Phase 2: Proposed rezoning and Official Community Plan amendment of 2195 Gordon Avenue

The District’s proposed rezoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment application for 2195 Gordon Avenue is being considered at the June 8, 2020, Special Council Meeting.

The District is proposing to rezone the site in order to allow for up to three multi-family residential buildings including an adult day centre. Two of the buildings are proposed to be 6-storeys and secured as rental only tenure. One 8-storey building is proposed and could allow for strata condominiums.

The District is proposing to amend the OCP in order to include Development Permit Area Guidelines applicable to the site, intended to direct the form and character of future development.

A link to the Council Report and appendices can be found here.

Updates and additional information will be posted here following the June 8, 2020, Council Meeting.

February update - Public Information Meeting

A public information meeting was held on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at Municipal Hall, to provide information on the District’s proposal to rezone 2195 Gordon Avenue. Information materials were available, with staff and project consultants in attendance. Comments received as a result of the meeting were, overall, in support of the District's proposal with some concerns expressed.

There will be an additional public consultation meeting should Council give first reading to the rezoning bylaw and prior to the public hearing.

Public Information Meeting Boards

Public Information Meeting Notice

Design Review Committee - January 22, 2020 update

The Design Review Committee (DRC) considered the Draft Development Permit Area Designation Guidelines (DP Guidelines) at the January 22, 2020 meeting. The DRC passed a resolution unanimously in support of the proposed DP Guidelines. The resolution, along with items to be considered, is below:

That the Design Review Committee SUPPORT the DP Guideline Review for 2195 Gordon Avenue subject to further review of the following items:

• consider a cover for the exposed open ramp into the underground parking to mitigate acoustic and visual impact;
• allow developers room to experiment with the footprint and height in the flexibility of the guidelines;
• encourage the use of common areas as opposed to the private spaces on the ground level; and
• take the opportunity to show leadership in promoting sustainability and liveability.

Note: The resolution will be formally adopted as part of the minutes at the next DRC meeting.

December 2019 update

Rezoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) Amendment Application Update

The District has submitted a development application for 2195 Gordon Avenue and is moving forward with its proposal to rezone the site in order to allow for 3 multiple-family residential buildings and an adult day centre. The District is proposing to amend the OCP in order to incorporate the proposed Development Permit Area Designation Guidelines to guide future Development Permits on the site.

Two, 6-storey, multiple-family residential buildings are proposed to be secured as rental only tenure for the residential units. One, 8-storey, multiple-family residential building is proposed and could allow for strata condominiums. An adult day centre is also proposed, and is expected to be funded and operated by Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and be approximately 3,000 square feet in area.

Draft Development Permit Area Designation Guidelines (DP Guidelines) are proposed and intended to direct the form and character of future development on the site and to form part of the OCP. The draft DP Guidelines are intended to encourage and guide quality design that is reflective of West Coast Contemporary expression and reflective of the Conceptual Site Plan.

The below-market rents are estimated to be at 70% of market rent for comparable new units in West Vancouver, with the rental units income-targeted towards moderate-income people including workers and families in West Vancouver. A variety of unit sizes are anticipated, including studios, one, two and three-bedroom units (with the precise mix to be determined).

The potential revenue is approximately $26 million with no ongoing cost to taxpayers.

Pre-Application Public Information Meeting Update

The District held a Pre-Application Public Information Meeting on November 21, 2019. The focus of the meeting was on the main rezoning parameters and design elements of the proposed development. Comments received as a result of the meeting were, overall, in support of the District’s proposal with some concerns expressed.

Pre-Application Public Information Meeting Overview

Pre-Application Public Information Meeting Presentation

Pre-Application Public Information Meeting Boards

Pre-Application Meeting Notice and Information Package

Next steps

After the Pre-Application Meeting, the main next steps are:

1. First Reading of Zoning Amendment Bylaw and OCP Amendment Bylaw (including the Development Permit Area Designation Guidelines);
2. District-hosted Proposed Development Information Meeting for further public engagement;
3. Statutory Public Hearing for Council to hear from the public;
4. Second and third readings of Zoning Amendment Bylaw and OCP Amendment Bylaw; and
5. Adoption (if approved).

From February 7 to April 15, 2019, the District conducted Initial Public Consultation (Phase 1) regarding Council’s proposal to use the site to create housing, increase rental supply and improve affordability, with anticipated revenue of $20 million, and with no ongoing cost to the District. During the initial public consultation, Staff met or spoke with over 750 people through public consultation meetings, smaller group meetings and one-on-one meetings. Over 330 online and hardcopy surveys were completed.

