West Vancouver is set to have their say on a development that now includes six new townhouses to the base of Sentinel Hill.
The development is part of Onni’s Evelyn project, which comprises 349 units including duplexes and apartments spread over a 21-acre site on the eastern stretches of West Vancouver.
The two-storey townhouses would attach to a 67-unit apartment, replacing the clubhouse earmarked for the site. That switch has left a void, according to Coun. Nora Gambioli.
“You’re building a bunch of buildings where everyone is in a concrete unit, separate from each other, and now there’s no meeting/community space,” she said.
In lieu of the clubhouse, “amenity space has been included within the apartment buildings,” noted the staff report.
Onni should carve out a small space for a park or a plaza, according to Gambioli.
“There’s no part now in this whole development where people can go outside their buildings,” she said. “There’s no gathering space, there’s no meeting place, there’s no playground. There’s no community amenity here anymore.”
Coun. Christine Cassidy thanked Onni for crafting an “esthetically pleasing” bricks and mortar project that left some greenspace intact.
“You conceivably could have built what we would term in West Van as ‘Hiroshima Heights,’ which they have in Coquitlam,” she said.
Both Gambioli and Coun. Craig Cameron touted a “locals-first” approach that would give West Vancouver residents first dibs on the project and a small price break.
Asked about the project’s merit, Gambioli replied: “I think it has merit with all those goodies added.”
The project’s approval would require an amendment to West Vancouver’s official community plan. If council offers their blessing, Evelyn Walk would be moved slightly west and flattened.
The change was suggested after the district’s Design Review Committee found the ramp’s eight per cent incline over approximately two football fields made it inaccessible for some residents.
