With plans for taller buildings on the Downtown Eastside recently put on hold, West Kitsilano Residents’ Association Chairperson Jan Pierce is pleading with Mayor Gregor Robertson and the Vancouver City Council to preserve the view corridors from Kitsilano.
Is this a concern across all of Kitsilano or just from Kits Point the West? Please comment with your thoughts.
Dear Mayor and Council,
We wish to express our views on three very significant and interrelated issues being dealt with by council today.
First, we ask that Council oppose any increase in building heights in the Historic Areas until a proper Local Area Planning process has occurred that will analyze potential impacts of changing heights and prioritize actions needed to ensure a continued and increased supply of affordable housing in the Downtown East Side. This is a vulnerable area and great care must be taken before changes are contemplated. It is the residents of this neighbourhood that need to reach a consensus on appropriate city actions. We support the efforts of the Carnegie Community to try to increase the supply of affordable housing in their neighbourhood.
Second, we are equally opposed to the proposed increases in allowable building height in the Downtown. We value the views of the mountains that make Vancouver such a special place. Saving a few narrow view corridors is not adequate. Views from the shoreline of Kitsilano and Jericho to the west will also be negatively affected as well as from viewpoints throughout Kitsilano, Fairview, Point Grey and numerous other neighbourhoods.
Finally, we support Councillor Woodsworth’s motion to ask for existing zoning capacities in all of the city’s neighbourhoods. This is essential information needed for planning in the city and should be the first basic requirement before any changes to allowable building heights or other rezonings are contemplated.
Thank you.
Jan Pierce
Chairperson
For The Board of Directors
West Kitsilano Residents Association
Last modified: March 3, 2020
Here comes more NIMBYism. From the misguided souls next to the proposed UBC hospice to the creme-de-la-creme of Kerrisdale, there will always be people who can’t fathom an existence other than the status quo, and more often than not it’s about resale value of properties allegedly affected by change.
My suggestion to the people of Kits Point is to get over it. You’ve benefitted immen$ely from the very thing you’re fighting against: popularity of living in/gambling on real estate in Vancouver.
If you’re that worried about your view and its ‘value’, take the $3-6 mill of free money you’ve gained and find a quaint little island with an unobstructed view, because rest assured, taller buildings are coming to downtown.
Heinz, you seem easily irritated and thrown off.
Jan Pierce is writing on behalf of the “West Kitsilano Residents Association” and nowhere does she mention Kits Point (the res association there calls itself the Kits Point Resildents Association, see the difference?). I don’t think that would have changed your rant, but it does suggest you (and the editor) may be a bit sloppy.
And what is the context of NIMBY in this case. Isn’t it just an intemperate slur that you are attempting. It’s like me calling you an idiot without really declaring why (though really, if I did call you that it would be fairly obvious, sloppy reading, name calling, a host of logical fallacies, and a sad defeatism when it comes to citizens having a voice in their communities, and of course, the enormous chip you seem to have in regards to people whose homes have appreciated in value).
I think it’s perfectly fair for people to comment on issues that impact the quality of our neighbourhoods and I thank Jan and those like her who take the time to do so. Very few would benefit from taller buildings and a great many would be negatively impacted by them. Density downtown has created a dynamic neighbourhood but can certainly be achieved without the drawbacks for surrounding neighbourhoods that ultra tall buildings create.
You’re right AJ.
Sorry Heinz – my fault. I just assumed it was the Kits Point Residents Association complaining again.
Jan Pierce is from the West Kitsilano Residents Association – a group serves the residents of Kitsilano living north of Broadway, between Vine and Alma.
Say YES to preserving view corridors.
Say NO to haters and generic skyscrapers.
How deceiving is that photo?
TURN YOUR HEAD to the left and you’ll enjoy the views of the mountains over Stanley Park and English Bay FOREVER. The skyline of the city adds to the view in the east, especially at night with the lights.
Of course, if West Kits wants to accommodate the increased density and residents that they want banned from downtown, then so be it.