Concert’s rezoning application for Harbourside has now been referred to a Public Hearing on April 1, an important milestone which will culminate in Council making a ruling on Concert’s application. In this blog post we recap the extensive City and public consultation process which has occurred to date.
Just over four years ago in December 2009, Concert fist applied to the City of North Vancouver to amend the Official Community Plan (OCP) to permit a more diverse, animated and active Harbourside. Specifically, the application proposed to retain the land’s current commercial capacity and add residential to the land use mix. In response to Concert’s OCP amendment application, the City initiated the Harbourside Waterfront Policy Statement Process – an extensive land use study involving the City, Concert and the community to determine the appropriate land uses, densities and building heights. As part of this study, the adjacent City lands including Kings Mill Walk were also reviewed. The Policy Statement was submitted to City Council in February 2011.
Concert’s OCP amendment application was subsequently revised to align with the recommendations of the community consultation. In addition, several stakeholder meetings and community consultation events were held as part of the OCP amendment process. With the support of the community and City staff, Concert’s OCP amendment application was approved by City Council in July 2012.
In November 2012, Concert initiated the rezoning application process. In addition to the application, two key documents were created in collaboration with City staff to dictate how the site would ultimately be developed – the zoning bylaw and the development permit area guidelines. While not a requirement of rezoning, Concert then organized a Town Hall Meeting in October 2013 as a way of providing further public engagement. At the Town Hall, Concert presented a revised application for Harbourside which included a number of changes since it was first submitted.
With the feedback received from the Town Hall Meeting, our rezoning application was further refined before going back to Council. The application, along with a comprehensive development zoning bylaw and development permit area guidelines, was then submitted to Council for what is known as “first reading”. The development zoning bylaw regulates density, height, setbacks, site coverage and other qualitative restrictions while the development permit area guidelines document controls the form and character of the development and the public realm. Because Council was satisfied with our revised application, the rezoning application was subsequently referred to a Public Hearing on April 1. Public Hearings provide an opportunity for Council to hear from those who believe their interest in a given property may be affected by proposed changes. Following the Public Hearing, Council will make a decision on our application.
As a result of the extensive process that has occurred, the rezoning application that will be presented at the Public Hearing is truly a reflection of the feedback we have received over the years from both the community and the City. As a result, we are confident that our plan will result in a win-win scenario for all stakeholders in Harbourside’s redevelopment.
