Representatives from four Vancouver neighbourhoods undergoing sweeping changes to rules about development in their communities say they're tired of last minute "surprises" from city planners.
Around 100 residents from Grandview-Woodland, the West End, the Downtown Eastside and Marpole met for the first time Monday night at Britannia Community Centre night to discuss ongoing updates to the official community plans for their neighbourhoods.
The four city planning processes kicked off in 2011, and the resulting documents will determine zoning in each neighborhood for the next 30 years. Draft plans presented to the communities in early June raised hackles over how the city hoped to accommodate more residents in the areas. A proposal for a 36-storey tower at Commercial and Broadway, as well as towers at Venables Street, angered residents in Grandview-Woodland when city staff presented it in June.
In Marpole, some residents are upset over a proposed mix of residential towers and three and four-storey townhomes. In the Downtown Eastside, the focus is on accommodating social housing.
"We all understand that we're under the same pressures," said Jak King of the Grandview-Woodland Area Council, a residents group for people who live around Commercial Drive. "We now know that we're not the only ones being picked on."
Both King and Mike Burdick, a Marpole resident, said the zoning and height changes came late in the process, and would fundamentally change their neighbourhoods.
The backlash prompted the city to reconsider the 18-to 21-month timelines for the plans. Planning staff will deliver a report to council Sept. 24 on extending the consultation periods in Marpole and Grandview-Woodland by six months.
A city spokesperson said it is too early to estimate the cost of sending planning staff back to the drawing board.
King said residents and city planners had spent the year prior in consultations over parks, public space and heritage considerations. It wasn't until this summer that residents got a chance to see the real meat of the city's proposal.
"That level of change was never brought up before," said King. "It was kind of like 'oh, by the way.'" Now, the neighbourhood groups are looking for changes in the way the city's planning department works with residents - changes they hope will keep similar surprises from popping up in the future.
Burdick said city staff told residents that they had consulted on the zoning changes, as well as another proposal that would thin Ash Street to make room for more housing.
"But nobody knows who they'd talked to," he said. "As of yet, they haven't posted the results of those consultations. We're not calling [the city] liars, we just want them to show
us what happened."
Brian Jackson, the City of Vancouver's head planner, told the Courier that despite the city's attempts to reach out to residents, some were surprised by the city's ideas for updates to the neighbourhood plans.
"We had 40 to 60 opportunities for people to comment on the plans - through open houses, online comments, special events, one-on-one meetings with special interest groups," he said. "People attend those meetings, but we aren't able to get at everyone. Even with the outreach we had, the plan may have caught some people by surprise."
Burdick said that the gaps he sees in the planning process could be the result of updating four different plans at the same time.
"The issues are far deeper than one 36-storey tower at Commercial and Broadway," added King.
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