Developer behind quashed Chinatown condo tower takes city to court over permit

The developer behind a proposed nine-storey condo tower in the heart of Chinatown is taking the City of Vancouver to court after it was denied a permit in 2017.

Beedie Holdings Ltd. is seeking a judicial review of the city'sdecision to deny it a development permit for a proposed market housing complex at 105 KeeferStreet. A petition to the B.C. Supreme Courtwas filed on Aug. 16.

The project was met with fierce opposition from social housing advocates over several years of development proposals starting in 2014.

In November 2017, thecity's development permit board ultimately denied Beedie Holdings' final application for a nine-storey tower with 100 per cent market housing and ground level cultural space. Board members said it did not meet technical zoning requirements for design aspects.

But according to the petition, the city's decision was inconsistent with recommendations made bythe board's advisory panel, a separateurban design panel, and a staff report. It says the application was "in compliance with applicable by-laws, policies, and guidelines."

The document says Beedie Holdings' application was met with hostility at several city open houses, and the board's decision to deny it a permit was made within a "politically charged" environment.

Beedie Holdings is seeking an order for the cityto grant a development permit for the project, or "[in] the alternative, an order that the city be compelled to specify precisely what changes the petitioners must make so that a [development permit] will be granted."

A spokesperson from the city declined to comment on the petition as it is before the courts.Officials plan to file a response.

Cultural context

The propertyis currently occupied by a parking lot that sits across from the Dr. SunYat-SenClassical Chinese Gardenand north of the Chinatown Memorial Plaza.

The proposed redevelopmentmet height requirements based on the 2012 Chinatown community plan passed by council. But board members ultimately concluded the design failed to satisfy contextual needs for the area.

"To meet the design test, they need to listen to and engage with the community more closely than they have so far," the city's chief planner Gil Kelley said at the time. City council recently introduced height restrictions for new buildingsin the neighbourhood to preserve its character.

Local housing activist Shirley Chan was among many housing activists to welcome the city's decision to deny a development permit for105 Keefer.

"The development industry has ruled this city for a long time, and we know that it doesn't do anything for affordable housing," she told CBC News.

Chan calls the corner at Keeferand Columbia streets one of the major gateways to Chinatown, and fears what Beedie Holdings'development could do to both the estheticof the neighbourhood and overall housing affordability.

"I find it distressing that there doesn't seem to be any understanding that the community really doesn't want this to be there," said Chan.