1683-1691 East Pender and 485 Commercial Drive ODP and CD-1 Rezoning

Statement Watch

All right. Thank you, Council, all of you for listening. And I know you guys have long days and nights these days. My name is Arno Kopetsky. I live next door to the proposed tower at 1647 East Pender. It's a 10-unit townhouse complex. I'm the strata president. We are opposed to this project for a couple of reasons. But I do want to say, first of all, that I appreciate the city is grappling with a bunch of emergencies, particularly housing, mental health. I am super sympathetic to those issues. I am an environmental journalist myself and have written extensively about the need for densifying cities. I know there are a number of reasons to do so, environmental, social, providing housing, making it affordable. My feeling, and I think I speak for my entire strata, is that somewhere between You know, we live in a five-story townhouse complex. Somewhere between five and 22 stories is perhaps a reasonable medium that isn't quite as extreme. This 22-story tower is more than twice as tall as the Grandview Woodland Plan had envisioned. That was a plan that people spent years developing. I've lived here for 10 years, so that Grandview Woodland Plan, I sort of moved into it. It would, the impact of this tower on, you know, commercial drive is a pretty special place in this city. We are at the northern gateway to it. I feel that this would have an immense, not just aesthetic impact, although that is real, it would also impact, you know, the amenities, that it would shade out a whole bunch of houses. It would really sort of restructure the whole architecture of that neighborhood. I'm also aware that two towers have already been approved, I believe one yesterday, just north of us on Hastings. So perhaps that's an argument in some people's eyes. Well, there's already two in there. Why not one more? I would argue perhaps maybe there has to be a limit somewhere. So that's, you know, as far as the tower itself going in, that's sort of our concern is just, I guess you can imagine what it would feel like for a 22-story tower to go in right next door to you where no towers currently exist. I do feel... that there is an element of exploiting a social need. I have immense respect for the people who run Kettle and the good work that Kettle Society is doing. I have immense sympathy for the people who are living on our streets and have housing issues, mental health issues, addiction issues. I support helping them in any way possible. It feels to me like Pressy is cashing in on an opportunity to build... A tower that is, again, more than twice as tall as was envisioned in the original zoning plan. It's not entirely clear that Cattle Society is going to be able to build this and to come up with the funds, as a couple of your questions alluded to. I hope they can find a home. I know it's been a long struggle for them. Our neighborhood and our unit is also grappling right now with... the Lookout Society that just shifted operations across the alleyway from our place. So they took over from the Friendship Society, had been running an overnight shelter up until very recently. And then a couple months ago, Lookout Society moved in, turned it into a 24-7 shelter, low barrier. So that has turned our neighborhood into just an open drug use zone. I know, Councillor... Klaassen, I believe you've been to the site. You've communicated with my neighbor, Paul. I believe Councillor Meiszner has as well. We're pretty concerned. I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I can't let her outside of our house without supervision. If we open the windows, we hear people screaming. There's paraphernalia, people using everything right outside, people passed out in the alleyway. It's been a really dramatic difference. I don't know how much of that is lookout societies fault versus the city's fault I'm not trying to cast blame really but we are kind of want to implore whoever's in charge could you if you want us to support these kinds of projects you'll need we were I guess we're begging you to provide some patrols that could keep the alleyway clean and safe people are defecating in our doorways Like I said, screaming at all hours of the day and night, groups of people huddled around using. Again, I don't want to vilify folks who are in crisis. I see I have 12 seconds left, but it does not give me or us immense confidence in more of this stuff coming into our neighborhood. We're worried about being engulfed by more shelters and the tower feels like it's a part of that. That's my five minutes, so I'll let it go.

