12 Comments

Do I want the population of Kits to double? Hell no!

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The only way to avoid that will be to vote out the current council in October-watch who does/does not support the Broadway Plan when it comes up for council endorsement in mid-May

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That’s my plan.

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DoI want to see the population doubled? Hell no!

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On the subject of floor to ceiling heights and building heights, one example is the (former) Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Vancouver. When it was approved, as Ritz-Carlton hotel developed by Holborn Group and designed by Arthur Ericson in 2009, it was 59 storeys.

https://www.emporis.com/buildings/227556/trump-international-hotel-tower-vancouver-vancouver-canada

Due to financial concerns after the 2008 financial collapse - the construction was put on hold for a couple of years after excavation - it was redesigned as a 63 storey tower.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_International_Hotel_and_Tower_(Vancouver)#History

The approved height was not changed, but the floor-to-ceiling height was reduced. In addition, the units sizes were reduced to increase the number of units. The parking provision was not increased, but it was rearranged.

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Thanks for this, I was unaware but am not surprised. Expect more in future until/unless we have a change in local government

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Good analysis. The current population is never considered in these plans. People actually already live here. This is a huge area with a mix of housing types, family groups, incomes etc already. The idea that the subway is some panacea for housing is a bit of a stretch.

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City management and staff see tha subway as a generator of 000s of jobs and homes, for no reason I can figure. I will be publishing my just completed analysis of the rest of the Broadway Plan in the next few days. Spoiler alert: where the city says there are currently 78,000 folks, they say the Plan will accommodate 50,000 more. My review suggests they have planned for more than 250,000. Stay tuned!

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I guess I'm old school. So I can visualize this, can you tell me what are the current and "policy" units/acre? Also, less seriously, I initially thought 39 KKNB was a tv station.

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That’s a tough one: a street of single. Family homes on 33’ lots is about 10/acre. Build that out fully with Laneways, suites and duplexes and you can get to 50/acre. Meanwhile the “low” density areas of the Broadway Plan in Kits pencil out to about 300/acre. Take out street and lane allowances and it’s still >250/acre. Welcome to the Broadway Plan😒

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Wow. The Upper East Side of Manhattan is about 100 units/acre. Anything beyond that would be insane.

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agreed, but not widely understood...or maybe city staff and some councillors think Manhattan is what we should be emulating...just sayin'

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