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Rent control pitched for LoLo midrise

Six stories proposed for East Third Street

A neighbourhood’s distaste for density may be pitted against the city’s desire for affordability regarding a proposed Lower Lonsdale development.

The City of North Vancouver held a public meeting June 20 on Magnolia House Holding’s application to replace the six-unit and five-unit rental buildings on 362 and 368 East Third St. with a six-storey, 40-unit apartment building on one consolidated lot.

The development’s 16 parking spots and one car-share vehicle is paltry, according to neighbour Tanya Oliva, who implored council to reject the proposal. “How are these families … going to get their groceries home on a bike or by walking? It’s not going to happen,” she said.

Getting to a grocery store in the neighbourhood requires more than a brisk walk, according to Oliva. “There is not the transportation infrastructure to support this amount of development,” she said. “It’s not as family friendly as you would like it to be.” The “eyesore” will also clog her view corridor, Oliva added.

While the development may not be pleasing to the eye it will be welcome to the wallet, according to Don Peters, chairman of the Community Housing Action Committee, who called the proposal: “exactly the kind of thinking we need.”

The development includes five units that will be rent-controlled for at least five years; forbidding the landlord from charging more than average rental rates as determined by the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corp.

“We like the five low-end rental units. We would like more of course, but it’s a good start,” Peters said.

Coun. Rod Clark suggested the five units could be rent-controlled in perpetuity.

Noting that the rules of the public hearing prevented him from making statements, Clark asked: “Did you know that this is one councillor who believes that we should be getting a lot longer than five years?”

The project received opposition from longtime resident Lawrence Pinfield, who urged council not to give a “gift” to the developer. “It dots all the I’s, it crosses all the T’s, but it’s wrong.”

Neighbour Christine Rigby expressed concerns about a disappearing view and a worsening traffic problem on Fourth Street.

Coun. Craig Keating noted the site was rated slightly more walkable than the district average.

While fielding questions, city planner Michael Epp informed council that a portion of the city’s rental stock is “at risk” due to age. The rental buildings on 362 and 368 East Third St. were built in 1977 and 1966. “In the absence of some incentives to develop rental housing, the city’s rental housing stock will gradually convert to a greater proportion of strata units,” Epp said.

At a height of 59.5 feet, the apartment would be the tallest building on either the 200 or 300 block of East Third Street. However, the building complies with the city’s official community plan.

The building would include 31,606 square feet of residential floor area. The proposed floor space ratio, which measures total floor area against the size of the lot, is 2.6. The development incorporates shared space on each floor, including a study space, television room, fitness centre, and laundry room.

If the project is approved, the city will collect more property tax than from the two existing rental buildings, according to staff.
Mayor Darrell Mussatto did not attend the meeting.