City of North Vancouver
Affordable housing and beers top the agenda Monday.
City Mayor Linda Buchanan will introduce a motion calling for the creation of a North Shore housing “solutions lab.” At the root of the motion is a recognition that the historic escalation of housing prices is impacting the North Shore’s economy, exacerbating traffic and that existing housing policies and programs are not serving the needs of moderate income earners.
The solution lab’s job will be to find “opportunities and high-impact actions to address the urgent need for housing facing low and moderate income earners.”
The city may also it easier for breweries and distilleries to open lounges without having to go through separate zoning amendments, as the bylaw currently requires them to do. It stems from a request for a new brewery with added lounge, restaurant, and rooftop deck on the 200-block of East Esplanade. Because there are other breweries with similar proposals on the table, council will explore rewriting portions of the zoning bylaw to make the process easier rather than make them all go through multiple steps.
The city will also receive a delegation from the organizers of the annual CityFEST event and discuss how to commemorate the 50th anniversary of forming a sister city relationship with Chiba, Japan.
District of North Vancouver
District council members are meeting for a public workshop to discuss their next steps and the district’s priorities within the Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project.
District staff are advising council to pursue, or at least study, a number of new transportation and transit projects including:
- A new Highway 1 bus with express service across Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing connecting to the SkyTrain system
- Lobby for the two new B-Lines connecting Lynn Valley to downtown via the Lions Gate Bridge and Metrotown to Capilano University via the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, anticipated in the last phase of the TransLink Mayors’Council plans to be expedited into Phase 2
- Conduct a feasibility study for a new road bridge over the Seymour River connecting Barrow Street to Spicer Road
- Evaluate feasibility of commuter rail from Whistler to Seabus/Phibbs
- Launch an e-Bike share pilot in partnership with Translink and City of North Vancouver
District of West Vancouver
West Vancouver council is scheduled to next meet on Feb. 11.
