City of Burnaby council will meet next week to review a report regarding the City’s OCP that outlines a Draft Land Use Framework for the entire City.

The City had been working on an update to the OCP entitled ‘Burnaby 2050’, since 2022. This is the first time that a draft land use document has been presented to the public showing potential land use for every lot.

The City is also working on a new Zoning Bylaw that will introduce a new “height-based development framework” in which land use designations are based on height (measured in storeys) as opposed to density and Floor Space Ratio (FSR). Details of the new Zoning Bylaw have not yet been released.

Burnaby 2050 Draft Land Use Map: (click here to see detail in pdf)

The new Official Community Plan Land Use Framework, and the corresponding Zoning Bylaw Districts are proposed to have seven (7) non-residential designations and nine (9) residential designations, each with a corresponding colour:

The full map can be viewed here: https://pub-burnaby.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=76735

The updated draft land use plan accommodates the most recent TOA legislation (which was tabled by Burnaby council for 90 days) as well as upcoming Royal Oak and Edmonds Area Plans.

In addition to the land use designations, the City will be implementing a series of “Policy Overlays” to certain areas, blocks and lots. Examples of proposed Policy Overlays include: Rental Tenure, Streamside Development Permit Areas, Statutory Rights-of-Way, and Special Study Areas.

Community Benefit Density Bonus

The City has also outlined a new, modified density bonus program:

• The OCP land use designations describe intended heights of buildings; however, a parcel may be eligible for additional height, beyond what is considered “additional supported height”, in exchange for provision of an on-site amenity or cash-in-lieu of an on-site amenity (“Community Benefit Density Bonus”), so long as it does not exceed the permitted height of the next most permissive land use category (if there is one).
• Density bonusing opportunities are identified for the High-Rise Apartment 1, 2, and 3 designations, and may be considered in the Low-Rise 1, Low-Rise 2, Midrise 1, and Midrise 2 designations subject to City policy and bylaws.
• Similar to the “additional supported height” scenarios, for residentially designated properties, additional height may be supportable so long as it does not exceed the permitted height of the next most permissive land use category (if there is one).

The draft land use map will be brought forward for public engagement in September 2024, with a report back to Council in late 2024 and an expectation of a final version in early 2025.

Continuing the trend of strong demand for Mount Pleasant industrial properties with redevelopment potential, 34-54 West 7th Avenue has sold for $8,510,000, or $157 per buildable SF. The buyer was Chard Development.

The existing building is an aging two-level industrial building originally a meat packing plant and now a food manufacturing facility.

The 18,117 SF site is zoned I-1. Traditionally, I-1 zoning was a mixed light-industrial office zone, but in 2013 the City of Vancouver amended the zone to allow 100% general office. This amendment has set off a two year long flurry of speculative sale and development activity, with a few office projects already in the works. With few opportunities to build smaller office buildings downtown, and with soaring land prices everywhere where residential or mixed-use is allowed, Mount Pleasant has been a target for many developers and users.

The building had been listed for sale by Casey Weeks, Matt Smith and James Starke of Colliers and received multiple offers.

Marpole residents rally against proposed zoning changes.

Close to 1,000 residents streamed into Marpole community centre Sunday to sign petitions and pick up lawn signs protesting proposed zoning changes in their neighbourhood.

The City of Vancouver’s draft community plan for Marpole includes rezoning to allow more highrises, apartments up to 12 storeys, stacked townhouses and mixed-use buildings.

Community spokesman Mike Burdick said the draft plan, which goes to council for consideration on October 24, came as a surprise to most Marpole residents.

“We are not opposed to rezoning or densification,” said Burdick, “but we need to slow down.”

Burdick said the city wants to increase the density of Marpole by as much as 50 per cent.

“Do the transit routes first, then take a breath and see if we need to do more.”

In Metrotown, demand for new condo product appears to have quieted down somewhat over the past several months. But that’s not stopping developers and investors, who are betting on the success of this town centre area over the long-term.

The latest example came in December with sale of 5895 Barker Avenue, a potential tower redevelopment site.

There are now six 35+ storey tower projects under construction in the area, primarily in the RM-5 zone which allows a higher density. These include:

• Metroplace, 343 units by Intracorp.
• The Met, 295 units by Concord Pacific.
• Station Square (Phase 1), 269 units by Anthem/Beedie.
• Silver, 284 units by Intracorp.
• Moda, 249 units by Polygon.
• Sovereign, 202 units, by Bosa.

There are also an additional 2,000+ units in various stages of planning, including an additional 930 units at Station Square (phase 2, consisting of 35 and 57 storey towers) is planned to be released in the near future), as well as other projects planned by Polygon, BlueSky Properties, Boffo, Concord and Intracorp.

A number of apartment buildings that are currently zoned RM-3 have been selling to investors that see upside and future redevelopment potential. See below a list of recent sales. Apartments without immediate redevelopment potential generally trade at $170,000 to $180,000 per unit in this area. RM-5 zoned apartment properties that can be redeveloped as towers often trade for higher values (based on land value).

In addition, Ivanhoe Cambridge is nearing halfway completion of its Metrotower 3, the first new office project built in the area in several years, which speaks to the ongoing potential of the area not solely as a bedroom community.

Metrotown has long been viewed as Burnaby’s true town centre, and despite activity in the other designated ‘town centres’ such as Brentwood and Edmonds. Metrotown is continuing to show strong valuations for both development sites and existing income producing properties.

In an effort to improve the viability of development proposals in the Hastings Heights area, the City of Burnaby is proposing that the number of storeys in the C8 and C8a District be changed in rezoning to allow for a residential mezzanine floor (or a 5th storey) in the rear portion of the grade level commercial envelope. Design details include:

• Development of a residential mezzanine should not impact the viability of grade level commercial uses fronting Hastings Street.The residential mezzanine must occupy the rear, upper portion of the commercial envelope.
• Taking into account the minimum depths for the commercial and residential mezzanine units and the established front and rear yard setback requirements of the C8 and C8a District, lots with a minimum depth of 112.5 ft. would qualify for consideration for a building with a residential mezzanine floor.

Source: City of Burnaby