As the Courier reported Tuesday, city council voted 8-3 to reject Beedie Development Group’s 12-storey condo proposal for a piece of property at 105 Keefer St. in Chinatown.
Mayor Gregor Robertson, who voted against the project, and his 10 councillors all gave reasons for their decisions. Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie and NPA councillors Elizabeth Ball and Melissa De Genova voted to support the proposal.
Here are excerpts of what each of them said:
Robertson said his vote was primarily based on the “overwhelming opposition” to the proposal, which came in the form of correspondence to council, petitions and speakers over 26 hours of public hearings. He said it was “most upsetting” that the community was so divided over the project.
“It cuts far too deep of a divide in the community to advance and see this built. So I think our real test is what happens moving forward. We have a big challenge on this site, specifically, going forward. I’m hopeful there is an opportunity with the B.C. and federal government to partner here and to respect a very special site that is surrounded by important monuments to the Chinese-Canadian community.”
Vision Coun. Kerry Jang reflected on a recent trip to Hong Kong, where he and his wife visited a Buddhist garden. The view was blocked by highrises. He said he didn’t want to have the same thing happen to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, which is across the street from the development site on Keefer Street. His most pointed remarks were directed at some of the young people who also rejected the proposal.
“In contrast to the class and the real work that the Beedie Group did, is that some of the Chinatown activists – the youth, in particular – were very disappointing in their behaviour. You wouldn’t treat your mother that way, you wouldn’t be booing your mother or your grandmother. You wouldn’t be jeering them, or harassing them in the hallways.”
Louie, who was the lone Vision councillor to support the proposal, focused his reasons for his decision on the 25 units of social housing dedicated to seniors. He pointed out the developer’s rezoning application was in line with council’s plans and policies for Chinatown, including allowing a building to be built up to 120 feet tall. He noted the passion of people who spoke during the hearing but argued their hopes and dreams for Chinatown could not be based on one building.
“It’s, perhaps, unfair to place those hopes and aspirations wholly on the shoulders of one site, 105 Keefer in this instance. To bear the burden of what could come into the future and laying it at the feet of this one site is, I think, a challenge for me to accept. I do think that Chinatown is a special place, that many things make it special.”
Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs also pointed out Beedie’s proposal was compliant with council policies for the site. He noted the developer had revised the plan several times, which included the addition of social housing and a seniors’ centre. But Meggs said he couldn’t support the proposal, despite Beedie’s efforts to meet council’s direction for Chinatown.
“My job is to consider the project under the existing rules,” he said, noting staff is preparing new recommendations for Chinatown that will go before council next month. “Those rules allow additional height to support innovative heritage, cultural and affordable and social housing projects. But the overarching goal is to strike a balance between growth and the preservation of the heritage and cultural character of Chinatown, and I don’t believe that balance is being achieved.”
Vision Coun. Heather Deal described her vote against the proposal as “challenging.” She noted she had never seen such a strong division in a community “with some of the most respected people on both sides of argument.” Like Jang, she commented on the “bad behaviour” of some of the supporters.
“Seeing people bully, seeing people boo [Musqueam Indian Band councillor] Howard Grant, seeing that kind of behavior, and having social media make assumptions about our position and treat us with disrespect here in the council chambers – that did not make it easy for me to make this decision. In fact, it was very difficult to shut that out and focus instead on the merits of the argument made on both sides.”
Vision Coun. Tim Stevenson compared the 26 hours of public hearing and the debate on the proposal to the hearings over the expansion of gambling in 2011. He remarked on the “huge division” in the Chinese community over Beedie’s project, including its design.
“This building is too tall. And the trade-off for some minor – really – numbers of social housing is not worth it, in my opinion.”
Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr noted some key leaders in the Chinese community raised important points about the site being a gateway into Chinatown, once the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts are demolished. She also heard people’s concerns about gentrification.
“There’s a real concern that by putting high-end condos on this site, it will indeed lead to the increased valuation of land and the increased unaffordability of housing in the area and, in fact, the unaffordability of store rents, which could mean the loss of so many of the stores that really create the character of Chinatown.”
Affleck said only eight of the 25 units promised for seniors will be at welfare rates. He pointed out the opposition to the design of the building and remarked on the power of the people who spoke out against the proposal.
“It’s potentially good news for Vancouver, that if you have 300 people who come and scream and yell at us and tell us we’re making the wrong decision, and you send us thousands of emails, there’s hope Vancouver. You can turn these guys [ruling Vision council] around. They might actually change their mind. It’s a miracle — a miracle at Cambie, at the city hall in Vancouver.”
De Genova told council how she spent some of her childhood in Chinatown with her father, who worked in the community. She talked about how seniors need housing in Vancouver and it was important to approve the proposal to create more homes.
“The most affordable housing is the housing that you build today for tomorrow. And I think we have to see that, and we have to keep that front of mind here. As councillor Louie had said, a vote against this project — in my opinion — would be a vote against social housing.”
Vision Coun. Andrea Reimer said she hadn’t made a decision on Beedie’s proposal until she woke up at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. She described the hearings as “difficult” and expressed her disappointment with some of the participants, who made it difficult for people with an opposing view to speak.
“I’ve fought very hard to increase participation in democracy, especially for members of vulnerable groups. And this morning I woke up wondering how it is that I can cast a vote on the side of what, at times, felt like a mob in the chambers, or especially outside the chambers.”
Ball focused on what seniors said at the hearings about the need forhousing and cultural and activity space. For her, she said it was the people in need that caused her to vote for the proposal.
“To deny anybody any possibility of social housing is hard to do. And I can’t do it tonight.”
