Three proposals for housing towers that would create a total of 518 rental homes are among the latest applications under the Broadway Plan to go before Vancouver city council.
A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday night where applications for properties at 469-483 East 10th Avenue, 1665-1685 West 11th Avenue and 2267-2275 West 7th Avenue are expected to be heard from council.
As of Monday, a total of 46 people had registered to speak to the proposals.
The applications call for towers reaching 17 storeys on East 10th Avenue (with 138 units), and 20 storeys each for the properties on West 11th Avenue and West 7th Avenue (both containing 190 units each).
'Not the right location'
Letters from residents received by the City of Vancouver show opposition to the East 10th Avenue project and a mix of support and opposition for the two other proposals. All three proposals call for 20 per cent of the rental housing to be rented at below market rates.
The main concerns raised in the 14 letters posted on the City’s website regarding the East 10th Avenue project are related to scale of the proposal in a tree-lined neighbourhood of character homes and a popular bike route.
“I usually support density and affordable housing initiatives, but this building does not fit in with the character of E. 10th Avenue and will adversely affect the community with a long interruption to the bikeway, sidewalks including increased traffic in the long run,” wrote Mount Pleasant resident Cameron Barker.
“This area needs traffic calming and gentle density, not 17-storey buildings amongst heritage homes. Not the right location for this at all.”
Barbara Fries, who lives on East 11th Avenue, said her concerns were related to the loss of affordable rental housing. The redevelopment site in question is currently home to three detached houses that offer nine units of rental housing.
A city staff report says tenants living in six of the units are eligible for the city’s tenant relocation plan. That could mean compensation, right of first refusal to return to the new building and moving expenses.
“I have lived in neighbourhoods where affordable rental housing was removed and only those who could afford much higher rents moved in after development, and it fundamentally changed the diversity and culture of the neighbourhood,” Fries wrote.
Canada Line
Supporters of the West 11th Avenue project include Adrian Garvey of Arbutus Ridge and Carey Buntain of Kensington-Cedar Cottage.
“This project along with other projects in the Broadway Plan offers renters in this city a lot more options,” Garvey said. “More below-market rentals in accessible, vibrant locations are exactly what Vancouver needs. I think the Broadway Plan is well-intentioned. Now it's about delivering the results and improving our housing and transit options.”
Buntain: “We need more rental and below market rental housing that offers a range of options for different households, especially in such a well-connected location. Being close to public transit and the new Canada Line makes this an ideal place to live for people who want accessibility, convenience and fewer cars on the road.”
The staff report noted that directly across the street from the proposed site — at 1676 West 11th Ave. — there is an active rezoning application to develop a 20-storey secured rental building, which is under staff review.
One block over at 1726 West 11th Ave., a rezoning application proposing a 20-storey and 19- storey mixed-use building was approved by council in December 2024.
'All the cities in Europe'
Of the 21 letters received regarding the 20-storey proposal for West 7th Avenue, 10 residents were in support, nine in opposition and two were somewhat neutral, including Antje Wahl of Kitsilano.
“I support densification and more housing in Kitsilano, and I believe that buildings in the 8-12 storey range make for a more livable neighbourhood with less shade and more sky,” Wahl wrote.
“I understand that it is more cost effective for developers to build over 20 storeys, but it is absolutely possible to provide dense transit-oriented communities at lower heights. Just look at all the cities in Europe that rarely have buildings higher than 8 storeys.”
In February, Josh White, the City’s general manager of planning, sent a memo to council regarding the status of projects that fall within the Broadway Plan area. White said that 32 projects were in the formal rezoning enquiry stage and 71 were in the rezoning application stage.
Since the implementation of the Broadway Plan in September 2022, 13 rezoning applications had been approved by council, White said at the time.
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