Downtown Official Development Plan Amendment - Area K3

Image: Granville Street downtown perspective

This initiative proposes changes that support the City's goal of increasing secured rental housing and social housing and promote sustainable design and construction to address the climate emergency. The specific changes include:

1. An amendment to the Downtown Official Development Plan (DODP) in Area K3 (Granville Street between Drake Street and Helmcken Street) to allow developments where 100% of the residential floor space is secured as rental housing or social housing up to 5.00 floor space ratio (FSR), an increase from the existing 3.50 FSR. Criteria include:

• No change to maximum height
• For properties on Granville Street between Drake and Helmcken
• On sites with buildings constructed in or after 1930, consistent with consideration for heritage character in this part of downtown
• With maximum frontage of 23 m (75’)

2. Update Granville Street Urban Design Guidelines to encourage sustainability in design or construction

• Encourage use of mass timber or other materials that result in low embodied emissions, or the use of building standards that result in low operational emissions

Public Hearing Update

The public hearing for the proposed changes to the DODP and the Granville Street Urban Design Guidelines took place on April 1 and 7, 2021. At the public hearing Council heard from interested individuals and members of the public, and considered public feedback and the recommendations put forward in the referral report.

At the public hearing Council:

• Referred proposed changes to the DODP back to staff for further consultation with stakeholders and the public and integration as part of the forthcoming Granville Street Planning Process see below).
• Approved the proposed changes to the Granville Street Guidelines to add consideration of low operational or embodied emissions including the use of mass timber.

Stay Tuned for Granville Street Planning Process

In the coming months, we will be preparing to launch a planning process for the broader area of Granville Street between Drake and Robson Street.

The Granville Street planning process would seek to develop a new vision for the area that builds on its cultural role, heritage character, and its function as a pedestrian priority retail high street and transit hub. The proposed planning process would consider land use (zoning regulations such as types of uses, heights, and floor areas), development guidelines, cultural and heritage preservation and supports, and public realm and public life improvements.