District of North Vancouver council is nearing a new plan that could see more than 20,000 new homes built by 2041.
Municipalities across B.C. are required by to update their official community plans by the end of the year to meet future housing needs, as mandated by the provincial government.
At a June 23 meeting, district council gave staff the thumbs-up to draw up options and draft bylaws for council to vote on later this year. The district must plan to accommodate 22,369 new homes by 2041, according to an interim housing report presented to council.
In April, staff asked for public feedback on three residential land use scenarios that would accommodate the district’s 20-year housing need.
Staff saw most support for Scenario 3, which calls for 75 per cent of that growth in existing town centres and the remaining 25 per cent distributed elsewhere. Scenario 2 expands the key growth centres of Lions Gate/Marine Drive and Lynn Valley and adds 10 per cent allocated elsewhere in the district.
The refined OCP scenario staff presented to council is a mix of scenario 2 and 3. The plan concentrates 75 per cent of growth in four key centres —- Lions Gate/Marine Drive, Lynn Valley, Lynn Creek and Maplewood, and the remaining 25 per cent close by the population centres in neighbourhoods like Norgate, Pemberton Heights and Keith Lynn.
Diverse housing options would be included, such as low-density, mid- and high-rise buildings, townhouses and possible multiplexes, all supported by transit and amenities.
Staff said while redevelopment in single-family neighbourhoods will introduce a bit of housing diversity, it will not provide affordable housing options and added it will be challenging to deliver efficient and economical infrastructure servicing those areas.
Mayor Mike Little said he isn’t “quite there yet” in supporting the revised scenario and suggested for staff to come up with a second plan reflecting the minimum requirement to the current OCP.
“I think we need to put those two out there so the community knows. We can be honest about what the impact is going to be, and say ‘You’re going to have a difficult time producing affordability. You may have some challenges producing infrastructure necessary for this,’” Little said. “It may not be staff’s recommendation, but this is a political decision the community needs to make.”
Little said if council doesn’t like either option presented later on in the year, they can still be changed.
Growth projections from province don’t match the district, mayor says
Little said he was hesitant on the revised scenario due to growth projections the provincial government estimates. B.C. is expected to reach a population of 7.9 million by 2046, according to the government’s projections. But the mayor said we are way off from tracking those numbers in the first quarter of this year, with a net-out migration of roughly 3,000 people leaving the province.
“In my view, we’re going to be nowhere near those growth targets, and so we need to come up with a more modest plan that represents reasonable growth in the community, tying infrastructure to that growth,” Little said.
Coun. Jim Hanson said the revised scenario is realistic given the options available, but the process of implementing the province’s mandate is “detached from reality.”
“How are we going to create affordable housing? How are we going to create infrastructure? How are we going to support the population that we already have, let alone the population that’s coming? Instead of that, we’re being required to create specific plans for over 22,000 housing units over the next 20 years,” Hanson said.
Couns. Jordan Back and Catherine Pope supported the refined scenario staff brought to the table.
Back said the revised plan puts the municipality in a stronger position to shape the growth in a way that works for residents and holds other levels of government accountable to make it work.
Pope echoed Back’s comments and shared support for the plan. She emphasized the need for more affordable housing on the North Shore and if the plan moves forward, seeing better protections in place for tenants in older apartments that are targeted for redevelopments.
A tenant policy is being anticipated for the fall, staff say.
Staff will bring back the two plans for further council debate at a future meeting.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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