The project is intended to address a number of challenges facing West Vancouver:

• unprecedented housing affordability challenges with some of the highest rents and housing prices in Canada;
• one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the region at 0.6%, with a healthy vacancy rate being 2% to 3%;
• people leaving our community, with West Vancouver being one of only two municipalities in Metro Vancouver to decrease in population (0.5%) from 2011 to 2016 when the region as a whole grew by 6.5%;
• our share of children under the age of 14 has fallen from 30% of the population in 1961 to 14% in 2016; and
• there is a “missing generation” of younger adults without children between the ages of 25 and 34, accounting for only 2% of the population.

High housing prices, limited housing supply and demographic challenges affect our community in many ways: reduced population and demographic imbalance, reduced local workforce, more people are commuting to our community every day to work or attend school resulting in increased traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, reduced services and increased costs for services.

To address those challenges and balance revenue needs for other District public projects, in September 2018, Council directed staff to carry out initial public consultation on the following proposal:

• two possible building forms: Option A with three 6-storey buildings; and Option B with one six-storey and one 7-storey building;
• approximately 200 new units consisting of 170 below-market rental units and 30 strata condominium units;
• Floor Area Ratio of approximately 2.6;
• rents averaging 70% of market rent for comparable West Vancouver new rental units;
• rental units income-targeted for moderate-income people, including workers and families in West Vancouver;
• a range of units from studios to 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units; and
• a revenue objective of approximately $20 million.

The initial public consultation was carried out from around February 7 to April 15, 2019 and is summarized below:

• Staff met or spoke with over 750 people through public consultation meetings, smaller group meetings or one on one meetings;
• 3 Initial Public Consultation Meetings held on February 7, 19 and 20 (with over 500 people attending in total) held at the West Vancouver Community Centre, Seniors’ Activity Centre, and West Vancouver Community Centre, respectively;
• One Q&A session on February 20 with approximately 40 people attending;
• 18 stakeholder and resident meetings;
• 13 pop-up information sessions at West Vancouver Memorial Library, West Vancouver Community Centre, Gleneagles Community Centre, Seniors’ Activity Centre and Municipal Hall;
• Over 330 online and hard copy survey responses;
• 3 newsprint advertisements in the North Shore News on January 23, February 8 and 13;
• 2 neighbourhood mailouts to inform the neighbourhood of the Initial Public Consultation consisting of 1,287 letters;
• 3 dedicated consultation meetings for Pauline Johnson Elementary School parents with a total of 536 emails sent twice by e-bulletin to all school parents;
• 3 information boards posted at the property;
• District website and social media campaign to inform of the initial public consultation;
• Dedicated project website (westvancouverite.ca/gordon);
• 36 questions sent from community members and responded to by Staff on the Q&A section of the project website; and
• eWest email bulletin (sent April 3): 751 recipients, 499 opened, 76 link clicks to read more about the project.

The results of the initial public consultation (including the survey results, correspondence received, results of stakeholder meetings and comments at the April 29, 2019, Council Meeting) showed general support for Council’s proposed use. More details about the Initial Public Consultation and results are in the Council Report dated April 29, 2019, in the Document Library.

After considering the results of the initial public consultation (including survey responses and correspondence) and comments from the public made at the Council meeting on April 29, 2019, Council voted unanimously to continue moving the project forward. In particular, Council authorized staff to prepare and submit a rezoning application with the following parameters:

• a three-building configuration similar to the proposed Option A but with two 6 storey buildings, and 8 storeys (with the eighth storey set back) on the southern-most building;
• Floor Area Ratio of approximately 2.8;
• 217 units total comprised of 167 units below-market rental (77%), and 50 units strata condominium (23%);
• rents at an average of 70% of market rent for comparable new units in West Vancouver;
• rental units income targeted towards moderate-income people, including workers and families in West Vancouver;
• Adult Day Centre of 3,000 sf with 1,000 sf outdoor space on the ground floor of one of the rental buildings (subject to confirmation that the District will not be responsible for any capital and operating costs);
• a variety of unit sizes: studio; one-bedroom; two-bedroom; and three-bedroom (with the precise mix to be determined); and
• approximate revenue objective of $26,000,000.

Our community is facing unprecedented housing affordability challenges with some of the highest rents and housing prices in Canada. We have very limited rental housing, and have one of the lowest vacancy rates in the region at 0.6%. People are leaving our community, and West Vancouver (and the Village of Belcarra) are the only municipalities in Metro Vancouver to have decreased in population between 2011 and 2016, while the region grew by 6.5%.

The share of children under the age of 14 has fallen from 30% of the population in 1961 to 14% in 2016. There is a “missing generation” of younger adults without children between the ages of 25 and 34, accounting for only 2% of the population.

Our high housing prices, limited housing supply, and demographic challenges affect our community in many ways: reduced population and imbalance; more people commuting to our community every day to work or attend schools, resulting in increased traffic and greenhouse gas emissions; reduced local workforce; and reduced services and increased costs for services in our community.