Rezoning would block the iconic views of Vancouver Mountain, planners and lawyers warn

VANCOUVER – Residents and Former Planners Call on Vancouver City Council to Protect Policy That Preserved Mountain Views for Decades

Council to Vote Tuesday on Application for Rezoning Company 39 BC Pavilion Corporation for a 120-meter mixed-use tower that would block some of what planners call a "cone of vision."

In 1989, Vancouver established a policy to protect 11 cones of vision, also called vision corridors, in urban areas. As a result, it is possible to see the northern mountains of most of the city.

In February of this year, City Council approved the Northeast False Creek Plan, which includes a clause authorizing the construction of future developments in the Cambie Street and 11th Avenue Corridor, just in time. outside of the town hall. The buildings in the cone of view can be as large about 130 meters (425 feet, or about 42 floors), depending on the plan. There are three tours proposed for the region.

The first round is considered by the board – scheduled for 777 Pacific Boulevard, next to BC Place – could open the floodgates to other developers who also want to be exempt from the view-cone rule, say the opponents.

"This will set a precedent for other proponents to push the city council and town hall to do the same soon, we will no longer have the mountain views," said Melody Ma, defender of the community, which has collected more than 1,300 signatures on a petition to "save" the views of the city's mountain

public, she added.

"It should not be privatized only for the privileged who can afford these multi-million dollar condos. "

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L & # 39; Former urban planner Brent Toderian said Vancouver has a strong tradition of protecting its cones from sight, a well-known commitment in planning circles

"I'd be hard-pressed to think of a city anywhere. a global model for this idea " , he said in an interview Monday.

When he was director of urban planning, the Toderian Department added four additional viewing corridors, including one from Olympic Village Plaza prior to the 2010 Olympics.

He also put in guard against exceptions to the view-cone rule when the board considered the issue for the first time. He acknowledged that when he was working for the city, proponents often pressured him to relax the rules of the corridors of view.

"You can do it properly nine times out of ten and only succumb once to the pressure to block them. In 1965, current Vancouver planner Gil Kelley defended the city staff's recommendation for development. He told council in February that the three towers proposed in the Northeast False Creek plan would fund community facilities. The plan includes 1,800 social housing units and 32 new and renewed park acres.

Toderian and his former town planner Larry Beaseley, along with former city councilor Marguerite Ford, signed Ma's petition.

Six of the eleven councilors do not stand for re-election this fall, but Many residents said that they would punish the political parties of councilors who vote in favor of the rezoning application on social media. (Robertson) and City Council (the BC Pavilion Corporation tower) to destroy Vancouver's public opinion on Tuesday, I will not be voting for their candidates in the next election, "said Maggie Chandler in a tweet, repeating a phrasing used by dozens of others

The municipal staff report on the rezoning application recommends that council approves the application.But Ma said that she would continue to campaign against any development that blocks the cones of City Vision.

This is not his first time against the developers. Ma and others have managed to convince the city council to reject a proposal from developer Beedie Living for a tower. Housing in Chinatown in 2017, and banning new towers from the neighborhood earlier this year.

Wanyee Li is a Vancouver reporter covering urban affairs and new technologies. see her on Twitter: @wanyeelii