Court orders City of Vancouver to reconsider rejection of Keefer Chinatown project

Dec 14 2022, 9:38 pm

The decade-long vacant lot at the northeast corner of the intersection of Keefer Street and Columbia Street in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown will have a new chance at being green-lighted for development.

In November 2017, the City of Vancouver’s Development Permit Board provided its final rejection to local developer Beedie for its controversial proposal to redevelop 105 Keefer Street — just east of Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden and the Chinese Cultural Centre — into a mixed-use building with condominiums within the upper levels.

Between 2015 and 2017, five versions of the proposal were created by Beedie and their design firm Merrick Architecture, including one larger 120-foot-tall, 12-storey proposal that necessitated rezoning approval from Vancouver City Council. However, City Council rejected the rezoning concept in June 2017, and punted the decision to the Development Permit Board for considering the proponent’s alternative downsized concept that followed existing policies for the area-wide zoning at the time.

To achieve a reduced density and address concerns over scale and shadowing, the proposed height was cut down from 120 ft with 12 storeys to 90 ft with nine storeys. It reduced the number of condominium homes to 111 units, but retained ground-level space for retail, restaurants, and a subsidized seniors’ cultural space. But nearly all of the density reductions came from the elimination of 25 units of low-to-moderate income housing for seniors, which was part of the previous design rejected by City Council.

The November 2017 decision was made in a 2-1 vote, with chief city planner Gil Kelley and engineering general manager Jerry Dobrovolny in opposition, and assistant city manager Paul Mochrie in support. Kelley and Dobrovolny have since left the municipal government, while Mochrie is now the city manager.

This was an unprecedented decision by the Development Permit Board, as it typically makes its decisions based on established policies and guidelines — by the book.

In August 2019, Beedie filed a petition in BC Supreme Court accusing the municipal government of acting in bad faith, and requesting the court to quash the Development Permit Board’s rejection and order them to approve the development permit for the project.

105 keefer street vancouver chinatown

Site of 105 Keefer Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. (Google Maps)

105 keefer street vancouver chinatown

Site of 105 Keefer Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. (Google Maps)

More than three years after the petition was filed, the court has made its judgement.

In a published ruling this week, Justice Jan Brongers explained that while he could not find sufficient reason that the municipal government acted in bad faith and procedural unfairness, he agreed with the developer that the Development Permit Board’s decision to reject the project was “substantively unreasonable” because the reasons it provided were inadequate.

Of the 111 development permit applications reviewed by the Development Permit Board between 2012 and 2017, only Beedie’s 105 Keefer Street proposal was refused outright.

“The other applications were all approved, albeit generally with conditions that had to be satisfied prior to the issuance of the development permit. Furthermore, as noted earlier, the City conceded at the hearing of this judicial review application that there is ‘no evidence of past refusals’ in the petition record,” reads Brongers’ ruling.

To this end, the ruling has ordered the Development Permit Board to reconsider Beedie’s application.

“In particular, it is incumbent upon the Board to reconsider whether the Development Permit Application warrants being approved, approved with conditions, or refused outright. If the latter, the Board must provide detailed and sufficient reasons to transparently explain why such a refusal is justified in the case of the Development Permit Application, as opposed to the Board’s ordinary practice of approving applications subject to conditions that must be satisfied before the permit is issued,” continues the ruling.

July 2017 design for the development application of 105 Keefer Street. Perspective from Keefer Street. (Merrick Architecture/Beedie Living)

July 2017 design for the development application of 105 Keefer Street. (Merrick Architecture/Beedie Living)

July 2017 design for the development application of 105 Keefer Street. (Merrick Architecture/Beedie Living)

During the various public meetings over the application in 2017, the proposal was met with open hostility from activists who expressed their concerns over the project’s potential gentrification impact on Chinatown, lack of sufficient affordable housing and relevant cultural spaces for the Chinese community, and the perceived excessive height and architectural form that did not match with Chinatown’s heritage character. Beedie accused the municipal government of succumbing to political pressure in making its decision.

In reaction to the activist opposition to 105 Keefer Street, in July 2018, City Council rescinded the 2011-enacted area-wide densification policies of Chinatown that were intended to help revitalize the struggling district by attracting more residents and new businesses. The allowable taller heights and wider widths of new buildings were cut back.

In an attempt to avoid the matter going to the courts, there were some high-level discussions between the municipal government and Beedie on the potential for a land swap, a land purchase, or a grandfathering of the property’s zoning, but the City later returned to the developer indicating they had “no appetite” to make such a concession.

In March 2018, the City of Vancouver’s Board of Variance also rejected Beedie’s request for an appeal to the Development Permit Board’s decision.

The case of the rejection and reconsideration of 105 Keefer Street is certain to be precedent-setting for how the Development Permit Board arrives at its decisions for applications in the future.

During the years-long petition process, the Pacific division of the Independent Contractors and Business Association and Urban Development Institute were granted intervenor status in the proceedings, and urged the court to “consider the importance of ensuring fairness for project proponents when they engage with municipal development permitting authorities.”

“The Intervenors argue that unless the permitting regime is sufficiently transparent, developers will be deterred from proposing and building residential developments. In turn, this will exacerbate the housing availability and affordability crisis that afflicts Vancouver and the Lower Mainland,” reads the ruling.

August 2015 revised design for 105 Keefer Street. (City of Vancouver)

April 2016 revised design for 105 Keefer Street. (City of Vancouver)

December 2016 revised design for 105 Keefer Street, which was rejected by Vancouver City Council. (Merrick Architecture/Beedie Development Group)

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