Vancouver approves mass rezoning of 438 properties in Grandview-Woodland area

On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council approved a mass rezoning for 438 properties in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood in the Eastside area, with the vast majority of the affected properties being single-family residences.

The approval was expected as it puts in motion the new redevelopment opportunities established by the 2016-approved Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

With City Council’s approval, property owners and developers can now seek the following redevelopment:

• Four-storey apartments along East 12th Avenue between Clark Drive and Templeton Drive
• Four-storey apartments and townhouses along East 1st Avenue between Commercial Drive and Nanaimo Street
• Four-storey apartments, four-storey mixed-use buildings, and townhouses on select sites along Nanaimo Street between East 12th Avenue and East Pender Street

Grandview-Woodland rezonings, July 2018. (City of Vancouver)

Altogether, these zoning changes allow for the development of 3,000 new homes, accounting for a good portion of the new density required to achieve the Community Plan’s goal of increasing the population of Grandview-Woodland by 10,000 people over 30 years.

“This is an important piece for us to move forward with the redevelopment and accommodation of the [housing] demand that is out there,” said Vision Vancouver City Councillor Raymond Louie during yesterday’s public meeting.

“We are in a bit of a crisis, and I do believe we need to provide supply in our city and it needs to be done appropriately… I believe this will in fact help the neighbourhood over the longer term. Yes, there will be some people affected by the form, but I don’t think it will be as negative as people think.”

The greatest densities permitted by the Community Plan are generally along Hastings Street and Commercial Drive, particularly near SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station hub.

But compared to other transit-oriented developments elsewhere in the region, the allowable densities next to Metro Vancouver’s busiest transit hub can be considered extremely modest.

See also

• New Grandview-Woodland plan revealed for Commercial Drive
• 'Vertical village' proposed for Commercial-Broadway Station's Safeway redevelopment
• 6-storey residential building proposed for East Broadway land assembly
• Redevelopment possible for Commercial-Broadway Station retail buildings
• New plaza over Grandview Cut envisioned for Commercial-Broadway Station
• Super-sized bus shelter built for 99 B-Line stop at Commercial-Broadway Station
• 32,000 new homes approved for Cambie Corridor in historic densification plan
• Greenway for cycling and walking proposed for East Vancouver