The City of Vancouver has approved a controversial request that will allow developers to build a tower that will block views of the North Shore mountains, provided the units inside are for rent.
At a meeting Tuesday night, councillors voted to approve the rezoning application for 777 Pacific Blvd., a lot located between Rogers Arena and BC Place.
The application sought permission to build a 40-storey residential tower up to a height of 400 feet (121.9 metres), which would block the view for those south of the structure. The tower, which would include commercial real estate on the lower floors, will have a maximum floor area of 400,000 square feet, or 37,161 square metres.
City bylaws ban builds higher than 300 feet, but B.C. Pavillion Corporation requested the area be rezoned.
Their proposal was approved, but only if the Crown corporation agrees to the condition that the entire residential space be used for rental housing. If the company decides against it, the tower will be capped at 300 feet.
Council's decision to allow the buildings could block mountain views along corridors the city has protected for decades. Vancouver has 27 protected view corridors, established to secure views of the mountains, water and downtown skyline. Details on protection efforts are available on the city's website.
The decision was not unanimous. Coun. George Affleck posted on Twitter about the decision, saying the city has broken it's tradition.
"Vancouver's beautiful skyline is in part (because) of strict design guidelines like the view cones. Blocking mountain views is kind of like paving over English Bay," he wrote.
"Sadly, last night Vision decided developing luxurious, mountain-blocking, market-rental towers was a better idea."
Affleck was one of three who opposed the motion, while Coun. Elizabeth Ball wasn't able to review public hearing material prior to the vote and Coun. Hector Bremner claimed a conflict of interest.
Also included in the conditions are that it be designed in a way that it will "make a "significant contribution to the beauty and visual power of the city's skyline."
Initially, PavCo planned to build the tower to the 300-foot maximum, but in February, the city approved a plan that would allow for three taller towers in the area.
The building is one of three planned for what city staffers are calling the "Georgia Gateway," an intersection that will be created once the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts are demolished. The city's plan for the gateway is that the towers will frame street end views into False Creek.
The other two towers will stand at approximately 425 feet, if the developer's rezoning applications – which have not yet been submitted – are approved.
The buildings are likely the first of several likely to spring up over the next two decades. The city's plan to revamp the Northeast False Creek area predicts as many as 12,000 residents will move into the area a staff report called Vancouver's "last remaining piece of large undeveloped land in the downtown."
Other plans for the area include a community centre, outdoor concert space, public promenades, a pool or waterpark and beach or waterfront access.
