The North Shore Winter Club’s proposal to relocate itself to within the City of North Vancouver has been halted in its tracks.
The city voted unanimously Monday night (March 7) to reject the private athletic club’s and Darwin Properties’ preliminary proposal to build a new home across the street from its current location (at 1225 East Keith Rd) which would also have included 222 apartments in a 23-storey building.
This setback for the club and developer is the latest in a string of knock-backs, including from the District of North Vancouver, after the club proposed a set of towers with 930 units on its current site in 2018 to pay for a new facility in the emerging Maplewood village centre that would have included two arenas, 10 tennis courts and a pool. That particular proposal was rejected by the district in 2019.
City council voted in line with city staff’s recommendation that the current proposal as is, would eat away employment-generating land that is in very high demand within the city, and introduce high-density residential where it does not belong.
With Mayor Linda Buchanan recusing herself from the discussion and vote as she is a NSWC member, councillors engaged in little debate regarding the specifics of the proposal.
City planner Matthew Menzel explained staff’s reasoning while answering questions from Couns. Angela Girard and Tony Valente.
Menzel confirmed that under the Metro Vancouver 2040 plan which sets the region’s growth strategy, the current "mixed employment" designation does not include residential uses, and is intended for industrial, commercial, and other employment-related uses to help the regional economy.
“There is a component of the application which is the North Shore Winter Club, so recreational use. Staff have considered that to be appropriate for the site and it is actually in fact considered under designing bylaws,” he said. “So a full development would need to integrate with that appropriately, and address any conflicts as well, but some kind of mixed commercial and industrial use integrated with recreational use would be appropriate.”
While staff noted the city has had “high-level” talks with the developer about alternative developments at the site, “the applicant for my understanding is really looking to explore the residential component,” Menzel said.
Coun. Don Bell said he was concerned that a possible shift from industrial to residential use would mean there would be “significant risk that speculative activity would further erode the productivity of these lands.”
“I know we're trying to provide housing, but at the same time, we're squishing and shrinking of our light industrial and these opportunities which provide jobs for people who live in the houses on the North Shore,” he said.
