THE way has been cleared for a gradual yet massive redevelopment of the area surrounding Capilano Road at Marine Drive.
District of North Vancouver council passed the Lower Capilano - Marine Village Centre implementation plan at Monday's meeting, paving the way for developers to begin filing rezoning applications for the area between Marine Drive and Fullerton Avenue on either side of Capilano Road.
The first such application is expected to come shortly from Larco, which has been waiting to submit a plan to build a "village centre" of mid-rise condos, townhouses, a community centre and public plaza on the former site of the North Shore Winter club.
While the implementation plan has been hammered out in a community-led process for the last two years, the area has been sought after by developers for more than 20 years, said Coun. Alan Nixon.
Mayor Richard Walton noted the residents who took part in the process were informed "to a level very seldom seen" in community planning and that well-informed residents make better decisions about the types of neighbourhoods they want to live in.
Members of the Capilano Gateway Association sat in the council chamber as elected members passed the vote unanimously. The group formed because of what members saw as a neighbourhood of rundown motels, vacant lots and decay in sore need of a redevelopment.
Still, the plan had opponents, particularly in neighbouring Woodcroft where the predominant concern was about the extra traffic another 1,200 units of housing would bring at full buildout, Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn said.
"Although there are going to be some people that are unconvinced, I think most of them want the change and we should proceed with this understanding there are concerns that have to be addressed. Not to do this would create more problems," said MacKay-Dunn.
Larco presented its completed designs for the village centre to the neighbourhood on Monday evening at the Capilano Rugby Club.
The implementation plan process is new to the district and Lower Capilano Marine Village Centre was the first one to go ahead. Other implementation plans for Lower Lynn, Lynn Valley Centre and Maplewood are also in the works. Implementation plans act as a step between the official community plan process and individual rezonings.
