rezoning

  • | | | | | |

    Nearly 4,300 properties in Broadway Plan and Cambie Plan areas to be proactively rezoned by the City of Vancouver

    The City of Vancouver is moving forward with a sweeping proposal to proactively rezone thousands of properties in the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan areas, as part of an ambitious effort to streamline the development process and boost housing supply near existing and future SkyTrain stations. In next Tuesday’s public meeting, City Council is expected to endorse City staff’s recommendation to refer bylaw amendments to a future public hearing for deliberation and final decision, which would likely be held in September or October — after the forthcoming summer break. This follows City staff’s public consultation beginning in March 2025, when they first announced the proposal. In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized early this year, Josh White, the City of Vancouver’s general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability and director of planning, also outlined many of these forthcoming changes. More details have now been released. If approved by City Council later this year, this would introduce standardized zoning for low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise residential buildings — generally aligning with the existing prescriptions and stipulations of the property’s location under the Broadway Plan or Cambie Corridor Plan, while also considering more recent economic and financial viability factors. Generally, R3 zones would allow low-rise apartments up to six storeys — or eight storeys with affordable housing, and a floor area ratio (FAR) density of a floor area up to three times the size of the lot. R4 zones would support mid-rise buildings, typically around 12 storeys and a FAR density of up to 4.0. R5 zones would permit high-rise towers up to 22 storeys and a FAR density of up to 6.5, depending on the proximity to SkyTrain stations and affordability requirements. It is noted that FAR densities will be retained, but a more generous maximum building height will be considered to accommodate a greater range of design approaches due to varying site conditions and on-site public spaces and landscaping. Through such City-initiated rezoning over large swaths of neighbourhoods, this eliminates the need for property owners, developers, and builders to submit an individual rezoning application for their project. Instead, such projects on a City-initiated rezoned site can go straight to the development permit application, which will save applicants costs related to City fees and hiring architects and consultants to achieve the rezoning regulatory step, as well as reducing opportunity costs and added construction costs from inflation as a result of a longer timeline. City staff estimate that these blanket zoning reforms over the qualifying properties will shave 12 to 15 months off the overall development timeline. As well, this will reduce City staff’s time set aside for reports and public hearings with City Council, enabling them to reallocate resources to other tasks and priorities. So far in 2025, rezoning applications in the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan account for about 40 per cent of all public hearings. In sites where a tower form is permitted and complex site conditions also exist — such as tower per block limit policies, building shadowing considerations, and contaminated soils, a “rezoning-to-district” process would still be required. This rezoning-to-district process would be streamlined and shorter than the standard rezoning process. The overwhelming majority of these properties are located within the Broadway Plan area, specifically sites closest to the Millennium Line’s future stations on the Broadway extension, as well as southern areas within the area plan. For the Cambie Corridor Plan area, the properties are clustered near the Canada Line’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. In total, the City-initiated rezoning would apply to 4,294 parcels across the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan areas. City of Vancouver City of Vancouver City of Vancouver Over the last few years, the municipal government performed some notable City-initiated rezonings of large single-family neighbourhood areas in the Cambie Corridor Plan, enabling more expedited townhouse developments as already prescribed by the area plan. However, the forthcoming changes are the largest standardized rezoning in Vancouver’s history, and align with the Government of British Columbia’s legislated requirements for the City and other municipal governments. This specifically aligns with provincial legislation relating to transit-oriented development at designated Transit-Oriented Areas and other regulatory changes. As well, through these changes, the City will standardize affordable housing requirements using newly enabled provincial inclusionary zoning powers. Additionally, the real estate industry and provincial officials have called individual site-specific rezoning applications as redundant if the proposed uses and built form are already enabled by an area plan. In addition to aligning with the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan, the changes also follow the City’s 2022-approved Vancouver Plan. While there was strong support for the initiative during the public consultation earlier this year — especially for its potential to speed up much-needed housing — concerns were raised about neighbourhood character, infrastructure capacity, and construction impacts. City staff responded by noting that all developments will still undergo design review, and there will still be an opportunity for public input at the development permit application stage. Enhanced tenant protections will remain in place for areas with existing rental housing. A time-limited approach will allow current rezoning applicants to transition into the new zoning framework without redoing tenant relocation plans, as long as they submit development permits within one year of bylaw enactment. Currently, there are about 40 in-stream rezoning applications involving Tenant Relocation Plans within the proposed City-initiated rezoning areas. It is noted that some of these project applicants may withdraw their

