that would consist of one floor of retail, hotel rooms, below-market rental units and market-rate rentals.
Earlier this month, city staff advised council to reject the Reliance Properties application because it doesn’t meet policy objectives. There is limited residential development allowed in the central business district, and that only in cases deemed to offer significant public benefit such as heritage protection or social housing.
Earlier this month, city staff asked council to reject a proposal for a 47-storey rental residential building with 484 homes of which 104 would have been workforce housing for essential workers at below-market rates.“If approved, the application by Reliance would be precedent setting and could lead to land speculation and the erosion of council’s land use and economy goals,” the city said.
Former city housing director Cameron Gray says a non-residential downtown business core makes sense, and any housing allowed should be rental. But he points out there are many more residential sites than office building sites in Vancouver.Mr. Stovell argued that the site is too small for an office tower, so office space is a moot point.
Council was not considering the merits of the proposal, but only whether it should move to the next step. After a vote, they decided that Reliance could either proceed to public hearing without the support of staff, or come up with a more compliant plan.