District of North Vancouver council should delay approving the 411-unit Emery Place development until affordable housing is secured for the tenants who will be displaced, says one of those tenants.
Transit operator Terry Wagner is one of several Emery Place residents concerned at the prospect of 61 rental apartments being replaced by four buildings ranging from five to 12 storeys.
The proposed Mosaic redevelopment consists of 327 strata units as well as 84 rentals divided between market and affordable units. Of the 42 affordable rentals, 23 units would be rented at 85 per cent of market rates and 19 at 75 per cent of the going rate. Based on 2017 averages, a discounted two-bedroom rental would cost $1,913 or $1,688.
Those rentals represent a hefty hike for Wagner, who currently pays $1,317 for his two-bedroom unit.
Managing a major rental increase amid rising costs of living with a stagnant take-home pay is “unfathomable,” according to Wagner, a single father with shared custody of his child.
“The alternative would be to simply move away, and sacrifice the relationship with my child,” he wrote in an email to council this week.
Given that increased density in North Vancouver hasn’t yielded commensurate affordability, Wagner called on district council, the province and the federal government to pursue creative solutions, such as rezoning single-family homes near Highway 1 in Lynn Valley. “Market value homes just don’t cut it, but purpose built rental accommodation may help to alleviate some of the crisis for people in our situation,” he wrote.
Emery Place residents currently pay $1,932 for three-bedroom units. Based on 2017 figures, the new discounted three-bedroom units would cost $1,875 or $2,125.
Mosaic has proposed paying displaced residents a lump sum based on the duration of their tenancy. A one-year tenant would pocket $240, while a 15-year tenant would receive $3,500. Mosaic would also offer tenants three months free rent and $2,000 for moving expenses.
But there is no adequate financial package for children forced to move from their community, said Emery Place resident and mother of four Kelly Bond, who spoke to council Monday.
“There is nothing that can compensate them (for) the looming loss,” she said.
“The demise of a well-formed neighbourhood,” will leave Emery Place families looking as far afield as Coquitlam and White Rock, according to Bond.
Both Bond and Wagner suggested council withhold approval “until adequate affordable relocation options are available.”
Council voted to delay giving the project first reading Monday after Mayor Richard Walton noted correspondence indicating a less-than-clear understanding of an alternate approval process involving a park connected to the project.
The project is slated to be up for first reading on April 9 or 16, following a public information meeting set for April 4.
Some of the consternation about the project centres on a plan to pave a 140-metre gravel path that leads into Kirkstone Park, Walton indicated. The walkway would become a road connecting Emery Place with Kirkstone before curving north to Whiteley Court. Mosaic’s proposal includes a plan to add 6,828 square feet to Kirkstone Park. While a number of trees would be removed to make way for the new road, Mosaic has pledged to triple the total amount of trees from 110 to 330. If the project is approved, Mosaic would pay the district a community amenity contribution of $11.9 million.
