Single-family homeowners felt their voices have not been heard as the city accelerates zoning changes.
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A Vancouver homeowner said he will take legal action if the city does not slow down its proposed zoning and redevelopment plans on the west side.
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“They say you can’t fight City Hall, but I plan on doing it,” said Tyman Stewart, one of a group of city-wide residents who hired attorney Peter Gall, a civil litigation expert, to get the city to strike. pause in their call Streamlining Rentals Initiative, which is scheduled for a public hearing on November 2.
Stewart said there has been no meaningful public consultation on the proposal, which includes a series of “quick start” options aimed at easing restrictions and speeding up rental housing construction across the city.
The plan includes changes to zoning C-2 (mixed-use commercial areas) to allow rental housing buildings of up to six stories on busy arterial streets, such as 12th Avenue where Stewart lives, and up to four stories on side streets at one block from the arteries. .
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Stewart said he plans to take all the legal action he can to ensure that the City of Vancouver meets its obligations under the Vancouver Charter which provides that parties affected by the zoning and development amendments have a fair opportunity to understand and respond to such. proposals.
On Tuesday, the province announced changes aimed at increasing the housing supply, including removing requirements for local governments to hold public hearings for zoning changes as long as they are consistent with official community plans. But the Municipal Affairs Ministry said in an email to Postmedia that “the Bill 26 amendments do not apply to Vancouver, as Vancouver already has a broader capacity to delegate matters to staff.”
Stewart and other West Side residents say the city has been poor in its notification and consultation process.
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“The city has not done its due diligence,” Stewart said. “Not a single person on my block had a clue about this rezoning proposal that could allow land assemblies and six-story apartments to be installed next to their homes.”
“It is not right for this to happen in anyone’s neighborhood. I support rental housing, but not at the expense of individual owners, ”said Stewart, who has lived in his Craftsman home in 1925 for 22 years. He shares the house with his partner and two of his three children.
Stewart said her daughter was born in the house and hopes to be there until she dies.
The new zoning will open the door to land assemblies, a popular method for developers to join adjacent lots for the purpose of building apartments, Stewart said.
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“I don’t want my hope to get caught between two apartment blocks,” said Stewart, adding that for three years his efforts to create a rental home on his property have been hampered by City Hall bureaucracy.
“We respect the city’s needs for density and more rents. What we want is for the city to work with us in a collaborative way so that the owners are also respected ”.
Gall said a letter will be sent to the mayor and council this week.
“There are many affected people who have not had the proper opportunity to understand what is being proposed, talk to officials, think about the changes, and it is impossible for all of this to happen because of the November 2 council. meeting where it will be discussed, ”Gall said.
“We are requesting that the city reconsider the process. Much more procedurally is required before the city can make its final decision. “
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The city did not respond to a request for comment.
Evelyn Jacob, a member of the Upper Kitsilano Residents Association, who advocates for more consultation, said she is concerned about what the proposed changes will mean for her Point Gray neighborhood and the home she grew up in.
His parents, Iraqi-Jewish refugees, fled Shanghai after Mao Zedong came to power in 1949 and worked menial jobs in Vancouver for a decade until they were able to afford what was then a modest house at 14th and Waterloo.
Jacob, who bought his sister’s interest in the house when her parents died, now has a sizable mortgage and makes ends meet on a modest income by deferring property taxes. Jacob also houses three UBC students in his basement suite and shares the house with her husband and son.
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“I don’t know where we would go if we couldn’t live here anymore,” Jacob said. “This optimized rental plan will affect many neighborhoods in the city. My street would still not be affected by the plan, but my fear is that this will set a precedent and the city no longer wants people to live in single-family homes. “
Some housing activists have advocated for an end to single-family homes, and not just in Vancouver. The New Zealand government recently ordered an end to single-family home zoning in its five largest cities, drawing the attention of British Columbia’s housing advocates and planning experts.
Jacob said, “I think we can have both: affordable rents and single family homes. Part of the beauty of Vancouver is its neighborhoods. “
Reference-vancouversun.com