North Shore Outlook – Land sale a ‘windfall’ for West Vancouver church: neighbours.

A church in the British Properties wants to sell its land to a developer. What could be built in place of a church in the British Properties has caused quite a stir.

If the church’s land is sold, duplexes and single-family homes could go in the large lot. That’s 19 homes, consisting of 11 detached dwellings and eight duplexes, to be exact.

The congregation at North Shore Unitarian Church isn’t satisfied with the aging space, said representatives from the church. There’s no bus service so many seniors can’t make service by themselves and the 43-year-old building isn’t wheelchair accessible.

So the congregation should move somewhere else on the North Shore that’s more accessible, said a delegation of church members at a West Van council meeting on Monday. If the land at 370 and 380 Mathers Ave. is rezoned, the buyer, Darwin Construction, wants to develop the area.

Read more:http://www.northshoreoutlook.com/news/199187241.html

5695 Lougheed_Brochure

Developing Story: Pacific Arbour puts Dunbar seniors’ plan on hold.

It could be weeks or months before Pacific Arbour decides whether to submit a revised application to the city for a senior’s facility it hoped to build on property on the east side of the 4600 block of Dunbar Street between 30th and 31st avenues.

Earlier this month, the city rejected its rezoning application to build a six-storey seniors residence south of Stong’s grocery store. City staff cited concerns about affordability and how it fit into the Dunbar Vision Plan, which envisions buildings up to four storeys.

President Peter Gaskill told the Courier Pacific Arbour is not working on a revised application at this time and that, in the company’s opinion, a four-storey building is not financially feasible at current land prices.

Bastion Development Corporation in conjunction with the Musqueam Indian Band are constructing a 9,000 linear foot marina at the foot of Granville Street in between Vancouver and Richmond.  The project will have in-water moorage for 226 recreational boats and dry-stack storage for 190 boats. There will also be a service shop, cafe and 228 stall parking lot.  The project also includes a new observation deck, wildlife habitat created from the by-product of site dredging, cycling and jogging trails.

Visit http://milltownmarina.com/index.html for more information.

The City of North Vancouver is currently in the public input stage of their CityShaping initiative, which is a 6-step process that will culminate in the revision of the Official Community Plan to accomodate growth over the next 20-30 years. The City expects to draft an amended OCP sometime in the summer, with adoption by the end of 2013. This comes at an interesting time for the City in the wake of the contentious Onni rezoning at Lonsdale and 13th Ave, which was approved by a slim margin last week.

Potential Growth Areas

Source: City of North Vancouver

What are the potential changes? City staff are proposing a number of land use change scenarios that would impact specific areas. Overall the City is expecting an additional 8,000 units built by 2041. Here are few areas being contemplated for increased density:

• Central Lonsdale Town Centre – Potential changes would consider the area encompassing the 100 & 200 blocks east and west of Lonsdale from 13th Street to the Highway, the addition of up to 350,000 square feet of primarily residential development Harry Jerome precinct, the maintenance of the Town Centre Land Use designation (13th Street to 17th Street) , with provisions to increase this with density bonuses; an increase to the permissible density in the Urban Corridor Land Use designation, and the creation of a new land use designation on Lonsdale north from 17th Street to Highway #1.
• East Third Street – Apartment and/or townhouse developments could be appropriate for some locations. A number of property owners in this area have approached the City to discuss density changes in light of the anticipated reconstruction of Low Level Road and the proposed expansion of the Richardson International grain terminal. The changes also include potential increase in permissible density along the East Third Street frontages, and an area bounded by Low Level Road St, Patrick’s Avenue, 2nd Street, and St. David’s Avenue, Moody Avenue.
• Mahon Park Node  – an area south and east of Mahon Park could be considered accommodate townhouses, or medium density housing catering to families; it is currently single family.

Other points of discussion include increasing density in the Lions Gate Hospital Precinct, gently densifying areas currently designated R1, and not changing densities in the Lower Lonsdale area.