Dear Editor:
I am an active and regular user of the Harry Jerome Community Centre and a nearby resident, and I have several serious concerns about the proposed development at Lonsdale Avenue and 23rd Street.
The height of the proposed residential towers is unreasonable, as there is no buffer zone for the nearby residences. The towers do not fit in the context of surrounding neighbourhood. I’m unclear as to why the city needs such tall towers at this location.
There has been limited and unresponsive community consultation. Fifteen years ago there was real consultation with the neighbourhood as to where the skateboard park should be placed; now there has been limited consultation with the neighbourhood. Now the skateboard park has to be moved so everything can be jammed into the north of 23rd Street location.
The City of North Vancouver is paying for this huge recreation centre for expected users outside of the city. I wonder how many of the people that have been lobbying city councillors for the curling rink and Olympic-sized pool are even from the city.
By the time the recreation centre is completed, the city could have serious financial problems with cost increases as laid out in the financing structure and risk report. The yearly operating costs will only increase as the estimate that has been presented is for a new building but the structure will not be new for long.
The city will be losing two well-used playing fields, a well-used walking track and four well-used tennis and pickleball courts. Yes, tennis courts are in the tentative plans but they may be the things to be cut when the true costs start to unfold. Currently we do not have enough playing fields in the city and with all the proposed density increases there will be a serious lack of fields in the very near future.
Why is there a notice of a public hearing for the recreational lands at Harry Jerome and Norseman Field? I have been to two of the previous information meetings and I was led to believe (by elected officials, city staff and Darwin staff) that the needed zoning was already in place. Maybe I didn’t read the fine print or didn’t ask the right questions.
Adding roughly 1,100 parking spots to an already congested area will only exasperate one of the main problems in this community: traffic.
The local residents will have to live with six years of huge inconvenience living in a construction zone. But if this proposed project unfolds anything like the Green Necklace construction on East 23rd Street and the Greenwood Park area, it could be a lot longer than six years.
To summarize, the city cannot afford such a risky and huge recreation centre at the cost of losing recreation land and adding huge towers.
Doug O’Neill
City of North Vancouver
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
