An open letter to residents of West Vancouver:
A public hearing will be held at West Van’s municipal hall at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 5 to consider what is being billed by DWV as the Marine Drive Local Area Plan and Design Guidelines.
The request for a local area plan was born out of a rejection of the highrise tower proposals for 752 Marine Dr., the former White Spot site, and the need to discuss the future development that Park Royal is planning in a larger context, and how that might fit the community of West Van’s interests as a whole.
Instead, a Marine Drive Context Study was created by district staff in response to three residential development applications in the area. It represents a development proposal for the former White Spot site and includes it with others on Clyde Avenue and the Earl’s restaurant site. Somehow this context study has morphed into what is now called a local area plan that will become part of our official community plan.
Traffic, particularly at this intersection, is the No. 1 public concern, yet the plan offers no more than bus shelters and improved sidewalks, and deems a modest increase in bus service as “rapid transit.” This is entirely inadequate.
Initial consultation on the rezoning application for 752 Marine included hiring an outside consultant and was billed as the most in-depth consultation to have occurred in West Van.
That in-depth, broad consultation clearly revealed the community does not support residential development at this particular site and that residential towers are not an appropriate gateway to welcome people to West Vancouver. Yet staff continue to seek ways to find support for highrise residential development at this same site and in the absence of a community-driven local area plan for the Park Royal neighbourhood.
A true community-driven LAP would start with the community’s vision for the area and present alternatives for the community to consider in deciding how to achieve that vision.
Fundamental strategic issues would be addressed at the outset: do we want the Park Royal area to accommodate mixed use development; if so, what should be encouraged; where should it take place; at what scales and densities; what are the priority community amenities; what utility infrastructure capacity is required; what are the traffic implications and the transportation infrastructure required to facilitate critical access, egress and flow-through traffic associated with the planned future growth?
These types of questions were completely absent from the Marine Drive Context Study.
The OCP identifies Marine Drive/Taylor Way as one of four key areas that require a local area plan. The “context study/plan” before us does not provide a community-endorsed road map for future development of this key area. There will still be contentious, site-specific rezoning applications and public hearings to endure. We are about to embed this plan in our OCP without exploring alternative options or determining the community’s vision for the Park Royal neighbourhood and “gateway” to West Van.
What happens at this critical intersection will impact many. Residents are fed up with spot-zoning and recognize the need for neighbourhood planning. We were led to believe there would be an area plan for Park Royal, but that is not what we have been given. To settle for anything less is a disservice to the community.
After the public hearing closes, council is not allowed to accept further comment. I urge you to attend the public hearing and/or write mayor and council, and insist on a proper area plan for the Park Royal neighbourhood.
Melinda Slater
West Vancouver
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