Motion on gentle densification

Today’s Council meeting was a long one. While there were many important topics discussed, I’ll expand on one specific report in this post.

A report brought forward by staff recommended that we approve the demolition of a duplex, that would be rebuilt into another duplex. However, we recently rezoned the area to multi-family — meaning that higher density is planned for the area. The site was in the middle of other duplexes, which meant that if we had approved this demolition, we were effectively locking in (and continuing to invest in) the single-family home/duplex structure.

I, along with my BCA colleagues, asked for this to be referred back to the Planning and Development Committee with the intention of the City acquiring the land. The City currently owns multiple parcels of land that we rent out, and this could be one we add to the list. This way, we’re protecting land to be higher density while still having a consistent stream of revenue.

While it may be just one site, it’s significant by continuing to give guidance to staff on Council’s priorities of facilitating affordable housing (for the missing middle, in this case).

I’ll keep trying to post when I can!