. Because, as I say, market housing, okay, for the convenience of you audiences who don't know, the city narrowly voted for building a 22-story building on Birch. Street and Broadway and a certain percentage of the streets were to be used for social housing and social for market housing so that the profits of market housing could subsidize losses on social housing.
Thank you. You're most welcome. And you're Mayor Sim, aren't you?
I'm not. I'm Lenny Zhao, Councillor Zhao.
I thought you were the mayor.
I'm not. I'm not. Sorry about that. I let you disappointed. I'm not.
Because when I come and count too many before, the mayor will always sit where you're sitting now.
So can we please concentrate on this particular topic, please?
Okay, I've mentioned all of what I have to say about letting people, giving some of us listeners information that's relevant so that we can comment whether we do favor or do not favor intelligently, just like when you... When there's an election, people generally read the articles and the papers on politics so they know what they're voting for.
Okay, thank you very much. I think the staff will explain to you the procedure and also make sure you understand the whole process. And I think the clerk also left you the contact information. If you have any questions, please let them know. We are happy to help you. Thank you very much.
Yes. Thank you so much for speaking to the council. Thank you. Okay, so we don't have any other speakers, but I'm going to read this again. So if there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to council, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. Okay, so we do have one person on the line, so please go ahead, speaker. Can we ask your name, please?
Yeah, it works. Should I call again? Yeah, maybe. Hey, speaker, we can hear you on the line. Oh, they just disconnected. They're going to call back during the recess.
Okay, sure. So we're going to take five minutes recess, and we're going to come back for the speakers. One more time. Okay, sorry. So we have to call one more time. If there are any speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. We will now take five minutes recess and come back, talk about the other speakers.
Hopefully this is our last recess for the day. Thanks, everyone.
Okay, everyone, we have the quorum now, so we're going to go continue our meeting.
So we do have one more speaker on the list, right, Clark? Can you check? Yeah, okay. So speakers, please go ahead. Can you tell us your name, please?
Yes, my name is Fernando Padres. And I am speaking in support of this application.
Sorry, Fernando, before you go ahead, I have to ask you if you are residents of Vancouver or not.
Yes, I am.
Thank you. Please go ahead, Fernando.
I originally moved to Vancouver in 2005 with my parents. We immigrated from Mexico. And I am a young adult. I am 24 years of age now. And I work in downtown Vancouver. And I'm currently looking for a rental home. And it has been incredibly challenging and frustrating to find a well-located apartment, which allows me to stay close to my family and close to work. I support this project because I feel like we need more secured market rental in Vancouver and not as many unsecured condos. So I think this is a great project. And from what I've seen, it's exactly the kind of apartment that I would be looking for. The showings that I've been to in the past couple weeks... have been the same story of just there's so many people that are looking for these apartments, and it's so hard to actually get one of these rental apartments. And I've been looking for a couple months, and it's just been a very frustrating process. So those are my reasons for supporting this application.
Thank you, Fernando. It seems like you do have one more question from Councillor Kerbion.
Sorry, Trevor, that's actually a question for later for staff.
Okay, thanks. Okay, so do we have any other speakers on the list, Clark?
Okay, so I'll do one more time. So if there are any other speakers for this item who wish to speak to counsel, please call toll-free 1-833-353-8610, followed by the participant code 1061445 before the close of the speakers list. The phone number will be tweeted out and made available on the live stream. Seeing no other additional speakers, the speakers list is now closed. As few or no public comments were received on this item after 5 p.m. today, I suggest we now close the receipt of the public comments and move on to hearing closing comments, asking further questions to staff or to make a decision. Does the applicant have any closing comments?
We do not, thank you.
Thank you. Does staff have any other closing comments?
No further comments. Thank you.
Thank you. Does Council have any questions for staff? Councillor Kirby, please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks, Chair. I do have one question to staff, and it's really around the policy construct in terms of these SRP projects that we're getting more of them coming forward, and they are all residential but without any commercial component. This is in a fairly busy area off of Granville Street. um in 43rd and so in terms of building complete communities and having amenities like corner stores or grocery or coffee shop or something close by are potentially requiring commercial i wonder if you can speak about the current policy uh intersects because we're getting these rezonings popping up but we're building them potentially without amenities and retaining sort of predominantly residential uses can you so can you speak to the intersecting policy on this please YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANKS FOR THE QUESTION, COUNSELOR. MY NAME IS GRAHAM ANDERSON, HOUSING POLICY PLANNER IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. THE SECURED RENTAL POLICY DOES PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPLICATIONS THAT WOULD PROPOSE MIXED USE PROJECT. THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF LOCATIONS WHERE THE POLICY WOULD REQUIRE THAT, BUT GENERALLY IT IS AN OPTION WITHIN THE POLICY, INCLUDING ON A SITE SUCH AS THIS. THE REQUIREMENT IN THE POLICY WOULD LOOK TO DELIVER A NEW MIXED USE PROJECT IN A LOCATION WHERE THE SITE IS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO AN EXISTING SITE WITH MIXED USE OR COMMERCIAL ZONING OR AT AN INTERSECTION WHERE AT LEAST TWO OF THE OTHER CORNERS HAVE MIXED USE OR COMMERCIAL ZONING. ON OTHER SITES, INCLUDING SITES THAT INCLUDE A CORNER LOT OR AN ENTIRE BLOCK ASSEMBLY, THE POLICY SUPPORTS MIXED USE AS AN OPTION. IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT. AND IN OTHER TYPES OF SITES, INCLUDING MIDBLOCK LOTS THAT DON'T INCLUDE A CORNER SITE, THE POLICY DIRECTS A RESIDENTIAL FORM OF DEVELOPMENT. We recognize that the secured rental policy is primarily about delivering opportunities for new secured rental housing. We've tried to integrate opportunities to complete existing commercial nodes and local shopping streets. However, the work to be more specific about areas where the addition of new commercial and other non-residential uses is better directed through more comprehensive planning exercises and is something that will be looked at certainly through the implementation of the Vancouver Plan. Okay, that's great. I realize that tonight reflecting back is that we're making a decision within an existing policy, but your staff have identified that there's an opportunity to... look at that because so that we don't end up just building housing only and not complete communities. I'm reflecting back. Is that what I'm hearing? Yes, that's certainly a consideration. Okay. Thank you.
Okay.
Thanks, Chair. I'm seeing nobody else in the queue. I'm happy to move the recommendation.
Okay. Thank you, Councilor Kirby Young. We need a seconder for this item. Seconded by Councilor Meisner. Is there any debate, Council? Okay, seeing no other debates, now we can move on to a decision. So clerk, please take us to the voting panel. Okay, so this item has passed unanimously with Councilor Dominardo, Councilor Blay, and Mayor Sim absent. Okay, so now we finished the last item for this agenda. So now we need a motion to adjourn.
Motion to adjourn. Yeah, Councilor Boyle, that's... No, Councilor Kabir.
Okay, so we need a seconder as well.
Second class. Second class.
Okay, Councilor Klaasen, seconder. All in favor?
Okay. Okay, so motion carried. So the meeting is now adjourned. Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you, Chair. Thank you.