2170 W 3rd Ave rezoning application

Long-term area planning for Kitsilano has been undertaken through the Broadway Plan, which was approved by Council in 2022. This site is within the KKNB sub-area of the Broadway Plan, which permits rental towers up to 20 storeys and 6.5 FSR, with 20% of the residential floor area permanently secured at below-market rents. More information on additional permitted uses, housing tenures and built form options in the KKNB sub-area can be found in Section 8.2.1 of the Plan.

Thank you for your questions. According to the City’s interactive rezoning map, there are four active rezoning applications in the area bound by Arbutus St, 4^th Avenue, Vine St and 2^nd Avenue. There is one approved rezoning at Yew and 1^st Avenue. 

There are 31 existing purpose-built rental units on the site, and any tenants who had been living on site within one year of the rezoning application date (May 6, 2025) is eligible for supports under the City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP), including the right of first refusal to a unit in the new building at tenant’s existing rent, or 20% below market rate, whichever is cheaper. More information on the TRPP can be found here.

 Parking for the subject site will be in accordance with the Parking By-law. The By-law requires a minimum amount of accessible, visitor, loading and bicycle spaces on site. Historically, new developments have been required to provide a set number of parking spaces to prevent spillover onto adjacent streets. In the Broadway Plan areas, the streets are well-regulated and the neighbourhoods are dense and walkable which reduces vehicle dependence and is conducive to shorter, more active trips. Eliminating minimum parking requirements also has a direct influence on the affordability of the proposed units – particularly the 20% below-market units. 

We expect the market units to be rated at market rate at the time of building occupancy. According to the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), as of October 2024, the average rents in Kitsilano/Point Grey were $1,870 for a 1-bedroom unit and $2,685 for a 2-bedroom unit. The below-market units will be secured at 20% below the City-wide average rental rate at the time of occupancy permit. 

Long-term area planning for Kitsilano has been undertaken through the Broadway Plan, which was approved by Council in 2022. This site is within the KKNB sub-area of the Broadway Plan, which permits rental towers up to 20 storeys and 6.5 FSR, with 20% of the residential floor area permanently secured at below-market rents. One of the key policy directions of the Plan was to focus new housing opportunities in areas with relatively fewer renters in the near term. This includes new housing choices (rental and ownership) in station areas, mixed-use areas and existing low-density residential areas. The Plan allows redevelopment options which replicate existing affordability of existing low-rise buildings nearing end of life, while providing enhanced tenant protections for existing renters and securing permanent affordability of a portion of proposed new units. Extensive financial testing was undertaken with the development of the Plan. The building height of 20 storeys and density of 6.5 FSR were carefully calibrated to achieve the previously mentioned objectives.  

Thank you for your question. According to the applicant’s submitted Arborist Report, no on-site trees are proposed to be retained. The proposed landscaping details for the ground level can be found on sheet L100 (p. 75) of the application booklet posted on the application’s SYC page.

The applicant’s landscape drawings show four street (City) trees along West 3^rd Avenue, however, this has yet to be confirmed by Engineering. Engineering may condition the inclusion of street trees as part of the on and off-site street improvements achieved through rezoning, however, a more detailed landscape review will take place at the later Development Permit stage, pending Council’s decision on the rezoning application. 

It may be technically feasible for the existing trees to be relocated following removal, however the City would be unlikely to condition this requirement because of several factors including mature trees not often surviving after relocation, and difficulty finding space to relocate them to.