City of North Vancouver has rejected one six-storey building for Central Lonsdale and approved another a few blocks away.
In a rare move, council voted down a six-storey, 85-unit all-rental building proposed for 144 West 21st St.
At issue for members of the neighbourhood and for council was the building’s height and the shadows it would cast nearby, including on the city’s Green Necklace multi-use path, which runs immediately north of the property.
At the last meeting on Jan. 31, Mayor Linda Buchanan asked BDK Development if they would be willing to remove the sixth storey from the plan and shift the building about two metres to the south.
Developer representative Daisen Gee-Wing returned to council Monday night (Feb. 7) with the message that more square footage would be needed for the project to work as a rental building.
“We were all quite surprised with that offer simply because we worked with your staff since Day 1,” he said. “The additional footage loss really puts a crimp, if I may, on the economic viability of this project. … I know it's not council's purview, but it's going to take close to 20 years to pay back.”
With a take-it-or-leave-it motion on the table, council voted unanimously to leave it.
Buchanan said there was no question the city needs rental homes, including the mid-market ones included in the proposal, but she said she was not willing to support a project that didn’t fit in.
“It's unfortunate that the applicant wasn't willing to come down a floor. But from my perspective, what is proposed is too much for the context of this neighbourhood and the impact it would have on the surrounding neighbours, as well as the greenway to the north,” she said.
Developer Polygon Homes had no such difficulty seeing their project at 1712 Lonsdale Ave. passed by council.
The Polygon project, which consists of a six-storey, mixed-use building with retail storefronts on the ground level, office space on the second floor and 64 strata homes on top, would replace the current Esso gas station and car wash at 17th and Lonsdale.
During a public hearing held immediately preceding Monday's regular meeting of council, only two members of the public called in, both of whom were in support.
Council members praised the project for its architectural design, amenities, close access to transit, public realm improvements and public art, contribution of more office space to the Lonsdale corridor and the fact that it would not displace any current residents.
The vote to approve the project passed unanimously.
“I think this project has pretty much hit the marks on all the objectives that we, as a council, have outlined. Really, that is where we want to bend the curve in terms of the [official community plan] and where we need to go as a community, not just today, but for the future. We need a diversity of housing. We need sustainability, and we do need a strong economy,” Buchanan said.
The city will receive $3.8 million in community amenity contributions, thanks in part to the council selling about 525 square metres of density from the nearby Harry Jerome lands and transferring it to 1712 Lonsdale.