Statement Watch

Mm-hmm I'm gonna get you to try and be as descriptive as possible in the eight minutes and we'll start now Okay My name is Nolana Greaves I am the strata president at 1588 East Hastings the Oham and I'm speaking on behalf of myself AJ Prasad Jennifer Chu and Wendy Maynard who are all part of the strata Council and I am a resident of Vancouver, and I oppose this application. I support affordable housing. I do not support concentrating the impacts into one neighborhood without proper planning. I had pictures on my presentation of the Hastings bus stop that is consistently used as a public space for defecation, hanging out. drug use, part of the city's public transportation with a lot of foot traffic. We've raised significant concerns of the decline of public safety, livability, and emergency services that are happening in this area. I have pulled the freedom of information from the emergency response services and 1,113 emergency medical responses from 2022 to 2025, with 686 transported to the hospital. It was a 62% increase. BC Emergency Health Services data confirm that the immediate area surrounding the proposed development is experiencing high concentration of emergency medical responses in East Hastings, reinforcing residents' concerns regarding public safety, emergency demand, and neighbourhood livability. The highest response for calls is 180, and they are for overdoses. had a graph with some of that I also had some pictures to show the neighborhood concerns which is broken cars biohazards fires consistently fires in the neighborhood there's many things here that we are trying to address and I think the bigger issue is that the growth has to match the municipal services. Street cleaning, graffiti removal, coordination of emergency community services, monitoring the neighborhood livability. Good planning is not only about approving new development, but also about ensuring the municipal services infrastructure and neighborhood livability grow alongside it. While I recognize that not all services are delivered by the City, the Council is responsible for land use planning and decisions about where growth and social services are located. Those decisions should be accompanied by appropriate municipal infrastructure coordinated support from provincial partners. I did pull the records and the FOI from Shape Your City. And there was 69.3% that were opposed to have the project built on this site. And when we talk about incremental growth, you have approved 561 approved affordable housing units over this last little bit. The Place of Cedar has 191. The Indigenous Social Housing has up to 150. And then the 800 Commercial has 180. If you put 239 units plus 40 units, that's 840 units. That's not incremental. Part of the Grandview Woodland Plan would be to be incremental. Approving the application risks placing additional demand to a neighborhood that is already experiencing significant pressure on public safety, emergency services, infrastructure, and overall livability. I did hear the staff talk about an industrial area, but if you pull up the pictures for where this site is to be placed, There are homes there, townhomes across from this building that's going to block the light for them. In addition to that, it is a proposed height that is not within the woodland plan. It doesn't sit within the character of the community. It's excessive. And like I said before, you already have approved 500 and some. Now you're looking at approving more to have 840 units in a three-radius block. And with the social service center, it does include what I read is a nurse, a bank, an advocacy department, a support and employment groups. And I do like that they address that there is wraparound services, but there's other questions that we have, such as security, access to buildings, and how will social service be managed with visitors and outdoors? What good neighboring agreements will there be in place because there's none today? As you heard from Arno, we are living in the same community and we're suffering. And we don't feel like we have the support. We have talked to the Lookout Society and they do not have enough staff to mandate this. When I look at the cumulative impacts, is the neighborhood infrastructure roads and sidewalks all the way around, all blocks, not just in that corner block, but on 1500 block where we live, going to be supported? And the buses that are going to be used, is that going to be supportive? So is the level of concentration, is what I'd like to know, consistent with the city's policies on equitable distribution of housing and services across Vancouver? And then I ask about public safety before approving or amendment to official... development plan a significant increase in density can council confirm that has been provided with a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impacts on public safety emergency services infrastructure and neighborhood livability because livability is a core principle planning of the City of Vancouver's Healthy City Strategy. And what I see today is that the livability has been dismissed by staff in reports, that 506 already-approved social housing has been put in place. We have not seen a report on cumulative impacts. In the evidence-based planning, what assessment demonstrates livability been considered that this is required of the Healthy City Strategy? And if livability is a core principle of Vancouver's planning framework, I respectfully ask Council to demonstrate how the livability of this neighbourhood has been protected in making these recommendations. In my presentation, it shows the public safety police reporting from 2025 to 2026. and also the emergency services that are overburdened. I personally can speak to this because I hear the sirens every day. So I respectfully request for Council to oppose the resigning application. I request the following to be reviewed prior to approvals. a comprehensive cumulative neighborhood impact assessment, a public safety emergency service assessment, an infrastructure and municipal services capacity, and demonstrate that the proposal is consistent with the city's commitment to livability of the Healthy City Strategy and Grandview Woodland Plan. A clear plan showing how municipal and provincial services will support existing and future residents. And that's my ask. And I leave this on stating that it disheartens me that I have to sell my home because of the livability that I'm living in and my psychological health and safety has taken a dive. I'm not medically equipped to deal with drug overdose every day. Cleaning up human. Thank you for your time today. Let you know that I am moving out of the neighborhood because of this.

