麻豆传媒映画

In a move described at council as 鈥渦nusual,鈥� 麻豆传媒映画council voted June 5 to send to public hearing a proposed policy that aims to reduce previously allowed density in the historic Chinatown neighbourhood.

Responding to widespread concerns about the pace of change in the area, a put forward by city staff recommended that the 2011 policy, allowing buildings of up to 150 feet along Main Street and 120 feet in Chinatown South, be amended to reduce the maximum allowable heights, floor-space ratio and building-frontage widths.

Under the new proposal, buildings could not exceed a maximum conditional height of 90 feet and an outright height of 70 feet, with frontages not exceeding 75 feet. The new policy would also prevent developers from giving on-site or cash contributions towards community or cultural amenities, or social or affordable housing elements in exchange for higher density, which could make it more difficult to provide such elements.

Since the 2011 plan was put in place, six high-density projects have been approved or completed, including Keefer Block and BlueSky Chinatown. The pace of development has resulted in headline-hitting protests against projects such as 105 Keefer Street, which was by the City.

However, local groups are at odds on whether reducing density in the area 鈥� known as 鈥渄ownzoning鈥� 鈥� is best for the neighbourhood.

Some groups 鈥� such as the campaign 鈥� are in support of the new downzoning proposal proceeding to a public hearing, saying that it will protect the neighbourhood from real estate speculation.

Opposing them is a group called Chinatown Voices, which claims to represent more than 50 per cent of property owners in the area along with many store owners and residents. Chinatown Voices says that reducing density is the last thing they want as it would reduce market housing and the number of residents and shoppers in the neighbourhood. The group held a meeting June 4 to call on the City to slow down on the changes, talk to more members of the community and reconsider the proposed zoning reductions.

Organizers of the #SaveChinatownYVR campaign claim on their website that Chinatown Voices is made up largely of property developers who have a vested financial interest in keeping zoning high.

At City Hall Tuesday, city senior planner Helen Ma said that the city鈥檚 Chinatown Transformation Team had held several public consultations over the past three weeks, including the June 4 meeting with Chinatown Voices, after the city postponed the previously scheduled vote in May. Ma said, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 believe anything would change [if we were given more time]. We have spent three and a half years consulting, proposing ideas and revising the policy recommendations. We鈥檝e talked to over 1,000 people, offered multiple opportunities for people to give us feedback, and we鈥檝e gone above and beyond in our normal notification process.鈥�

Vancouver鈥檚 chief planner Gil Kelley added, 鈥淸The 2011 policy] did not give us the Chinatown that we wanted鈥� There鈥檚 nothing punitive about these rezoning proposals that would hamper economic development.鈥�

NPA councillor Melissa de Genova made a motion to refer the proposal to an economic impact study, to be included in a new version of the report by September before pushing it to public hearing. She cited concerns such as those expressed by Chinatown Voices that businesses will suffer with reduced residential density. The referral motion failed 7-4. Councillor de Genova鈥檚 follow-up motion to extend the proposal鈥檚 public consultation with business owners until September was deemed too similar and therefore out of order.

Tuesday鈥檚 final vote was 10-1, with only Councillor de Genova voting against sending the proposal to public hearing.

As well as pushing the downzoning changes, the to designate Chinatown as a World Heritage Site as another tool to protect the neighbourhood鈥檚 character while attracting tourism.