Latest version of West Van's Ambleside apartment-area plan to come back before public

West Vancouver’s latest plan for the future of the district’s Ambleside apartment area will come back to the public June 24 – this time without any rental-only zoning and with an increase in the maximum height of several apartment towers.

The latest version of the plan is coming back after several previous incarnations of the plan have come before council and the public.

In November, council voted to reject rental-only zoning in the Ambleside area, that would have restricted development of about 30 purpose-build rental buildings to only rentals in the future.

At the time, several members of council voiced concerns that those restrictions would make redevelopment of those buildings economically unfeasible.

At a town hall meeting held in March, several members of the public also questioned whether the densities envisioned in the plan were high enough to spur redevelopment of any older apartment buildings in Ambleside, most of which were built in the 1960s and 1970s.

The latest version of the plan is still a broad outline of what kinds of housing the municipality would like to see in Ambleside’s 1950s-era apartment zone in the future, and prioritizes housing for seniors, the “missing middle,” rental, rent-to-own and below market options.

Most future housing would be low-rise or mid-rise, under the plan.

But the maximum density and number of storeys envisioned in the plan have been increased for a handful of sites in the latest plan, from nine storeys to 14. Those buildings are existing wood frame strata buildings, in the 1300 block of Duchess and Clyde avenues and around Hollyburn Corner, typically three to four storeys in height, but in areas where other apartment buildings are considerably taller.

The plan also calls for an increase in the percentage of below market rental to be included in affordable rental projects – from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.

There is also an allowance for commercial development at street level for mixed-use projects in the 1800-block of Marine Drive.

Council has been discussing the long-range policy document, which was drawn up after six months of public consultation, for almost a year.

A separate policy aimed at giving greater protection to renters if their landlords choose to redevelop their properties is also in the works for West Vancouver.

Under the draft policy, any developer wanting to redevelop a rental property would be required to demonstrate how rental units would be retained on the site, help tenants to find another place to live during redevelopment, provide financial assistance for moving costs, and right of first refusal to any replacement rental units.

Council members received the draft policy on Monday but said they would like to get input from the newly formed Ambleside Tenants Association. That document will likely come back to council later in the summer.