The District of North Vancouver is considering a gateway development in Lower Capilano after an application for two highrise residential towers past first reading Monday.
Pacific Gate Investments has applied to build a 23-and a 19-storey tower, housing between 262 and 280 units, on the site occupied by the Grouse Inn and a gas station.
Bordered by Curling Road to the north, Capilano Road to the east, and Marine Drive to the south, the development also includes three storey townhouse units, a restaurant, and a fourstorey 31,000-square foot commercial building.
The North Shore is going through an unprecedented period of development and nobody is stopping to look at the big picture, according to Coun. Lisa Muri, who cast the only vote against moving the project to public hearing.
"I don't know how we can't stop for a second and figure out where all of these projects fit in," Muri said, listing more than a dozen developments in various stages of completion. "I feel like we're approving them in a silo."
Coun. Alan Nixon granted the validity of many of Muri's concerns but said council can't derail the development application unless they also want to rescind the official community plan.
"The time to have had that discussion would've been three years ago. .. when we adopted the OCP," he said. "To me it would be bad faith today, to not at least allow these developers and proponents the benefit of going through the public processes."
Council often feels pressure to approve projects following a public process due to the time and money an applicant has to spend to get to that point, according to Muri.
Muri stressed that she wasn't opposed to any specific development, but said a broader view was necessary before moving forward.
"The District of West Vancouver continues to build up the mountain, which creates more sprawl, which creates a longer line coming down Taylor Way," she said. "It's a large amount of stress put on a community that was never built on a grid, that is bordered by an ocean and a set of mountains."
The applicant's traffic study confirmed the road network will handle the slight increase in traffic volume caused by the development.
The application includes 540 underground parking spaces.
Council earmarked the 2.6-acre site for a mixed-use development with a floor space ratio (which measures a building's total floor space against its lot size) of 2.5.
The project should contribute to the "replacement and renewal" of one of the district's major gateways, according to Coun. Robin Hicks.
The project includes a public plaza at Capilano Road and Marine Drive and some park space on Curling Road.
If approved, the applicant would pay the district a community amenity contribution of $4.56 million.
The development is in accordance with the district's vision of a village community centre on the spot, according to a district report penned by community planner Tamsin Guppy. Hotels like the Grouse Inn are increasingly outdated, according to the report.
The public hearing is scheduled for June 17.
Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn did not attend the meeting.
