While the province has mandated that new housing must be accommodated for, District of North Vancouver residents will have some say on how that added density will be distributed throughout their community.
At a meeting on Monday, district council voted to move ahead with public engagement activities this spring that will eventually reshape the official community plan.
Over the past two years, the provincial government has introduced new pieces of legislation that require municipalities to make it easier for new housing to be built, especially in town centres and along corridors frequented by rapid transit.
Part of the new rules involved the district creating a housing needs report to anticipate future population growth. Council passed an interim version last fall.
According to that housing report, the district must accommodate for the building of 22,369 new units between 2021 and 2041. To do so, staff has until the end of 2025 to update the OCP, as well as related map designations and zoning bylaws.
In order to meet the anticipated density requirements, staff have presented three options to council and residents, each a variation on how much of the new housing will be built in town centres and spread out in surrounding areas.
The first scenario is to concentrate 90 per cent of growth in existing town centres, which include Lions Gate/Marine Drive, Lynn Valley, Lynn Creek and Maplewood.
Staff said this option will likely support dense, mixed-use communities with local amenities and jobs within walking distance. It would also make efficient use of existing infrastructure, and lower per-capita greenhouse gas emissions due to more transit trips.
Negatives of this scenario include the highest building forms, potential displacement of older, affordable rental stock and risk of overburdening infrastructure.
The second scenario presented by staff is similar to the first, but would expand the key growth centres of Lions Gate/Marine Drive and Lynn Valley to include adjacent single-family neighbourhoods. This approach has similar benefits to option 1, but there would be more diverse housing forms including mid- and high-rise buildings in town centres and the surrounding area.
The second scenario also puts older stock at risk, which could displace lower-income residents, and there could be more loss of green space compared to the first option.
The third option opts for 75 per cent of growth in existing centres, and the remaining 25 per cent elsewhere. This scenario aims to create more balanced distribution of growth throughout the district, staff said.
Advantages to the third option include more even access to amenities throughout the district, as well as low- and mid-rise buildings in key community nodes. Disadvantages are that new housing will be less connected to existing and future rapid transit. There could also be increased challenges to service these areas with proper water and sewage capacity.
Staff added that these scenarios are highly conceptual, and the district could ultimately create a hybrid approach depending on feedback.
Lynn Valley shouldn't be targeted due to lack of rapid transit, mayor says
Mayor Mike Little suggested option 2 should be less specific about which town centres are identified, and perhaps ask the public which ones should be included.
“I’d have a challenge with Lynn Valley being identified, for right now. And the reason being, we don’t actually have transit committed from TransLink for a frequent transit network up to Lynn Valley,” he said.
“What’s going to be the R9 has not been prioritized by Metro Vancouver at this point, whereas [bus rapid transit] through the Marine Drive corridor in the old R2/239 route is being prioritized by Metro Vancouver, which would encapsulate both the Seylynn neighbourhood and the Cap and Marine neighbourhood as being supported by the frequent transit network in the medium term,” Little said.
Within the district’s key growth centres, there’s been a lot of new housing built, but they lack the types of businesses and services to create a complete community, said Coun. Jordan Back.
“I hope that with this OCP update, we’re really looking at that whole picture of these neighbourhoods, what we want them to look like,” he said. “And if we’re expanding a town centre, then what are some of those little businesses that should be allowed to open in those neighbourhoods as well, and really promoted actively within that.”
Back said he was concerned with how housing development could impact light industrial businesses in the Lynn Creek area.
“If we’re talking about expanding, [staff] mentioned that Canadian Tire property, I would be concerned about the potential impact on the light industrial area that we have there,” he said.
Public engagement opportunities are slated to begin in April. For updates on upcoming dates to learn more and provide input, you can sign up to an email list on the district’s website.
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