Vancouver council rejects townhouse development next door to hospice

After hours of impassioned discussion, city councillors in Vancouver have rejected the rezoning application for a townhouse development next door to a hospice on Granville Street.

Councillorsvoted 7-4 against the rezoning after a packed council meeting on Tuesday night. The proposed development, which can't proceed without rezoning,would turna single-family lot in the city's Shaughnessy neighbourhoodinto 21 townhomesspread out between two buildings.

Coun. Jean Swanson voted against the rezoning, saying she supports densification of Vancouver's rental neighbourhoods but that this development wouldn't be the best way to do it.

"In this particular case, I think the landlord the owner is going to get a huge property boost from the rezoning,"Swanson said after the meeting wrapped around 9:30 p.m. PT.

"The rents are just going to be too high for people who rent to afford."

Councillorsattendedthree separate public hearings which tookaround nine hoursandread in theory 548 letters sent by members of the public ahead of the vote.

Those whofavoured therezoning argued that Vancouver needs more rental housing, particularly for families, and mustdensifyboth arterialstreets like Granville and single-family neighbourhoods on the city's West Side in general.

Those against the development saidthey weren't against rezoning in all cases, but the proposal wouldn't work for the specific site, wouldn'tmake Vancouver more affordable and would infringeon the privacy of neighbours inthis case,the Vancouver Hospice Society, which hasbeen operating at 4615 Granville St. for five years.

Coun. Colleen Hardwick said she was "a little surprised, but pleased" by the decision. She said the concept of neighbourliness was a sticking point for her.

"Neighbourliness has always been a key principle for property development, especially with existing communities ... thatgoes back to the '70s and somehow that has been lost along the way," Hardwick said, standing in the still-buzzing room after the vote.

Hardwick said the way council collects public feedback is "flawed," which became apparent to her during the consultation process for the Shaughnessy development. She said she's planning to put forward a motion to change how the city consults members of the public in future.