1766 Frances St rezoning application

Vancouver Native Housing Society has been working with funders, regulators and insurance since the 2017 fire to bring affordable housing back to this site.

Funders have processes in place to ensure that public dollars are spent in alignment with public priorities. The society is working with its funders through these processes. 

Please contact BC Housing and/or CMHC for any questions related to their financial policies and budgeting of public dollars.  

Neighbourhood context and shadow studies are considered throughout the review process and factor into the form of development analysis. The City is actively addressing the current housing crisis issue through various policies and initiatives including the Housing Vancouver Strategy, the City’s vision for ensuring that Vancouver can be a home for people of all incomes and backgrounds. It prioritizes affordable housing and making housing markets work for all people who live and work in the City. This includes introducing new affordable housing developments while ensuring existing and future residents have a safe and liveable environment.

The proposed site is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan which includes key principles aimed at supporting a range of affordable housing options and support towards goals of Reconciliation in partnership with Aboriginal communities. The Plan anticipates a 6-storey rental building at this location, however, section 7 of the Plan allows for increased density and height to be considered through rezoning where social housing is proposed. The Housing Vancouver Strategy also guides the City’s vision for ensuring that Vancouver can be a home for people of all incomes and backgrounds. It prioritizes affordable housing and making housing markets work for all people who live and work in the City. This requires gradually introducing new affordable housing developments while ensuring existing and future residents have a safe and liveable environment.

Throughout the planning process of the Grandview Woodland Community Plan, the role of the Citizens’ Assembly was to also provide advice to staff, and it was one of several sources of community input that helped inform the Council approved Plan; along with other City-wide policies and technical assessments. In this area, the Plan identifies opportunities to permit incremental change and renewal in the apartment areas through rezoning policies, as well as opportunities to consider additional height and density to support the creation of new non-market housing. The overall zoning in the area remains the same as it was, however, there are avenues for consideration of change above and beyond what the district schedule permits.

If approved by Council, the project will be required to provide strategies that include Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design measures which generally include, but are not limited to, the following examples: 

• Having particular regard for mischief in alcoves and vandalism such as graffiti;
• Consideration of mail theft in the design and location of mailboxes;
• Consideration of residential break and enter;
• Provision of outdoor common area and path lighting; and
• Provisions for visibility and security in the underground parking garage in accordance with the Parking By-law, including:
  • Providing 24 hour overhead lighting at exit doors and step lights;
  • Providing white-painted walls, and;
  • Ensuring a high degree of visibility at doors, lobbied, stairs, and other access routes.

Residents can typically make a request for a new Residential Parking Permit zone or changes to an existing Residential Parking Permit zone (https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/permit-zone-request.aspx )  However, the streets are not to be relied upon for guaranteed parking spaces as there is limited street space available that can be designated for permit zone parking.

Notices for this application, and every rezoning application, are distributed within the notification boundary to owners,  absentee owners (local and international), tenants, and business owners. Tenants’ addresses are captured through Canada Post Data Solutions Centre to ensure everyone receives a notification. The Virtual Open House spans a period of three weeks (with opportunity to submit comments before and after the Virtual Open House) compared to the pre-Covid in person Open House that took place in one evening for three hours. 

All public input provided for a rezoning application is added to the case records for that file and considered in staff review. Further opportunity exists to submit feedback directly to Mayor and Council at Public Hearing (date to be determined), where Council will make the final decision on a rezoning application. 

To sign up to participate at a Public Hearing you can do so at these links: 

• Send comments - https://vancouver.ca/public-hearing-comments
• Sign up to speak - https://vancouver.ca/your-government/speak-at-city-council-meetings.aspx 
• Call the number the Mayor reads out during the hearing to speak as well

The online comment form on the project webpage also allows you to check off the option to be contacted about this application in the future, which includes the Public Hearing notification.

Throughout the planning process of the Grandview Woodland Community Plan, the role of the Citizens’ Assembly was to provide advice to staff, and it was one of several sources of community input that helped inform the Council approved Plan; along with other City-wide policies and technical assessments. 

During the planning process, staff heard several overlapping aspirations that included protection for existing rental housing, a desire for new rental, additional support for non-market housing, support for Indigenous service providers, and numerous other objectives. The final Plan sought to balance the many community-identified desires. 

In this area, the Plan identifies opportunities to permit incremental change and renewal in the apartment areas through rezoning policies, as well as opportunities to consider additional height and density to support the creation of new non-market housing. The overall zoning in the area remains the same as it was, however, there are avenues for consideration of change above and beyond what the district schedule permits. 

The proposed site is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan, which includes key principles aimed at supporting a range of affordable housing options and support towards goals of Reconciliation in partnership with Aboriginal communities. The Plan anticipates a six storey rental building at this location, however, section 7 of the Plan allows for increased density and height to be considered through rezoning where social housing is proposed.

The applicant has proposed an indoor and outdoor amenity space at the ground level and on the 7^th level. These spaces will be reviewed by staff to ensure they comply with City policies. Each unit will also have private outdoor space.

The upper levels contain between 5 to 8 units per floor.

The proposed building will be built from Mass Timber Construction, this material is harder to ignite than a light wood frame building. The former building was constructed of light-wood frame construction. Further, most of the timbers will be covered by fire-rated gypsum board. The fire rating on floor assemblies and suite separation in mass timber construction is a longer period of time than light wood frame building (Two hours rated compared to 45 minute rated). The mass timber building will be sprinklered and the fire alarm system will be designed to call the fire department if it senses fire or a pull station is activated. 

A risk assessment on potential impact to neighbouring buildings from a fire during construction will be performed. This will ensure that additional site safety measures during construction are provided as identified and required by the risk assessment. Once the building is complete, protective measures required by the building code (e.g. fire rating walls that are near to property lines)  will be incorporated into the completed design features of the building to further reduce risk to adjacent properties.