  • | | | | | | | |

    14-Storey Condo Building Pitched for Oak & King Edward

    Westbank has submitted a rezoning application for the Esso Station at the Southwest corner of Oak Street and West King Edward Street in Vancouver. The 11,328 SF site at 1010 West King Edward is currently zoned C-2, which allows up to 6-storeys for rental, or 4-storeys for condo. The Cambie Corridor Plan allows up to 6-storeys for condo and 3.0 FSR. The proposal is to allow for a 14-storey condo building that includes: 85 condo units; 34 one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms & 15 three-bedrooms; 800 SF of retail space on the ground floor; a total density of 8.0 FSR; A building height of 143 ft. 106 underground parking stalls. This application is being considered under the  Cambie Corridor Plan. The architect for the project is Olson Kundig, who also designed Wesgroup’s condo project “W16” at West 16th and Cambie Street. The full rezoning application can be viewed here: https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/1010-w-king-edward

  • | | | | |

    West Vancouver Finalizes Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan

    The District of West Vancouver has given first reading to a final draft of the Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan (LAP). The Ambleside LAP has been in the works since early 2022, and has gone through multiple rounds of public engagement and refinement by planning staff. The affected area is generally along Marine Drive from 13th to 18th Streets. Here are the recommended land use policies: Zoning updates to allow 3-4 storeys on most lots in the LAP, including on small lots Five sites designated ‘Waterfront’ along Bellevue West of 15th allowing taller forms through rezoning Four sites along parts of Clyde and Duchess allowing taller forms through rezoning The LAP will go for public hearing in June and if approved, would form part of the OCP shortly thereafter. A presentation on the Ambleside LAP can be viewed here: https://westvancouver.ca/media/6103

  • | | | | | | | | |

    Latest Broadway Plan Tower Application is for 127 Units at East 14th & Prince Edward

    The latest Broadway Plan rezoning application is for an 18-storey tower at 360 East 14th Avenue in the Mount Pleasant area of East Vancouver. The site is located just West of Mount Saint Joseph Hospital. The plan for the site includes: 137 units with 20% of the floor area for below-market rental units; a total density of 6.50 FSR; A building height of 186 ft. This application is being considered under the  Broadway Plan . The architect for the project is Stuart Howard. The full application can be viewed here: https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/360-e-14-ave Comments are closed.

  • | | | | | | | | |

    Infill Condo Tower Proposed for West Vancouver Apartment Property

    Wall Financial has submitted a preliminary development proposal for a property they own, known as ‘Peter Wall Ambleside’ at 1552 Esquimalt Avenue in the Ambleside area of West Vancouver. The proposal is the latest iteration of several proposals to densify the 1.90 acre site over the years, beginning as far back as 2016. Previous plans included new rental infill but the most recent version was placed on hold pending the outcome of the Ambleside Local Area Plan. The existing 20-storey apartment building was constructed in 1969 and contains 185 rental units. It is located on the east portion of the site. The new application envisions a 19-storey condo building (secured as rental units for the first 6 years). Details include: 139 condo units (secured as rental for a 6-year term) 68 one bedrooms 68 two-bedrooms 3 townhouse units a total density of 3.0 FSR across the entire site. The architects for the project are JOG Architecture and Chris Doray.

  • | | | | | | | | | |

    116 Rental Units Planned for Telus Site in East Vancouver

    Ledcor has applied on behalf of Telus for the rezoning and redevelopment of an existing Telus owned property at 6486 Chester Street in East Vancouver. The site is an existing infrastructure site for Telus, one of several proposed for residential redevelopment. The proposal is to allow for the development of a 6-storey rental project that includes: 116 rental units; a telecommunications facility on the northeast corner of the site; a total density of 2.89 FSR; A building height of 73 ft. This application is being considered under the  Secured Rental Policy. The architect for the project is Yamamoto Architecture. The full rezoning application can be viewed here: https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/6486-chester-st