I am the Chair of the Dunbar Vision Implementation Committee. This is the group charged with the task of working to implement the community approved City Plan for Dunbar. I read with interest your article on the rezoning application by the Harwood Group. I think that it is important to note that the site is presently zoned C2 which allows for a building with a FSR of 2.5 (proposed- 3.12) and a maximum height of 13.1M (proposed - 21.3M).
If it applies for rezoning, the provisions of the Dunbar Vision, as the most specific City planning policy governing this site, should be taken into account. One significant provision that is not referred to by the director of planning, is that additional height in this part of Dunbar was specifically rejected by our community in favour of other densities elsewhere in Dunbar. The reasons were multifold and many have been referred to already by Jonathan Weisman, Chair of the DRA. This community rejection of additional height was reinforced this year in preliminary community consultation conducted by Harwood. They asked Dunbar residents what they would prefer on the site. Options included a four-storey presentation and ones with additional height. The overwhelming response was a resounding “NO” to additional height and the vast majority supported a four-storey building with a grocery store underneath.
The rationalization now brought forward that a four-storey building would not be economically viable, is hard to fathom. Such structures have been built by other developers in Vancouver. In addition, the Harwood group have owned the site for decades so the land acquisition cost must be a trivial compared to the price that new residential units will fetch. An additional factor that is not mentioned is that commercial space is very hard to lease in Dunbar. The City-owned space at Dunbar and 16th is still vacant and even Starbucks closed at 19th a few years ago. A grocery store on the site would be a secure long term tenant for Harwood and would greatly increase the chance that the additional commercial space would let.
