Housing development design ought to reflect character of Chinatown, say Vancouver city planners

Open this photo in gallery:

City planning experts say a controversial condo proposal in Vancouver’s Chinatown that is now nearing an approval vote may not have spent the past six years mired in planning difficulties if the developer had offered a design that better reflected the building’s historic community and surroundings.

But proponents say complaints about the cultural sensitivity of the design are nonsensical, and that the project would provide much-needed housing on a site that has been an empty parking lot for decades.

The building proposal has faced years of demonstrations. Opponents have said it does nothing for the neighbourhood and would not address the housing needs of Chinatown’s largely senior and low-income population.

The city’s development permit board will vote on whether the project can proceed. A decision has been pushed to June 12, after an hours-long public hearing Monday in front of the board ended without exhausting the list of speakers.

“In the process of designing something, it’s so important to include the community, not just for now, but for the future,” said Sandy James, who worked as a planner with the City of Vancouver for three decades. She said the current design of the building doesn’t offer any reference to Chinatown.

“Whether it becomes a set of speculative condos or Airbnbs, is that the most appropriate use, instead of ensuring that young people and old people … are able to access it?”

Monday’s public hearing was ordered by the B.C. Supreme Court in December so the development board could reconsider the proposal, which is being advanced by Beedie Holdings.

In 2017, the board rejected the developer’s proposal, which consists of a nine-storey mixed-use building at 105 Keefer St. The court ruled that the board had failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision.

Nearly 50 speakers shared their opinions in front of the board on Monday. The majority opposed the project.

Opponents have argued that the project does not fit the character of the historic area. The site is adjacent to the Chinatown Memorial Plaza, faces the Memorial to Chinese-Canadian Veterans and is across from the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park.

They have argued the proposed building will dominate and change the character of the square. Some have called for the city and the developer to find other solutions for the space such as a land swap.

Ms. James said a better design would take into account cultural uses and help animate the streetscape. She said such a design would ensure the building would eventually house people who are going to be living in the community and have a “cultural reference” to it.

Jordan Eng, president of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Area Society, has been a supporter of the proposal. He said he understands the argument that the design does not fit into the character of the neighbourhood, but he noted that the site has been a parking lot.

Mr. Eng, who spoke at Monday’s public hearing, told the board that 105 Keefer St. is a privately owned site that submitted its development permit application based on the prevailing allowable zoning at the time. He said it is unreasonable to think that a private developer could be expected to provide significant social amenities, if not required to do so.

Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s city program said the debate is not about a parking lot but rather what could or should be at the historic site. He said there should be assurances that the nature of the square will be preserved.

Rob Fiorvento, managing director at Beedie, said that according to the court ruling, the company was directed to submit the same application to the board that was rejected in 2017.

A statement from the City of Vancouver noted the board will be considering the application under the HA-1A Design Policies, which applied in 2017 when the application was first considered.