After previously being rejected by council, a revised plan to build 104 units of strata townhomes in the Lions Gate Village neighbourhood will go to a public hearing.
At a meeting on July 22, District of North Vancouver council voted unanimously to move the developer approval process forward for the property at 1915-1987 Glenaire Drive and 1974-1990 Belle Isle Place.
In response to previous concerns that the proposal didn’t do enough to address affordability concerns, primarily due a lack of rental units, the applicant increased the number of three-bedroom units with lock-off suites from 10 to 14.
That reduced the number of studio/one-bedroom units from 39 to 31. The number of two-bedroom (seven) and three-bedroom without suites (52) was unchanged.
The applicant Integra Architecture also decreased the number of parking stalls by eight, to 173 total.
The new multifamily development would require an amendment to the official community plan, and therefore a public hearing was recommended by staff.
Staff, who advised council adopt the previous proposal, said that the revised plan should be passed as well.
$1.9M developer fee earmarked for affordable housing
When the plan was rejected in May, concerns were raised by Couns. Catherine Pope, Lisa Muri and Jim Hanson.
While Hanson previously slammed the application for bringing more than 100 new units of expensive strata to the district with no rental, he supported the updated version.
“I said I wanted to see more affordability, and I believe this is the best that we’re going to get in terms of affordability for this site,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to see any further delays with the project.”
Coun. Jordan Back, who supported the project when it came to council in May, said he was glad to see it come back without too much delay.
“The increase in the number of lock-off suites by four is a positive update to the proposal. I do think those will be used as rental,” he said.
“I think the reduction in parking is appropriate as well, given the location in the Lions Gate town centre and its proximity to transit,” Back said.
Pope said she wanted to make sure that a $1.9-million community amenity contribution was clearly earmarked for the district’s affordable housing fund before the plan went to a public hearing.
After the vote to move the proposal to a public hearing, council also approved a resolution that future community amenity funds from this project be directed to affordable housing.
A date for the public hearing has not yet been set.
