Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is calling for more public consultation in the Downtown Eastside before moving forward with proposals for taller buildings.
Robertson announced yesterday he would be introducing a motion at last night’s council meeting calling for more consultation, plus the creation of a Downtown Eastside neighbourhood committee to facilitate a neighbourhood-led engagement process.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from people both in and outside the Downtown Eastside that they have major concerns about the proposal to allow taller buildings in the neighbourhood,” Robertson said in a news release.
“The long-term revitalization of the Downtown Eastside requires broad community buy-in and support, and we don’t have that yet.”
Robertson said council’s goal is to build a diverse neighbourhood that includes a mix of incomes and more affordable housing. But he emphasized the revitalization needs to include the local community.
Robertson’s motion relates to a staff report called Historic Area Height Review: Policy Implementation, which was to be considered at council last night; staff had recommended council adopt a rezoning policy for higher buildings in the historic area – an area spanning Gastown, the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown.
In the release, Robertson said it is important to distinguish which areas support the recommendations for taller buildings and which don’t.
Robertson noted there’s been concerns about the impact of the policy on low-income residents in the Downtown Eastside.
“The community in the Downtown Eastside is right to say that there has not been enough study on the social impacts [of development] on the low-income population,” he said.
Robertson and councilors could not be reached for comment by press deadline.
In December, Business in Vancouver reported activists opposed to taller buildings in Vancouver’s downtown core were decrying the public consultation process that had occurred by that date as a sham. (See “Taller buildings raising city citizens’ ire” – issue 1104; December 21-27, 2010.)