Statement Watch

Okay, great. Side one, please. Hi, I'm Nadine Chambers, 35 years in East Van and 17 years a block away from this project. I'm really glad somebody ahead of me said they support the kettle. I'm really glad that as a neighbor at Venables, that's working for you. And I support the kettle and the work I've worked in the downtown Eastside, but I am against this project because I feel it is another dense market value scheme dotted with a few kettle apartments. There was no consultation with the community immediately around this site. I would have heard about it. I would have been there. I worked across the street with the kettle in the 1990s, and it's been a bit changed. What good neighbor policy and number? Not visible, and I walk by there all the time about rising. The kettle had a couple of Facebook ads that I saw and a single postcard late that came to my building, which is two blocks away. The admin building at Salisbury is sealed to the public. And leadership I asked about this in choices did an about face. Didn't want to answer even a light question. The market side is over height. How does the higher buildings policy review consultation in Grandview Park on April 10th protect us? Went through the whole thing there. It kills the skyline for the current community south of it. That strata is next door to me. It looms over the kettle side. The Kettle Social Services Center is a hard nine to five currently. Is there something new planned for non-Kettle residents after hours, such as the shelter? I wish to have serious follow-up on the following. What is the traffic diversion plans for the bus stop areas for this development and the other two? So on my form there that you see that slide, the explosions are three planned projects right now. We're dealing with this one here. Three planned projects, indigenous housing, no problem with that across from the strata, and then on the corner. The slight spark points are bus stops and then, of course, Fire Hall 11. What demands are being made within the permit for construction that tends to pedestrian safety at the number 20 stop? What is the scheduling of construction that impacts pedestrians and bus commuters on commercial from Hastings to Venables? What specific logistics plans and implementations regarding loading and movement of construction materials, machinery, workers, and the community, and the safety in the East Pender Alley and elsewhere, just in terms of construction? To me, this is a front for bulking up private development market housing in its crisis with a social services nonprofit as a moral permission and public funding appendage. I'm still thinking about the full forensic report on community amenity contributions. The yellow memorandum clearly shows that there is a ton that was added last minute. Nowhere does it state how this will be implemented, specifically the kettle sections, page 3 to 6, C to L, in the middle of our existing community. In England, there's a considerate constructor scheme. Keeping an eye on how construction activity impacts the community, environment, and its workforce. Not here. I'm a one-woman schemer for the 20-block radius. My dad was a first-generation engineer who got me a hard hat as a kid and took me to work sites. I have a healthy skeptic view of architects. I've read your plans. It's lovely. I see nothing about safety and construction. Traffic control was my focus yesterday. Today, it's about how the permits the city allows for construction creates traffic agitation, impacts that have been ignored. Basically, I look at slide after slide one, looking at slide. I don't see this as separate. This past summer, I documented the original building's demolition. I was relentless. The minute the machine started up, I was on the block watching, calling 311, sending in documentation. By the end, the company's respectful question was, is she, Nadine, satisfied? Where is the community safety in the planned construction of this Kettle Cressy development? Slide two. Unlike Hastings and the Templeton developments that are side-by-side, a couple of blocks away construction that saw the roads sealed off, that is not possible here. Does the city and the constructor communicate plans early with TransLink, with us in the community? Slide three, what are the logistics for traffic coming off Hastings with the median on one side, the bus stop on the other, and a narrow lane that narrows again for residents and newly converted to paid parking that's just recently happened? That summer, I spent hours watching people try to get to the bus stop. It was a nightmare. I'm just going to stop there. Allison Smith spoke about the industrial mix. The alley for Francis Street Weekly is already quietly being used by trucks to deliver to light industry just west of Woodlands. Note in this picture on the right that there's a truck making its way nipped through. on this McLean Street. And that's it.

