CD-1 Rezoning: 4967-5017 Main Street
Motion 4 · Public Hearing, February 5, 2026
Summary
- Rezoning of 4967–5017 Main Street from RM-3A to CD-1 to permit a five-storey building with 31 strata units and 24 rental units; FSR 2.3, height 18.3 m.
- No public speakers registered or appeared; staff presentation waived by council motion.
- Applicant (architect Matthew Chang) confirmed availability for questions but offered no formal presentation.
Vote
Public comments
Read all 2 statements
Transcript
8 segments
No, we did not. Thank you. Council will now make a decision on this application. Do we have a mover?
Council, is there any discussion? Seeing no one in the queue. Councillor Meiszner?
Go ahead.
Yeah, thanks. So we see a lot of Broadway plan redevelopment proposals come forward, and I think that this is an attractive design from the outside. But I... I am concerned about the size of these units. They are extremely small. I have some discomfort around one bedrooms at 381 square feet. I think that is below what I would expect for one bedroom. And that's a concern for me. I understand that, you know, these are new and they're going to be, you know, efficient and well-designed, but that is quite a small living space. And these are rental units and, you know, people will be living in these for many years, I'm sure. So I remain concerned about the size of the units in this proposal. And I would really encourage the architect to take a look at the livability of these small units.
They almost seem like hotel rooms to me, and that's concerning.
So I'll leave it there.
Yeah, thanks, Mayor. Also echoing similar concerns to Councillor Meiszner, unless these are... Intended to be shorter term rental. And I don't mean as an STR, I mean, as in people sort of not planning to live there for longer periods of time or potentially student housing. But to me, these are sizes that are more comparable, even with today's construction prices and in the heart of the city with studios. So the council's job is sort of to look at something and see whether it meets policy. I think this is an interesting policy question for us to take away from this public hearing, but yeah, I struggle with this a little bit. I'm not sure that if they were potentially marketed studios, but positioning something as a one bedroom at 380 square feet or 330 is pretty concerning. So I know that our job tonight is to make a decision whether or not it meets policy, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I think it's meeting policy.
um livability um goal so yeah i struggle with this one thanks thank you okay uh a reminder that any council member participating virtually whose video is disabled will be marked absent for the vote pursuant to section 14.13 of the procedure by law i'm now going to call the vote council can you please go to the voting screen and register your vote
And that passes with Councillor Meiszner in opposition and Councillors Bly, Fry and or absent. Okay, that completes item number four. Thank you very much. Item number five, CD-1 rezoning. UConn Street. Before we begin this item, does anybody wish or believe they need to declare a conflict of interest? Thank you, everyone. Seeing no one's hands up, the clerk's now going to read the application and summary of correspondence received.
Statement Watch
Good evening, Mayor and Council and members of the public. My name is Ricardo Peggi. I'm the planner assigned to this rezoning application at 1550 West 11th Avenue. The subject site is located mid-block on the south side of West 11th Avenue between Granville Street and First Street in the Fairview neighborhood. The site is currently developed with a three-story rental building with 27 units. The surrounding area consists of low- and mid-rise apartments, and the Granville High Street is located to the east of the subject site. The site is located in Fairview South, Area A in the Broadway plan. The FSOA designation allows for mixed-use rental residential tower forms with ground floor commercial with a maximum height of 20 stories and a maximum density of 6.8 FSR. A minimum of 20% of the residential floor area must be secured as below-market rental units. The proposal is to rezone the site to a comprehensive development district to enable the development of a mixed-use residential building with ground floor commercial uses. The maximum height is 17 stories, or 60.2 meters, and the maximum density is 6.8 FSR. The development will contain 160 rental units, and 20% of the residential floor area will be secured for below-market rental units. Please note, in December 2025, Council approved a two-year time-limited rental development relief program to improve the viability of rental projects. This project is not eligible to apply for the program because the site currently contains over 10 primary rental units. Please also note this site is zoned R5-3, which would allow this form of development. This application was in stream when the city initiated rezoning was approved in late 2025. The applicant opted to continue with the CD1 rezoning. 71 pieces of correspondence have been received during public consultation. Public feedback in support of the rezoning found the development will help contribute to the rental housing supply. The location is suitable for additional density given the proximity of the site to transit. And some noted the building's attractive design and massing. Some concerns were also expressed. The first was related to displacement of existing tenants and concerns the proposed housing would not be affordable for current or lower income residents. In response, staff confirmed the proposal is subject to the tenant relocation and protection policy and the enhanced tenant protections for renters in the Broadway plan area. The project is also required to provide below-market rental units at 20% below citywide average rents. Some commenters raised concerns about the lack of existing community infrastructure and amenities to support the added density in the Fairview neighborhood. Staff point to the public benefit strategy within the Broadway plan, which is a strategy for developing public amenities and infrastructure to address the renewal and growth needs in the plan area. Amenities are funded in part by development contributions such as development cost levies. or DCLs. Lastly, there were concerns about the height, massing, and neighborhood fit of the proposed development, and staff confirmed that the proposed height scale and uses are all consistent with the policies that apply to the Fairview South Area A in the Broadway plan. Public benefits from this application consist of DCLs and a public art contribution with a total value of $1.6 million. Other benefits from the development include 160 secured rental housing units and 20% of the floor area to be rented at below market rates. In summary, staff recommends approval of this application subject to the conditions outlined in Appendix B as it is consistent with the Broadway Plan. This concludes my presentation. Both staff and the applicant team are available to answer questions. Thank you.
