TOO MUCH, TOO FAST?
Major Rezoning Changes Face West Enders

by John Streit
Find links to many of the sites and organizations mentioned here at the end of the article.
Click on any image to enlarge.

Major changes appear on the horizon for hundreds of people living in areas on the eastern fringes of the West End, areas which have remained remarkably unchanged since the 1950s.

The areas in question are situated in the so-called Burrard Corridor, the more than nine-block long rectangular swath of neighbourhood between Thurlow and Burrard, running from Pacific to Haro.

Three years ago, Vancouver City Council allowed an interim rezoning policy in two areas within the Burrard Corridor (known as D and E) to try and spark the construction of rental buildings with at least 25 percent social housing, instead of condominium towers, during a flat high-end home sales market.

MAP SHOWING AREAS D AND E *(City of Vancouver)*

Area D runs from Haro to Comox (the St. Paul’s Hospital site included), while Area E stretches from Pacific to Burnaby.

The interim rezoning policy has now expired, and the City of Vancouver is seeking to make it permanent.

The West End Journal (TWEJ) asked the City why it feels this rezoning is important.

“To help create more much-needed rental housing in this area, in 2020, Council approved a temporary policy that allowed rental applications in a small section of the Burrard Corridor in the same areas that already allowed condominium development through rezoning. In other words, it didn’t allow building where it wasn’t allowed before, instead, it allowed for rental as well as condominium. The proposal we’re engaging on right now is to make the aforementioned temporary policy permanent,” the City said in an email.

With a population now over 50,000 in the West End, according to the last census numbers, and 80 percent of residents renting, the City says there are simply not enough rental homes to meet demand.

“We believe policy that encourages the development of rental housing instead of condominiums better meets the needs of Vancouver’s current and future residents. In addition, this policy requires a minimum of 20 percent below market housing, which will provide more affordable rental options to those who need them,” according to the City’s email response.

“Since the adoption of the West End Community Plan (WECP) in 2013, 72 units of social housing have been delivered, with another 236 under construction. The plan has also helped to deliver 577 secured market rental units, with another 950 units under construction.”

1065 PACIFIC RENTAL TOWER PROPOSAL *(City of Vancouver graphic)*

Lorne Richardson lives on Pacific near Thurlow, and permanent changes to Burrard Corridor zoning policy would directly affect him, including a redevelopment application for 1065 Pacific St. where Wall Financial Corporation wants to replace a ‘50s rental walk-up with a 32-story rental tower with 144 secured market rental units and 36 below-market rental units. It’s a seemingly tight fit between two sets of heritage homes, including those comprising the Pacific Heights Housing Cooperative.

“This area of the West End has been the subject of heavy development over the past few years. The building directly next to the rear entrance of 1065 Pacific (1380 Thurlow) has been under construction for the past three years with no end in sight.” Richardson says.

“The buildings located at 1066-1078 Harwood and 1332 Thurlow have been approved for rezoning, then varied and rezoned again, all while they sit empty and fall into disrepair due to the lack of management and tenant occupation. We already have a new build on the northwest corner of Thurlow and Pacific at 1101 Pacific St, plus, the building at 1080 Pacific is for sale, as well as the building at 1070 Nelson. I can assume that it is likely these building sales will result in more rezoning applications.”

Richardson has expressed his thoughts through the City’s virtual public feedback system known as Shape Your City.

a BUILDING sitting EMPTY for YEARS AHEAD OF REDEVELOPMENT
(Ewan Streit photo)

“The neighbourhood is being over-developed and over-densified. The constant construction is a nuisance, and it is a nuisance that came to me, I did not come to the nuisance. For example, the construction workers at 1332 Thurlow street were shovelling insulation out of a window into a dumpster below and coated the surrounding buildings/cars in toxic insulation, and those who had their windows open also had their entire units covered top to bottom in insulation. Considering the age of the home, it is likely that asbestos was floating in the air. Now, imagine three new builds going up at the same time. It will be absolute chaos on one of the West End's busiest intersections (Thurlow and Pacific) for years, causing unprecedented problems for emergency vehicles and residents of the neighbourhood. The surrounding infrastructure is inadequate to support all of these high rises and significant upgrades to traffic routing, garbage services, emergency services, etc. would all need to be upgraded to sustain the increase in population in the area. Further, there aren't sufficient services in the immediate area to support the influx of new tenants, such as grocery stores, health services (especially with St Paul’s Hospital leaving the area and the closest one being Vancouver General Hospital),” Richardson says.

Randy Helten is a founder and director with West End Neighbours, a volunteer-driven grassroots neighbourhood group that shares information about upcoming West End developments and city consultations. He believes what Richardson and his neighbours are experiencing would be multiplied across the two areas affected by the rezoning changes. “Besides the increased risk of demoviction for renters, and displacement for all residents (whether owner or renter), there’s the inevitable lifestyle and health disruptions for residents living within a couple blocks of each site – truck traffic, construction equipment, noise, dust, vibrations, disruptions on mobility (vehicle traffic, pedestrians and all forms of mobility) -- all within a concentrated area of several blocks. For years. Besides impacts on residents there are delays and impacts on anyone travelling through the area,” he says.

Randy Helten of West End Neighbours (WEN).

Helten expands on the threat of demovictions in Areas D and E. “It basically puts a bullseye on people currently living in the two areas, including approximately 1,500 renters who currently live in the approximately 24 rental buildings, plus tenants renting in strata condos. That means demoviction for renters, displacement from their current living conditions, and probably ending up paying more for rent wherever they end up. The West End has already far overshot population and rental targets adopted under the West End Community Plan,” he says.

