Some of Central Lonsdale’s mostly single-family oriented streets are about to get denser.
City of North Vancouver council members voted unanimously Nov. 15 to upzone the 300-block (between St. Andrews and Ridgeway avenues) from East 15th to East 19th streets for duplexes. And denser options like row houses may be coming to the properties on 13th and 16th.
The idea for “gentle density” has been on the table since 2014. The city’s official community plan, which was adopted the same year, designated a special study area to later consider duplexes for those blocks. In 2017, the city started consultations with area residents, who were largely supportive, and the study area’s boundaries were tweaked to include more row-house development on 51 lots as far south as 13th. Another seven properties on the southern blocks may be upzoned for garden apartments.
Monday’s vote all but clears the way for 88 property owners on the northern part of the study area to build duplexes without having to go through the usual rezoning process.
The row houses and townhouses on the southern blocks, however, will still have to go through a further process that won’t start until 2022.
Before the vote, Coun. Don Bell questioned whether there would be unintended and counterproductive consequences – creating duplex units that are more expensive than the single-family homes they replaced. Staff, in developing the study, took that into account.
“We found at the time that a brand new single-family home in the area could be somewhere around $3.2 million, and duplexes – while still out of reach for the vast majority of potential purchasers – it would be substantially less than that. We were looking, at the time, at values of approximately $1.2 million for new duplex construction in the area,” said planning director Michael Epp.
Coun. Tony Valente termed the change as “gentle density” that he thought city residents would approve of.
“They are looking for those ground-oriented units and I think it’s a real opportunity for further affordability, recognizing, of course, that it's all relative,” he said.
Coun. Angela Girard summarized council’s rationale in the unanimous vote.
“Ultimately, we know how unaffordable our region has become. And if we have any intention as a council of helping people get into home ownership, we certainly need to support the creation of smaller housing options through these kinds of OCP and zoning changes,” she said. “These types of smaller housing options are great for families, they're great for downsizers wanting to be close to the amenities along Lonsdale, close to public transportation, close to the library, hospital. I can go on.”
Coun. Holly Back said she used to live in a duplex on East 19th and attested it would be a good fit to have more of them nearby.
“The diversity of housing in that area is exactly where it should be and is exactly what we need,” she said. “I think the city is going to look really good when we get this happening there.”
