The City of Vancouver has set public hearing dates for two significant rezoning applications — ones for Oakridge Centre and Casa Mia.
Oakridge Centre’s hearing is scheduled for March 10 — 38 people have already signed up to speak, while Casa Mia’s is planned for March 13.
Council voted on Tuesday to refer both matters to public hearing.
The billion-dollar proposal to re-develop Oakridge Centre into a mixed-use development that includes 13 residential towers between 18 to 45 stories, retail space, a roof-top park and a civic centre, has attracted both criticism and praise. Critics object to the tower heights and density. Proponents consider it the ideal site for increased density given its central position in the city and location on the Canada Line.
Only Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr voted against referring it to public hearing.
Al Buium, chair of the Riley Park South Cambie Community Vision Group, told the Courier on Thursday that the group is seeking feedback from members and will come up with firmer comments sometime in the next week or two.
But he added that the group will likely push for more social non-market housing. Members also remain concerned about issues ranging from the capacity of the Canada Line to handle increased density to how the development will affect views to the southwest from Queen Elizabeth Park.
“The RPSC [group] is not opposed to increased density. We are very concerned about excessive density and the concentration of it. And we feel that at this moment Oakridge is on that path,” Buium said.
Several groups have raised objections about the project including Oakridge Langara Area Residents and No Oakridge — the latter group represents residents of The Terraces, a condo development at Oakridge located above Crate and Barrel.
The decision to refer Casa Mia rezoning application to public hearing came despite hopes by critics of the proposal that the decision could be delayed.
The Care Group wants the site rezoned from single-family residential to comprehensive development to build a care facility on the property located at 1920 Southwest Marine Dr.
Joe McDermid, a spokesperson from the Southlands Community Association, which opposes the rezoning, told the Courier in an email earlier this week that the group had sent mayor and council a request dated Feb. 17 asking them to defer their decision to refer.
The association argued that the city staff report about the proposal “glosses over or distorts significant and valid concerns frequently raised by our community. Equally importantly, even though the report references a number of key policies and guidelines, we are troubled by the extent to which elements of these policies are taken out of context to support the proposal, while inconsistencies and contraventions of these same policies are ignored.”
The association had been calling for a review of the Southwest Marine Drive area as a whole, and “a comprehensive plan that would determine how revitalization of the area could occur while preserving and enhancing its valuable heritage and urban design characteristics.”