TWEJ asked the City of Vancouver about the possibility of demovictions as residents in ageing but relatively affordable three-storey walk-ups face displacement by new rental towers. “The city has one of the strongest renter protection policies in North America. Further, the West End Plan requires that a tenant relocation plan be provided in all cases where tenants will be displaced as a result of demolition or renovations - as outlined in the Rate of Change Guidelines.”

Helten doesn’t buy the City’s reasons for moving ahead with permanently rezoning the areas in question - to help create more housing in the West End and the fact the previous interim rezoning plan has expired. “It’s because the expiry of the “Interim Rezoning Policy” means that any developers who may have bought properties over the past several years are sitting on huge debts, and the market is currently not suited to luxury strata condo towers that rely on presales largely marketed overseas. And for properties that did not change hands over the past several years, the planners still want to facilitate more construction, even though the West End has already met all its population and rental housing construction targets under the WECP. Underlying everything is the consistent theme of serving the developers first, residents later,” he believes.

We asked the City of Vancouver about concerns that there is too much growth, too fast in our neighbourhood.

“The West End Community Plan anticipated the levels of growth in the neighbourhood we have seen to date, and the West End Public Benefits Strategy (PBS) was developed to provide strategic direction for future capital investments in the community over the long-term (30 years), taking into account the need for both the renewal of ageing amenities and infrastructure and for new or expanded amenities to meet the needs of a growing and changing community. In response to changing development trends and neighbourhood needs, staff will continue to monitor the implementation of the PBS through an adaptive and responsive approach. Overall, the West End Plan and PBS have made significant progress in delivering in-kind social housing and secured rental housing through the first ten years of implementation. Additionally, we have seen early successes in public space and transportation improvements. Lastly, the proposed policy updates for the Burrard Corridor does not allow any new development where it wasn’t allowed before. Instead, the policy allows a shift from strata condominium to secured rental housing,” according to the City.

PROPOSED RENTAL PROJECTS WITHIN AREA E (*WEN AND GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE)*

Helten doesn’t believe infrastructure and amenities are keeping up with growth. “Sure, plans are in the works for the Aquatic Centre and the West End Community Centre. That’s good, but the amenity improvements for the West End are way behind. Schools are crowded. Walls are falling off the pool’s exterior. The community centre facilities are crowded. With the population increase in the West End based on developments already built and occupied, approved, or in the pipeline, in the first ten years the West End has by far overshot, perhaps by a factor of three, what was envisioned by the West End Community Plan. Shouldn’t the City give the West End a pause, a chance to breathe, and instead focus on accelerating the effort to let the amenities catch up to what West Enders need, and were promised?”

TWEJ also asked the City about concerns that the virtual public feedback phase for the Burrard Corridor rezoning was too short and too narrowly focused.

“The virtual public engagement on the Shape Your City platform originally ran from January 23 to February 5, 2023 (two weeks). It was extended by a week until February 12, as we had a request to provide more time for responses from the public,” the City stated.

Helten feels the Shape Your City timeline for feedback wasn’t long enough, and the notification process next to nil.

“No signage on the street. No notices in buildings. No cards in the mail. The information provided on Shape Your City was entirely insufficient. The period to accept public questions was miniscule (initially just ten business days, extended by one week upon request). The photo on the city website, supposedly showing the area in question, was not even correct. The process itself is a black box. Most community members will have no idea what their neighbours think about the topic, or even if they know about it. Zoning and community plans like the West End Community Plan are a “social contract” between the citizens and City Hall. The citizens who will be affected by decisions at City Hall deserve proper information, in a timely way, and a meaningful opportunity to influence the outcome,” Helten believes.

A big unknown for West Enders remains the future of the sprawling St. Paul’s Hospital property, smack in the middle of Areas D and E. Now owned by Concord Pacific after being bought from Providence Health Care for $850-million, future development would add hundreds of homes to the area. This has Helten again asking “why the rush with making rezoning permanent?

“The City says, there is no current application. But you can be assured that negotiations are well under way between Concord Pacific and senior planners at City Hall. By now, both sides probably have a pretty good idea of the number of towers and units involved, and a schedule for making a formal application. Concord Pacific put nearly a billion dollars on the line since they bought the property in 2021. They are not likely out on vacation waiting for something to happen,” Helten says. He adds that 2023 is the tenth anniversary of the West End Community Plan and laments that no planners who were involved in the WECP process are still involved.

“It’s up to the residents to remember what was promised, and advocate for the neighbourhood,” Helten maintains.

So, what's the next step in the Burrard Corridor rezoning? The City says once public input on the proposed change is received, staff will analyze and summarize the findings for a report to Council. Staff anticipate presenting the draft amendments and summary of public feedback for City Council consideration in Spring of 2023.

Lorne Richardson feels the character of the West End has been changed over the past few years. “In my neighbourhood alone, buildings around me sit empty, others have taken years to develop, and the rest are for sale or are new builds. While I do not argue that progress is necessary in the City of Vancouver, and especially in the West End, certain initiatives should be made to be undertaken by the developer to keep the charm of the West End alive, and not turn it into just another "cookie cutter" build that is lining the downtown core area of the City of Vancouver at the moment,” he explains.

So, if forced to move, would Richardson stay in the West End?

“Of course, I love the West End. It may not have the same welcoming character and charm as it did when I first moved here 11 years ago, but I love it regardless.”

RELATED LINKS

West Ender John Streit has been a BC radio, TV and online journalist for more than 20 years. You can listen to him anchor Global News on 980/CKNW in Vancouver.