1375-1395 W 14th Ave rezoning application

Childcare, Parks, Community Centers and other neighborhood amenities
Services and infrastructure within the plan area are continuously upgraded and expanded to keep pace with the increase in population. Generally, amenities and infrastructure, such as childcare facilities, parks, community centres, libraries, cultural facilities, affordable housing, utility upgrades (water and sewer), and street improvements, are funded from a variety of sources such as levies collected from new developments such as this one to help fund new infrastructure (please refer also to chapter Public Benefits Strategy in the Broadway Plan (p. 469) for details.)

Development Cost Levies (DCLs) fund specifically designated service areas, including parks, childcare, social housing and engineering infrastructure. 

Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) are generally restricted to capital investments within the community areas where they were generated with the intention that they will serve the related population growth. The federal and provincial governments hold mandates to deliver childcare and social housing. For these services, the City works in partnership with senior governments to ensure that spending is coordinated and opportunities for delivery are maximized. These partnerships will be necessary to achieve the objectives of the Broadway Plan Public Benefit Strategy. Please also see section 21.2 of the Broadway Plan (p. 475/76).

Childcare is an essential service that supports children, parents and families. Anticipated population growth in the Broadway Plan area will add to existing demands for childcare. While childcare is primarily a responsibility of the provincial government, the City is well positioned to support alignment with universal childcare goals by leveraging City tools and new development to help create childcare facilities. This is alongside the City’s ongoing priority to work with public and non-profit partners to increase equitable access to childcare, particularly for children younger than school age (see section 16.1, p. 420-422 for detailed policies). In 2022, City Council also adopted a new 10-year childcare strategy (Making Strides: Vancouver’s Childcare Strategy) to plan for expanded childcare access as an essential component of the health and well-being of children and families. For more information about the Strategy, please visit the following link: Vancouver's childcare approach.

Schools
Staff are in regular contact with the Vancouver School Board (VSB) to align City planning directions with VSB school capacity and long-range facilities planning. The preparation of the Broadway Plan has included engagement with the VSB to understand future school aged population and school capacity requirements over the 30-year horizon of the Plan. However, it is the provincial government that is responsible for delivering schools, so school funding is not included in the Public Benefits Strategy for the Broadway Plan. However, the City plays an important role in liaising with the VSB on the provision of schools, ensuring that they are aware of, and planning for, the additional needs that will be generated as a result of population and job growth. It is anticipated that growth in the area would result in new elementary and secondary school students. Some of that growth will be able to be accommodated through expansions to existing schools, and the VSB has already made funding requests to expand Cavell, Hudson, and False Creek elementary schools, as well as a new school in Olympic Village. Eventually, it is anticipated that an additional elementary school will be required. The City will continue to work with VSB to investigate and action opportunities for a new school site in or near the Broadway Plan area, but it will be funded through provincial funding mechanisms. The prioritization and timing of funding approval for school expansion and upgrades is at the discretion of the Ministry of Education. Through plan implementation the City continues to work with the Vancouver School Board to help inform capital requests to the Ministry of Education.

Vancouver School Board (VSB) has forecasts on school capacity utilization in their 2020 Long Range Facilities Plan which shows that enrollment in schools is declining. The downward enrollment trend is predicted to continue for the school district overall, but will vary significantly in different catchment areas. Overall, capacity is expected to be available over the long term. The site is located within the catchment area of Shaughnessy Elementary School and Eric Hamber Secondary School as well as French Immersion Kitsilano Secondary. Shaughnessy Elementary is currently operating at 96% capacity and by 2031 is forecasted to be operating at 81% capacity. Eric Hamber Secondary is operating at 83% with an expected capacity of 79% by 2031. The VSB report notes that overall enrolment trends for the wider area are changing. The VSB continues to explore options to reduce pressure on schools in this area, monitor development, and work with City staff to help plan for future growth.

Please feel free to also share your general concerns about school capacity with Council and the Vancouver School Board:
https://vancouver.ca/your-government/contact-council.aspx
https://www.vsb.bc.ca/page/26683/departments

Thank you for your question.

Curbside regulations will be reviewed and updates implemented in advance of building occupancy to ensure appropriate availability of curbside parking. Changes to permit parking may be requested by contacting 3-1-1 or through the City’s website for staff review (https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/permit-zone-request.aspx).

Thank you for your question. During the development of the Broadway Plan, Vancouver Coastal Health, Mt. St. Josef Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital were involved as important stakeholders. Both the VGH and MSJ are defined as “unique sites” in terms of land use within the Broadway Plan to enable appropriate expansion and densification.

That said, the overall the medical system is not the responsibility of the City or an individual rezoning project.

For Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal has is the regional health authority responsible for:

• Identifying population health needs
• Planning appropriate programs and services
• Ensuring programs and services are properly funded and managed
• Meeting performance objectives

You can find out more on their website: https://www.vch.ca/en/about-us/strategic-priorities. You can also contact VCH about your concerns: https://www.vch.ca/en/contact-us

Thank you for your question which has been asked before. I included a copy of our response below.

This document includes all information on the TRPP https://guidelines.vancouver.ca/bulletins/bulletin-rental-tenant-relocation-protection-policy.pdf. The applicant is responsible to find housing that meet their needs for the current tenants in coordination with the City (see graphic below).

A summary can be found here: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/renters-rights-info-sheet.pdf

Thank you for your question.

The current tenants who meet the eligibility requirements are protected under the Tenant Relocation & Protection Policy with additional supports offered under the Broadway Plan. The TRPP Best Practices Handbook explains how it is enforced. 

