Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is putting the brakes on a project to increase the number of rental units in the city’s West End so he can consult with community members, including those he called “hacks” during a council hearing in early July.
The project in question is a 22-storey tower on Comox Street. The building, which would replace a church, would have 193 units and be 30 feet taller and five times the density that current zoning allows. It would be developed under Vision Vancouver’s Short-Term Incentives for Rental program, which entices developers to create new rental housing with perks including increased density, a reduced parking requirement and a faster permit process.
Many West End residents have been actively campaigning against the development, a fight that came to a head at a July council meeting where the mayor swore and called the citizens “hacks.”
City hall microphones picked up Mr. Robertson asking, “Who are all these fuckin’… who are these hacks man? Are they NPA hacks?”
The comments prompted an apology from the mayor and an invitation for the offended Vancouverites to apply to sit on the council’s 12-person special advisory committee on the West End.
“The Comox proposal has become a lightning rod for really widespread concern in the West End about the speed and shape of development,” said Councillor Geoff Meggs, adding that an immediate public hearing would have been unfair to the community and the developer.
“It just would have been seen as a slap in the face to the community and it would have been a very, very difficult process from the developer’s standpoint,” he said.
Instead, the city is calling on the advisory committee to work out the issues, priorities and needs of the community. Meanwhile, city hall has advised the developer, Westbank and Peterson Group, to put the project on hold.
The mayor’s office said Mr. Robertson was too busy to comment on the decision due to his upcoming China trip.
However, Mr. Meggs said the decision has nothing to do with the mayor’s f-bomb blunder. “This is the right approach regardless of whatever episodes happened in the interim,” he said.
The developer and West End community leaders welcomed the consultation process.
“Meaningful architecture is derived out of a specific time and place,” said Gregory Henriquez, the architect of Woodwards and Comox project. “Having people involved is really integral to the success of any project.”
He said he has already made revisions to the building design following two community meetings.
The neighbourhood is Vancouver’s most densely populated, and about 80 per cent of people living in the area rent their homes. It has also seen relatively few new developments.
“The sheer volume of change was really creating a lot of concern in a lot of residents,” said Brent Granby, president of the West End Residents Association. “It was a lot for people to cope with at one time. I think it was prudent to go a little bit slower.”
Randy Helten of West End Neighbours was one of the citizens the mayor accused of being hacks. He said he was pleasantly surprised by Tuesday’s announcement and believed it would have happened even if Mr. Robertson did not utter the profanity.
“There is very strong opposition to that rezoning site. It is one of several hot rezoning sites in the West End,” he said. He added that a public hearing would have proven to be one of Vancouver’s longest, since more than 10,000 people have signed a petition trying to block West End development without an official community plan.
