Residents in Vancouver's wealthiest neighbourhoods most opposed to ‘villages’ plan: Analysis

Article content

“These village locations are coming from the top. Yes, they may have some level of analysis, but they’re not coming from the people living in these areas,” Yan said.

Article content

He said blanketing the city in density-focused developments risked smothering the unique qualities of neighbourhoods, which he referred to as a “patchwork quilt.”

Article content

“They have different characteristics, different strengths and different challenges,” he said.

Article content

A similar sentiment can be found in the public comments.

Article content

“This program rezones roughly 13,000 parcels across the city through a single, area-wide process, without the kind of neighbourhood-specific planning that has historically accompanied major density changes,” wrote Sarah Applebaum of Arbutus Ridge.

Article content

The site proposed at Mackenzie Street and 33rd Avenue was especially contested, with at least 32 mentions in public comments and an organized letter campaign calling for the corner to be removed from the plan entirely, which drew another 83 signatures.

Article content

“I oppose the villages plan for this location because it is a poor fit with the existing neighbourhood, will harm residents’ livability, and risks unintended, detrimental impacts on local character and the tree canopy,” the letter read, in part.

Article content

Article content

Residents of Kensington-Cedar Cottage on Vancouver’s eastside, where four sites are being considered, were also largely opposed to the plan. Eighty-two per cent of over 260 comments were against the plan and highlighted a rushed timeline as well as concerns over heritage buildings and inadequate infrastructure to support the development.

Article content

“The neighbourhood is just not ready yet for the village — it needs rapid transit, wider street and sidewalks, assessment of commercial viability, a bigger and better community centre and more green space,” wrote Ekaterina Rutherford, a Kensington-Cedar Cottage resident.

Article content

Only two of the eight neighbourhoods where the majority of comments were in support included sites being considered for one of the 17 ‘villages’. Just over half of the 74 comments received from Renfrew-Collingwood and Hastings Sunrise supported the plan, with housing affordability the most common theme as well as support for so-called “missing middle” housing.

Article content

Residents in the Hastings Sunrise and Renfrew Collingwood neighbourhoods seem to have more favourable views of.the city’s ‘village’ concept. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10112296A

Article content

“I would love for my friends and family to be able to live in neighbourhoods like mine but there isn’t enough housing to allow for affordable prices for both homeowners and renters. I think adding lowrises will allow for more density while still allowing a strong sense of community to be maintained compared to highrises,” wrote Bonnie Lai, a resident in Hastings Sunrise.

Article content

Article content

Yan said it was interesting that the most common arguments in favour of the plan were less concrete concepts like the need for greater and more affordable housing, while opposition comments tended to focus on specific concerns, like the loss of tree canopy and infrastructure worries.

Article content

“There are clear parts of the city that support the idea of the villages, and then the opposition deals with the people who are trying to work through the reality, the possibility of these villages,” he said.

Article content

Support was highest among downtown residents with 88 per cent of the 51 comments submitted supporting the plan. None of the 17 proposed sites are downtown, already Vancouver’s most densely populated neighbourhood.

Article content

“The entire Vancouver area is short of housing. Whatever the concerns others may have about this proposal, the problem of not nearly enough housing is much, much greater,” wrote downtown resident Igor Trushevsky. “This is the kind of thoughtful, gradual growth our city needs: more housing choices alongside neighbourhood shops, cafes, restaurants, child care, public spaces, and safer walking and cycling connections,” wrote Thomas Hut, another downtown resident.