Editor’s Note: Many residents are unaware—and some are unpleasantly surprised—that the Broadway Plan allows for high-rise towers on quiet back streets of single-family homes and duplexes, many with only one traffic lane. This discovery has fueled concerns across the Plan’s extensive 500-block area, particularly since many affordable rental housing units are being demolished to make way for pricier units.
Two such tower proposals, at 17 stories or higher, will go to a Public Hearing on November 12, 2024. While provincial policy mandates dense, high-rise buildings near SkyTrain stations, these projects are several blocks away from these transit nodes. Why does the Broadway Plan allow this?
Christina DeMarco, a retired urban planner, is helping neighbors on 14th Avenue understand the changes and explore alternative options. She’s also bringing their questions to Council at the hearing, where the development on 14th Avenue is listed as Item 6. A similar proposal on East 10th Avenue is Item 4. You can review the agenda for arguments for and against these towers.
With permission, we are sharing Christina DeMarco’s letter to the Mayor and Council that is a compilation of several of the recurring questions of fellow citizens and her thoughtful responses. We at Spacing Vancouver feel it captures the spirit of many citizens currently living along the Broadway Corridor
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Dear Mayor and Council,
Some friends living on 14th Avenue just west of Arbutus asked me as a retired city planner if I could explain what was happening to their street/neighbourhood and what they could do about it. Here are their comments/ questions and my answers. I cannot claim to be up to date with all policies, but I thought a bit of help was better than no help. Please forgive me if I have made any errors.
1) 14th Ave Resident: This would not have happened if our neighbours had not agreed to a land assembly. We are very angry with them.
CD: Don’t be angry with your neighbours. The developer is applying under the Broadway Plan policies and perhaps your neighbours felt that they needed to jump first so that they would not be impacted by a future tower. It is distressing though that this planning policy violates basic equity principles of “equal treatment of equals” creating winners and losers, and pits neighbours against neighbours.
2) 14th Ave Resident: Were you aware that towers could be permitted on our street as a result of the Broadway Plan?
CD: Sorry, I was not aware. The Broadway Plan is a big, very complex Plan and a way too much to digest. I did comment on some other aspects of the Plan, but no changes resulted from my comments.
3) 14th Ave Resident: Is it true that Council is being forced to approve towers at this location due to recent provincial policy?
CD: No, Council is not being forced to approve towers at this location. The Transit Oriented Areas policy requires a minimum of 8 storeys or 3 FSR be achieved at your location which is about five blocks away (600 metres) from the future Station. However, for your street, the developer is asking for 17 storeys and 5.8 FSR. These high densities requested by the developer are what the provincial legislation requires right near SkyTrain stations, within 200 metres of the station.
4) 14th Ave Resident: Then why are staff recommending such a large tower on our street?
CD: The Broadway Plan was adopted before the provincial legislation was enacted. Planners and Council must have thought they were doing the right thing to enable more housing supply relatively close to the new station. The idea of two towers per block versus lower density spread over a larger area must have been evaluated by the planners but it sounds like impacted residents were not part of that important discussion.
Given the provincial policies, the Broadway Plan is now out of date and needs to be amended. This application on your street must have been in progress before the enactment of provincial changes, so staff decided to process it.
I can understand why staff are processing the application, but I do not understand why staff are recommending approval.
5) 14th Ave Residents: Can anything be done to achieve a more neighbourly development at this stage?
CD: Yes, at the public hearing on November 12, Council has three choices – it can accept, reject, or amend the development. The Transit Oriented Area Policy presents one possible solution. Council could ask staff to work with the developer to come up with a solution that is consistent with the height and density required by the Province at this location. That means a building no taller than 8 storeys and 3 FSR could be built. This would likely result in the developer choosing a 6-storey development and achieving 3 FSR, a wood construction building form very common these days. Probably about 70 units could be achieved on the land assembly parcel on your street, a 14 times increase in the number of homes currently on the three lots. This is one idea- I am sure there are other solutions that Council should consider before making a decision.
6)14th Ave Residents: Will Council listen to suggested alternatives?
CD: Well, one thing for sure, if you don’t speak up, then you won’t be heard. Council knows that because of the new provincial laws, the amount of housing supply that can now be built within just 400 metres of the existing and future SkyTrain stations far exceeds the supply that is needed to meet housing targets and transit ridership objectives.
Let Council know how they can provide a diversity of housing choices in much more neighbourly and environmental ways.
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Christina DeMarco is a retired city and regional planner. She teaches a regional planning course in the SFU City Program.
