Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
Last Update: June 23rd, 2022This post will remain at the top of City Duo's Homepage until the fate of all remaining proposals has been decided. After I wrote our MIRHPPs guide (with Hannah's help), we wondered how hard it would be to gather a list of all the homes proposed under the Affordable Housing Choices Interim... Continue Reading →
Last Updated: May 25th, 2022 (- Noted - New Pre-application - 4554 W10th Avenue, website, early info, and open house date - 3084 Balaclava Avenue has been approved by the Development Permit Board - City council's approval of 2406-2484 Renfrew Street's rezoning application. - Updated party affiliations for city council) This post will remain at... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – July 5th, 2022With the news that the Broadway Commercial Safeway rezoning has been delayed until after October, and the ongoing debate around social housing in Kitsilano, some might overlook this meeting. Which would be a mistake, as it's rare to see the Vancouver Tenant’s Union band together with well-established multi-million-dollar detached homeowners... Continue Reading →
4545 West 10th AvenueTo say I was excited when I saw renowned journalist Frances Bula tweet out a notice about an in-person pre-application meeting in West Point Grey would be an understatement. I was worried this event could be a heated affair in light of the backlash to the Jericho Lands, which includes a GoFundMe... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – June 28th, 2022Update July 5th, 2022 : After spending 15 hours over three days, city council has approved Items 1 & 2, and has heard from 116 speakers on Item 3. While this meeting will resume on July 14th, at 3pm, with at least 130 speaker remaining (estimated at 15 hours), it's... Continue Reading →
750 Pacific Boulevard (DP-2021-00830) - Block A (Phase 1), Expo Gardens (Plaza Of Nations)I imagine spending seven years locked in a legal battle with your neighbour might make anyone feel colourful, especially if it involved a 10.2-acre waterfront property worth $800 million. Yet, I never expected the Urban Design Panel’s latest review of the Plaza... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – June 23rd, 2022Time can be a funny thing, as these last two years have felt like an eternity, which in hindsight have also flown by. Supposedly as you get older this feeling only gets worse; since you’ve experienced more years, minutes, and hours can seem far quicker. Maybe that sense of time... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – June 21st, 2022It’s somewhat fitting that the first item on this night’s agenda, a simple heritage designation, has been withdrawn, as this meeting is all about cutbacks, and lowered expectations. Certainly Hannah and I expected a far more robust response to the brick clad West End twin towers that comprise Items Two... Continue Reading →
791 W Georgia St (DP-2021-01096)When I noticed the Urban Design Panel’s agenda included the renovation of the former Four Seasons Hotel, I was puzzled to say the least. What benefit could this in-depth review possibly serve for a structure that has been part of our city’s urban fabric for 45 years? I better understood city... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – June 14th, 2022With less than eight weeks to go before city council stops meeting until after the election, Hannah and I expected this would be a busy time. However, we never would have guessed seven public hearings would be scheduled within the next month, especially since they’ll draw literally hundreds of public... Continue Reading →
2 E Broadway (DP-2022-00184)Like an Urban Design Panel member, Hannah and I were shocked by the “radical” changes this 12 floor office building has undergone since we last saw it. After all, once city council approves an application’s general shape, it’s rare for it to switch architect firms, and go through a total overhaul. Mercifully,... Continue Reading →
688 Cambie St (DP-2021-00171) - (Vancouver Art Gallery)Even reaching this Urban Design Panel review could be seen as a win for the plans to build a new Vancouver Art Gallery, as it’s been six years since its pre-application open house. That doesn’t account for the time spent searching through 12 locations before this site was... Continue Reading →
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