Statement Watch
Good evening. Name is Andrew Methodius Harlick, associate with JTA Development Consultants, an applicant for the proposal on behalf of the owner at 1550 West 11th Avenue. We are also here with our architect, WA Architecture. to answer any of your questions. Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to speak and considering this proposal for rental housing in South Granville. And I'd also like to thank our planners, not only Ricardo, who's new to the project, but Sarah Cranston, of course, before. who worked through us quite extensively. And, of course, of all staff members on their team for their hard work during the applications review process and through, I would like to stress, a tower redesign process as we were better trying to address future tower separation. So that's the design that you see today. So this is a rework that we had worked through with staff, and that's the application that's before you. I would also like to quickly highlight just a few quick reasons why this project will be a community-supporting addition to the city and the neighborhood, achieving the overall goals of the Broadway plan. This proposal is very close to the new and soon-to-be-opening Grandview, or pardon me, Grandville SkyTrain station, of course the grocery store that will go above that. It's very welcoming for not only future housing options, but to future tenants in this neighborhood as well, as it has a high level of employment. maintaining solar access, which is a part of our redesign process as well. This is solar access to Granville Street and providing a local quiet side street retail CRU unit, which comes with a renewed wider pedestrian boulevard. So that comes with a setback and wider kind of pedestrian realm on our side of the property as well as what we will have in our conditions for renewal of the public realm as well. We believe that this application will help address our presently low purpose-built rental vacancy rates. Yes, they're still quite low. And to keep that momentum going, as especially our rental homes are continuing to age, as most were built over 45 years ago. Mine was built in 1967, so I highly encourage to keep the momentum going for secured market rental. And this secures much-needed housing in a central area of, as we've mentioned before, high transit and employment density. This project will deliver, as mentioned before, 160 rental units, 20% of those for below market, a floor area before below market. In our time of a housing shortage, which is, as I mentioned, still present, delivering purpose-built rental, especially with significant ports below market rental is very important for supporting future affordability and, of course, rental stability for us renters. We believe this is a long-term rental housing contributes to our future of resilience in a growing city, as we will keep growing for new and familiar neighbors. As well, the at-grade commercial space is integral to this proposal, intended for local serving retail, as many of GTA's projects have across the Broadway area, of course, mainly being on a quiet side street, not on a heavy arterial traffic-ridden street. It includes pedestrian-oriented landscaping treatment that will help this future human-scaled commercial kind of space. This will also range from everything that will range under what the bylaw would permit. So as far as a use, we've yet to determine that use for that commercial space. The proposal will also adhere to the TRPP rules. Tenants have had at least over 10 touchpoints since the application, which was quite a while ago. This included the initial notification of the rezoning itself, the all-tenant meeting, which of course hosted numerous updates as the application was in review over that period of time, the issuance of the city's eligibility letter and needs assessment survey, as well as notifications for this public hearing. As with all of our other projects in the plan area, I will restate that tenants will also be offered during the interim housing options within the owner's existing portfolio with the same landlord within the same neighborhood at the tenant's choice. meaning tenants will be able to remain in the same neighborhood in interim housing before being welcomed back into the new building within a new unit. I'd also like to stress from the first application today, we do have a mix of the 20% below market designated areas, which is in the application itself. So designating studios, one beds, two beds, and threes. We feel that this proposal represents a responsible response to the city's current and future needs, that housing supports availability and affordability, creates quiet spaces for local serving services, protects sunlight and public realm, and we feel this would be a welcome addition with your.