Adopting the Downtown Eastside and Marpole plans, bringing the Pearson-Dogwood lands policy statement before council, presenting the urban structure plan for Great Northern Way where the Emily Carr University of Art and Design will move, handling applications for two health care facilities — including a contentious one proposed for Casa Mia, and dealing with the Oakridge Centre rezoning application are among Brian Jackson’s priorities for 2014.
Jackson, the city’s manager of planning and development, listed his goals during a sit-down with the Courier earlier this month at city hall.
Only a few weeks into the new year, one goal is already moving forward as the Pearson-Dogwood policy statement goes before council Jan. 22.
But the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods, which represents 23 community groups, has raised concerns about the release of the policy statement. The coalition issued a press release Monday complaining the lengthy document was posted online only six days before council is slated to discuss it, which doesn’t give residents enough time to digest it.
Vancouver Coastal Health owns the 25-acre Pearson-Dogwood site, located at West 59th Avenue between Heather and Cambie streets.
It envisions a mixed-use development, which features healthcare housing and related services, housing, community amenities and park space. The policy statement is meant to guide redevelopment of the property for density and building height. If council approves it, VCH can file a rezoning application.
“The release of this report with so little time for the public to study it and its implications is in line with a series of such delayed publications,” the coalition wrote in the release. It considers it an ongoing problem, citing other examples such as the West End Community Plan being issued 10 days before a hearing and the Transportation 2040 policy being approved shortly after being posted.
Whether city hall addresses the coalition’s complaint remains to be seen, but its critique kicks off what will almost certainly be another tumultuous year for planning and development in Vancouver.
“We’ve got an ambitious planning agenda for 2014 and recognizing that it is an election year, I won’t be surprised by anything that happens,” Jackson told the Courier Jan. 6. “And my job is to bring forward the best possible applications and developments for council to consider and let them make a decision.”
Jackson anticipates the Downtown Eastside plan and the proposed Oakridge development will attract the most attention this year.
While the Oakridge redevelopment proposal has proved controversial over on density and tower height concerns, Jackson believes the project, if approved, will be transformative in a positive way. He cites the public benefits included such as a civic centre, 11-acre roof-top park and affordable housing.
“So I think the total of what we’ve been able to achieve with Oakridge will help create a compete community,” he said.
Jackson also said he’s pleased about progress since the affordable housing plan was passed at the end of 2012, which included as many as 20 affordable housing pilot projects. One has been approved — a co-housing project on East 33rd Avenue and another, called Beulah Garden, is in the works, Jackson said. The project on East Fourth is for 57 units of affordable seniors housing. “They already have a seniors housing project there, so they’re just expanding across the street,” Jackson said.
Thirteen other projects are in the pre-application, the serious enquiry or the initial inquiry stage, including the second co-housing proposal that’s in the pre-application stage.
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