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Housing crisis concerns overshadow height qualms on East Second

CNV approves 160 rentals
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This story has been amended since first posting.

Despite neighbours warning of literal and figurative darkness, City of North Vancouver council gave the green light to a 160-unit rental project in Lower Lonsdale.

Citing the project’s proximity to transit and the developer’s decision to provide 16 units at 10 per cent below market rates, council voted 6-1 in favour of the project.

Noting the size and bulk of the 48-foot-tall buildings, Orizon strata resident Stuart Proudfoot explained his opposition in five words: “Too tall and too close.”

In covering 58 per cent of the 47,824 square foot property, the new project would shorten 20-foot setbacks at the front and rear of the building to 6.8 feet, eroding “the privacy and security” of the East Third Street strata across the laneway, agreed Kaveh Jamshidi.

Coun. Holly Back concurred, suggesting longer setbacks would assuage almost all the concerns voiced by the project’s detractors.

“I don’t think that these people are asking for the moon,” Back said.

While rental housing is a priority, Back noted there are approximately 1,000 rental units approved or under construction throughout the city.

While Coun. Jessica McIlroy sympathized with residents facing the “woes of construction,” she said a decrease in height or an increase in parking could imperil the East Second Street project financially.

“If we have some patience with the developments and build more housing so the people that work here can live here, we will experience less of some of those traffic concerns,” she said.

With 0.725 parking spots for each unit, Back said the project might compound an ongoing parking shortage.

“I know we would love to see everybody their bicycles but it’s not here yet, it’s not happening,” she said. “People drive to those businesses.”

Without increasing the city’s rental stock, “many businesses are going to be suffering,” according to North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce CEO Patrick Stafford-Smith.

“Two blocks from the SeaBus is a privilege and it’s something that should be shared,” he said.

In replacing two three-storey apartments, the project will add 96 rental units to East Second Street, a prospect that impressed Lower Lonsdale Business Improvement Area president Andrew Klaver.

“Anything that supports rental units for young people in our neighbourhood, we will support,” he said, explaining the challenge of finding staff that live in the area.

The city needs to get more residents on public transportation, according to Coun. Tina Hu.

“Having more parking will not help to pursue that solution,” she said.

Coun. Angela Girard agreed.

“I am confident that many of the renters will rely on public transportation,” she said.

“We’re in the middle of a crisis,” Coun. Tony Valente said. “We need these units now.”

Noting anecdotal accounts of Lower Lonsdale residents parting with their cards, Valente suggested the building’s 132 stalls – including 16 for visitors – may be too much.

“I think we need more parking,” Coun. Don Bell disagreed, noting some tenants park on the street rather than pay a monthly parking fee to their landlord.

But, noting the strong design and varying setbacks, Bell ultimately supported the project.

Despite living in the three-storey apartment at 230 East Second St. for the past 12 years and being displaced by the redevelopment, Barbara Donnelly endorsed council’s decision.

“I’m glad that they’re building more suites and I’m so glad that it’s all rentals,” she told council after recounting the struggles her son faced searching for a rental suite on the North Shore.

Council’s decision was likely a disappointment to neighbour Deb Cuthbert, who decried the shadows that would “cascade” from the six-storey rental building onto the neighbouring five-storey strata.

“It is not bourgeoisie view that concerns us, it is the health bringing light and sun which readily effect mental and physical well-being,” she wrote in a letter to council.

On the shortest day of the year, the rental project will cast shadows on 12 strata units, according to Michael Reed of developer GLW Realty Advisors. Six strata units would be darkened during the spring and fall equinoxes, and there would be no shadow impacts during summer, according to Reed.

Given the city’s “abysmal” 0.8 per cent vacancy rate and the resulting hardship experienced by renters, creating more rental housing is crucial, said housing advocate Jennifer Bradshaw.

“I really do not believe that now is the time to be worried about views and setbacks,” she said. “Shelter is a human right, not views.”

With 36 two-bedroom units, 21 three-bedroom units, and one four-bedroom apartment, the project is ideal for families, said Mayor Linda Buchanan.

“It’s the right place and it’s the right kind of housing,” she said.

Buchanan also noted that 96 per cent of the project’s units can be converted for wheelchair access, exceeding the city’s minimum requirement by 71 per cent.

“I am empathetic . . . to people who have challenges in parking their car, I am far more empathetic to finding a home for someone to live in,” she said.

The developer has yet to relocate tenants from five of the 64 units set to be replaced, according to city staff.

The project’s size and bulk are “in keeping with the neighbourhood that has seen a transition towards mid-rise redevelopment,” according to a staff report. The report noted the Orizon strata as an example of that transition.