A Setting lost to the city—Part 4

City Conversation #117: Protected for a half century, mountain views may be gone in a moment

A view from False Creek South—the diagonal black line is what 30 storeys looks like

This is my fourth City Conversation focused on view cones.[1] I have mentioned them in many other CCs but the situation is becoming critical. City Council has directed staff to consider which existing view cones may be partially or completely eliminated, apparently in the belief that a forest of 30+ storey buildings will be affordable for Vancouverites to own or rent. The illustration above shows what 30 storeys looks like east of the Cambie Bridge, one of several development opportunity areas currently “in play.”

Already, as happened with the Broadway Plan, specific buildings have been proposed that ignore or compromise existing view cones and existing zoning—their proponents are speculating that existing view cones will be set aside. Council considers some of these development proposals in the next few weeks, so citizen response time is of the essence.

• I will be the first to agree that the existing view cones are somewhat arbitrary, but that’s not the point. The point is that because of view cones, Vancouver has a varied skyline of buildings rather than a wall of view and sun blocking development such as exists in cities like Kowloon (Hong Kong). Ordinary citizens on the streets of Vancouver see their mountain setting from a multitude of locations rather than just from Stanley Park and Spanish Banks.

I have recently started updating my Homes for Whom (HfW) database so as to describe what housing has actually been built, or even has building permits, as compared to the more than 100,000 homes of all types in the rezoning “pipeline”—also to address how much of what type of housing we need. I have taken a moment from that tedious work to write this CC because I fear my housing data may be overtaken by the latest, relentless rush to develop. I hope I’m wrong.

Please note that others are rallying to save our views, notably another Substack blog, Save our Skyline YVR[2]. I urge you to subscribe to their blog (it’s free) for additional, well written analysis.

If you appreciated this post, consider becoming a free subscriber to City Conversations at https://brianpalmquist.substack.com/ .

Brian Palmquist is a Vancouver-based architect, building envelope and building code consultant and LEED Accredited Professional (the first green building system). He is semi-retired, still teaching, writing and consulting a bit, but not beholden to any client or city hall. These conversations mix real discussion with research and observations based on a 45+ year career including the planning, design and construction of almost every type and scale of project. He is the author of the Amazon best seller and AIBC Construction Administration course text, “An Architect’s Guide to Construction.” and working on a book about how we can accommodate a growing population in the cities we love.



[1] The first view cone CC was in March 2021 at https://brianpalmquist.substack.com/p/a-setting-lost-to-the-city-part-1; the 2nd in May 2021 at https://brianpalmquist.substack.com/p/a-setting-lost-to-the-city; the 3rd also in May 2021 at https://brianpalmquist.substack.com/p/a-setting-lost-to-the-citypart-3

[2] https://saveourskylineyvr.substack.com/