Vancouver, BC

More Extremely Tall Towers for Vancouver?

A Citizen's Forum

6:30pm
Tuesday January 11 2011

City Council is on the verge of making what may be among Vancouver’s most important decisions in a generation on January 20th. On that day, Council is prepared to adopt two key policies to eliminate protected views and permit extreme building heights of 80 storeys or taller on the downtown peninsula, and significantly higher buildings in Chinatown and the Downtown East Side.

CityHallWatch plans a public forum on January 11th to help citizens identify and articulate key concerns that staff and Council appear to have missed and should address before any vote on the policies. Issues that have not yet been adequately addressed include not only lost or eroded views, significant view changes from many locations in the City, and major changes to the skyline, but also implications for Vancouver’s livability, sustainability, affordability and gentrification, ecological footprints (buildings and the city), global warming, city infrastructure, traffic and transportation, city finances and taxes, schools, public amenities, seismic safety, fire safety, disaster response, and the very character of Vancouver.

What: Citizen’s Forum: Vancouver’s mountain views & extreme tall buildings (Downtown, West End, Chinatown, Downtown Eastside)
When: 6:30 pm to 9 pm, Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Where: Vancouver Public Library (Central Branch, Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Room) 350 W. Georgia St.
Details: Expert presentations, Q&A and small group discussions on (1) risks to Vancouver’s mountain views from extremely tall building policies set for City Council approval on January 20, and (2) critical impacts on livability, solar access, environment, sustainability, city finances, city infrastructure and more. This is a public forum with expert input. Media are welcome. More information will be posted this week on our website.

BACKGROUND
First, the “Vancouver Views” and Higher Buildings Downtown policy affects sites not only downtown but also in the West End. Council was prepared to accept the staff recommendation to approve this policy at a committee meeting on Dec. 16th. But after an eleventh-hour public outcry, Council was forced to defer this decision to Jan. 20th (afternoon). Second, the “Historic Area Height Review” is another policy poised for Council approval on Jan. 20th. In it, City staff recommend dramatic increases in permitted building heights, with implications for Chinatown and the Downtown East Side. It appears the policies could result in towers 80 or more storeys in height (tallest in BC and Vancouver today: Shangri-La at 62 storeys).

CityHallWatch coordinator Randy Helten said, “The City has not yet had a meaningful public consultation on these policies. By the end of this forum, people may be asking the Mayor and Council for a few more months before any Council decision.”