Editor's note: This letter has been amended since first posting to reflect a change in date. The public hearing for British Pacific Properties' Rodgers Creek areas 5 and 6 rezoning, originally scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19, was postponed and will now take place on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m. at municipal hall.
Dear editor:
There is a public hearing for British Pacific Properties Rodgers Creek Development on Tuesday, Dec. 3. This is the final chance for anyone to have any input before council considers this project. No submissions or comments will be taken after the hearing closes.
In 2008, the project of 493 units was approved and, at that time, the developer was told clearly by the council that was the maximum density for the site. This site is more than 300 metres up a mountain with a single road in and out and not so much as a convenience store nearby. Now, 11 years later, British Pacific Properties, and some on council, want to nearly double the density to 949 residences.
Aside from the clear-cutting of the mountain, there is potential for up to 2,000 additional cars on our roads. Transit is not an option in the foreseeable future with TransLink saying in a 2018 report that, “For these reasons Metro Vancouver does not consider the Cypress Village and Cypress West planning areas to be good locations for focusing trip-generation multi-family growth and development.” Proposed transit for the potential 2,000 new residents is a minibus, paid for by BPP but with no definite timeline as to how long they will subsidize that.
The buildings are mostly made of concrete and steel. If we are in a climate emergency, as recently declared by the District of West Vancouver, the biggest greenhouse gas emissions come from this kind of construction. It can take 30 to 50 years to offset these emissions through energy savings.
The bigger issue is that both Larco and Onni are trying to add to their already approved projects. Larco wants to add another five storeys to each building at Park Royal and Onni wants to add up to another 100 units at its Evelyn development. Again, both of these projects have already been approved yet the developers are coming back and asking for more. Is this a new precedent in West Vancouver?
A recent telephone survey of 408 West Vancouver residents, conducted by polling company Angus Reid Global, showed 67 per cent of the respondents were against additional density at this time and yet this is exactly what this council is trying to do.
For information on the project go the page on our site here or the district’s site here.
Nigel Malkin
West Vancouver Community Stakeholders
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