Your City Hall just approved a West End tower

It's beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.

Council held a Public Hearing last week, on March 12th, to decide on a rezoning proposal for 2028-2038 Barclay Street in the West End. This is the kind of vote that really shapes the look and feel of our neighbourhoods. Every single councillor present — Mayor Sim, Councillors Klassen, Meiszner, Zhou, and Bligh — voted in favour of the CD-1 rezoning. That means it passed unanimously among those who cast a vote.

The specifics of that CD-1 designation usually mean a custom zoning bylaw for a particular site, often paving the way for a new, larger development. In this case, it’s a residential tower proposed for the West End, a neighbourhood already balancing its heritage buildings with an increasing density. This decision will likely change the streetscape there considerably.

* Mayor K Sim voted In Favour

* Councillor M Klassen voted In Favour

* Councillor P Meiszner voted In Favour

* Councillor L Zhou voted In Favour

* Councillor R Bligh voted In Favour

You also see some smaller, but still significant, changes happening around town. Building permits issued on March 26th show a $500,000 permit for a new, 2-storey Net Zero laneway house on Bursill Street. These are the kinds of additions that, piece by piece, are slowly redefining our low-density areas.

This Barclay Street vote is a significant step for the West End. It tells us that council is continuing to greenlight density, even in established residential areas. It'll be interesting to see what other proposals come before them for similar developments, and if that unanimity holds.

Kenji Nakashima, MiTL Sports Desk, Vancouver.

You know, the morning crew talks about this kind of stuff every day. Check them out at mornings.live.