Statement Watch

Yeah. Good evening, Mr. Deputy Mayor. Vancouver Council. My name is Robert Milroy. I am a local business owner on Commercial Drive. I'm a commercial property owner on Commercial Drive. My family lives in the Grandview Woodland area, and I've been fortunate to be the direct neighbor to the Kettle Friendship Society drop-in center for the last 10 to 12 years. I'm here to speak to... what it is like to be the neighbor. Kettle Friendship is not a good neighbor. They're a great neighbor. I'm enthusiastic about the new space that they've proposed. I think they deserve it. I can report that over a period of 10 years, we have never had a single negative incident related to the kettle. Quite the opposite. We've had an excellent working relationship. And not just with the staff of the kettle, but with the clients who benefit from the drop-in center. As a pharmacy operator and working on the front lines of health care, I have experienced a lot of different organizations. in the mental health as well as addiction and geriatric care space. I can attest that the Kettled is a unique society. I think all organizations have their place and have a different profile. I would like to assure... anyone in this room today that the Kettle has a unique and impeccable reputation as an organization. They don't grow for growth's sake. They don't take on new operations for any kind of, I don't know, empire building or boredom. Honestly, any project they take on, they do excellently. And they've had that reputation for decades. I can... I can say that their clientele is, their mission and clientele is fairly specific. They have a unique approach by working specifically with mental health and providing things like art and shelter and engagement to bring a benefit to the community. People in our communities that benefit, and it's not just the clientele, it is the businesses, It is the families, young families like mine, because quite frankly, I think our little area is quieter and more stable because of the kettle's presence. So I'm actually glad they're not moving very far down the street because it would be, our little area would be worse off without the presence of the kettle. So I'm happy to enthusiastically recommend this. this change of council, I hope you'll vote in favor. And anyone who is concerned about having the kettle as a neighbor, in my opinion, should not be. They're very open, they're very approachable, and very open to responding to any issues that could ever come up. So I want to thank you guys for that. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Hello, Duncan Higgin, Vancouver homeowner in the neighborhood. Just making sure that I'm coming through clearly.

Yeah, go right ahead. Yep, brilliant.

So I'm calling from 1500 block of Pender Street, one block from the site of development. I want to back here and listening to my neighbors and community members, I hear their concerns. I also walk with my two children into Woodlands Park every day and witness in the morning and the evening people packing up tents. and packing up where they live in our community, our neighbors. I cannot, full-throatedly enough, support this development. When we're talking about 40 units of supportive housing, and more importantly, access to a meaningful drop-in center for mental health concerns, those are the type of intervention points that Commercial Drive and this neighborhood has always recognized as imperative and important. And while I hear individuals speaking and discussing ideas of sight lines and views, I recognize that. I also recognize a dire need in our community for our colleagues and our friends and our people who live in community right now on the street. Cannot support this enough. Kettle has a longstanding history of running well-run intervention points and support services in our city. They'd be doing work when it was desperately unfashionable to do it. I have great faith in that. The increase in density? I'm worried where my kids will be able to live in this city if we aren't creating enough housing necessary for them to be able to move into an affordable fashion. I've heard time and time again in this whole conversation ideas of livability. I live indoors and I sleep every night on a bed. And we have neighbors and community members who are sleeping in parks or defecating in alleys. The only solution I can come up with and think of regarding the unhoused is, I don't know what to call the housing. We're looking at units of rentable housing and supportive housing and a drop incentive to support our neighbors and our community members. cannot support this project enough we will be impacted here in this household all of us by the construction and still favor this approach I'm not sure how else we're going to address it we have a homeless count that's up north of 2 700 individuals unhoused over 700 of whom in our own city are sleeping on the street every day the only pathway to solving this livability and the notion of safety is to house individuals and approach this which is long delayed it's over 10 years in discussions it's come up a couple times cannot be supported enough to see this reified and actually activated in our community it's what our community needs whether we are housed and have an address whether you're like me in your own house regardless you have a right to be indoors and projects like this help that happen and i cannot cannot impress upon council the importance of this level of engagement this level of activation in our communities and we need to see it broadly we've heard conversations tonight around densification of support services we are clearly in need when we have 2700 individuals in our city who don't have housing we can't open enough Let's see it broadly across the city, but let's not then act in this fashion as neighbors and as community members that suggest that this neighborhood is overburdened when another neighborhood should have more. I assure you, I walk this community every morning, every evening with my dogs and with my family and with my kiddos. I see plenty of need here. They're not shipping in individuals from elsewhere in the city. They're simply supporting the individual. community where we already exist. And again, this idea of livability and safety, we all become safer and we all become healthier and happier when people in our community who are outside sleeping rough are moving indoors. The open drug use, just to address that, that has been going on in this community long before Lookout, Kettle, or anybody else had. anything open or even support services in this neighborhood that was activated and happening and is a response of individuals not having a space where they can do so indoors if they need to and so again i just reiterate my utter support for this project calling you from the 1500 block of pender one block away thanks for calling in thank you okay be well

Statement Watch

HI THERE, COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR THIS TIME.