Tenants will be provided Right of First Refusal to move back into the new building with a 20% discount off city-wide average market rents or at their current rent, whichever is less. They will also receive assistance finding new accommodations, moving support, and the choice of financial compensation based on length of tenancy or temporary rent top-up until the new building is ready. For projects proposing below-market rental units, tenants will be offered Right of First Refusal to below-market units provided they meet the eligibility requirements under those policies.

In cases where tenants move out prior to receiving a notice to end tenancy from the landlord, tenants are still entitled to full financial compensation and additional supports they are eligible for under the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy. Tenants are also protected BC Residential Tenancy Act.

The City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) provides added protections and assistance to eligible tenants in addition to those found within the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). Developers must ensure they understand and meet all RTA requirements, including: issuing a four months’ notice to end a tenancy for the purposes of redevelopment, only after the landlord has all necessary permits and approvals for the project; and applying to the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) for an Order of Possession and attending a dispute resolution hearing, prior to issuing a notice to end tenancy due to extensive renovations or repairs. For more information on ending a tenancy under the RTA, see: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/ residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy.

For this project, below-market rental means that 20% of the secured rental residential floor space will be secured at 20% below CMHC city-wide average rents.

In cases where an existing rental apartment is redeveloped in the Broadway Plan area, the enhanced tenant relocation provisions will apply. The main principle to address tenants impacted by redevelopment in the Broadway neighbourhoods is to ensure replacement of existing affordability, so renters have the choice to remain in their neighbourhood. The Broadway tenant protections are intended to provide strong protections and support for existing renters, while enabling careful renewal of the rental stock and the creation of new rental homes for future renters.

The new enhanced Broadway Plan protections are in addition to existing city-wide protections in the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy and include: 

• Right of first refusal (ROFR) for existing tenants to return to the new building at their current rent, or a 20% discount on city-wide average market rents, whichever is less; and
• Tenants may choose to receive a temporary rent top-up equal to the difference between their current rent and rent in a new unit during construction of the new building.

Thank you for your question and your interest in this rezoning application. Site coverage is determined by the required setbacks included in the Broadway Plan.  Noting this is a heritage retention project, staff will review the proposal including setbacks as part of the currently ongoing rezoning application process. As you noticed, p. 55 of the Rezoning Booklet labels the separation as 20’, from podium face to adjacent building face and architectural drawing A014 labels it 43’-3 7/8” (13.204 m) from tower face to tower face. We have confirmed with the applicant’s architect that they propose a setback of 43’-3 7/8” (13.204 m) and have uploaded the updated rezoning booklet.

Thank you for your question.

The current tenants who meet the eligibility requirements are protected under the Tenant Relocation & Protection Policy with additional supports offered under the Broadway Plan. The TRPP Best Practices Handbook explains how it is enforced. 

Tenants will be provided Right of First Refusal to move back into the new building with a 20% discount off city-wide average market rents or at their current rent, whichever is less. They will also receive assistance finding new accommodations, moving support, and the choice of financial compensation based on length of tenancy or temporary rent top-up until the new building is ready. For projects proposing below-market rental units, tenants will be offered Right of First Refusal to below-market units provided they meet the eligibility requirements under those policies.

In cases where tenants move out prior to receiving a notice to end tenancy from the landlord, tenants are still entitled to full financial compensation and additional supports they are eligible for under the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy. Tenants are also protected BC Residential Tenancy Act.

The City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) provides added protections and assistance to eligible tenants in addition to those found within the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). Developers must ensure they understand and meet all RTA requirements, including: issuing a four months’ notice to end a tenancy for the purposes of redevelopment, only after the landlord has all necessary permits and approvals for the project; and applying to the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) for an Order of Possession and attending a dispute resolution hearing, prior to issuing a notice to end tenancy due to extensive renovations or repairs. For more information on ending a tenancy under the RTA, see: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/ residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy.

Thank you for your question which we forwarded to the applicant. This is their response:

The project aims to preserve parts of the heritage building located on Hemlock Street and West 14th Avenue. The plan involves temporarily lifting these building sections to facilitate underground work, including new foundations, below-grade mechanical systems, and a parkade. After the underground work is completed, the structures will be placed back in their original location on new foundations to accommodate necessary upgrades for gravity and seismic protection. The site will be rehabilitated through construction to ensure compliance with current building codes and create a cohesive interior configuration to the original architecture. This will involve preserving and repairing exterior elements, as well as restoring any missing, extensively deteriorated, or heavily altered features.

The rezoning site contains existing rental residential uses, a review and verification of numbers and eligibility for existing residential tenancies under the City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) for the Broadway Plan area by our housing team is under way. The applicant will provide a Tenant Relocation Plan (TRP) for eligible tenants which meets the enhanced tenant protection requirements of the City’s TRPP for the Broadway Plan area. All residential tenancies are also protected under the Provincial Residential Tenancy Act (see here fore more information).

For 1395 West 14th, there are 22 residential units of which 21 are occupied with currently 36 tenants. For 1375 West 14th, there are 6 units and 6 tenants which totals 28 units, with 27 units occupied and 42 tenants. 

Current eligible renters in the existing rental buildings will be offered relocation support and compensations under the enhanced tenant protection policies contained in the Broadway Plan, including right-of-first-refusal to tenancies in the new building at their current rent levels. For further information refer to the Housing section of the Broadway Plan – link here. A summary of information for existing tenants is available here.