AND I WOULD JUST ECHO THE SPEAKERS, ESPECIALLY THE ONE WHO JUST SPOKE, HAS SAID A LOT OF WHAT I WANTED TO SAY, SO I WON'T REPEAT THAT. BUT I'VE LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR DECADES, NOT JUST 10 OR 15 YEARS. and walk by Kettle pretty much that whole time. And they are an outstanding neighbor. And just like the gentleman before me, I've never, you know, hundreds of times of walking by Kettle, never seen any issues. And I really think that the people that are not supportive are conflating a large-scale problem of homelessness with a much smaller scale problem of this issue that's before council right now. And the development has been on the books, has been asked for, has been needed, has been developed for a decade, as we've already heard. And it's high time that it happened, and I'm so glad to hear that it's expansive. And finally, if homelessness uh is bothering the neighbors then a development project to provide 40 units of housing is exactly the solution that we need in our neighborhood and with that i hope council will support this and this can move forward as fast as possible thanks very much

Statement Watch

Hi there. My name is Anna Cooper, and I'm here to speak in favor of the Kettle Project. I have lived in the Commercial Drive neighborhood since I moved to Vancouver in 2001, and I am a community nurse in the Grandview Woodlands, downtown Eastside neighborhoods. I am fortunate to live in a housing co-op, one of the last built with federal financing in 1987, providing stable, affordable housing for my family, along with a built-in community for myself, my partner, and our children. My children attended local schools, we purchase our food on commercial drive, get our haircuts and dental care on the drive, and use the fabulous Britannia Community Centre for a variety of programs, and have accessed healthcare at Robert and Lily Lee Family on Broadway. All within walking distance, making our quality of life on the higher end of the scale. As a nurse, I meet homeless and poorly housed members of our community every day. They too are connected to our community. They may sleep in the parks, get their food at local shops or at the Kettle, both prepared lunch and groceries to go, participate in recreational activities at the Kettle or Britannia or Grandview Park, and access health care at Reach Urgent Care or with me at the Kettle Clinic. Several members are part of the street cleaning team, ensuring a clean environment for all of us neighbours. Petal members also struggle with mental illness and or addiction, as well as extreme poverty, all leading to poor health outcomes. They need, like I did, housing that is in their neighbourhood and will provide the peace of mind affordable, clean and stable housing offers. It is not a question for debate that housing is a key social determinant of health and leads to improved health outcomes. Multiple studies have shown this, including a 2012 study led by the Canadian Mental Health Commission, which included several Kettle members. Lastly, the Kettle Society has been an integral part of our community for 50 years and are well respected and used by neighbours, members and other service providers. Mental illness and addiction are in all our communities, whether people are impoverished and live on the street or live in private homes supported by family and friends. They too can benefit from the Kettle services. I encourage you to vote yes for this project.

Statement Watch

Well, so I've lived on the drive for more than a decade, and I'm a resident of the 1500 block of East Pender, just one block away from where this development will take place. I'm very excited to strongly support this project by the Kettle Society, a wonderful organization that has been providing transformative services in this community for many years. I love living on the drive, and I love all of its diversity, and I've been delighted by the improvements that the city has made possible on the drive in recent years. The planning that has been taking place has truly made the drive come alive in exciting ways with the parklets and outdoor seating and improvements to cycling infrastructure. And really, the case I would make is that homeless and low-income Vancouverites should be able to participate in this exciting revitalization as well. As other community members have pointed out tonight, the reality of our city and of cities across the country is that economic stratification is increasing, that there has been a vicious turn against harm reduction principles, and that rates of homelessness are rapidly increasing. Safety does not work through exclusion. And what my neighbors have described tonight when they are in opposition of this project is actually securitization. It's not only that we don't get to create an invisible wall around this community and exempt ourselves from this broader reality that is happening at much higher levels than the municipal level. It's the reality that our responsibility to one another and to our community members is to embrace the complexity of what it means to refuse this violence and to choose to find a way to live together in our city across the divisiveness of stigma. I really want to reframe the discourse around public safety that has come up in this forum because I am within yelling distance of the two condos strata members that spoke tonight, and I do not hear persistent screaming and yelling. I do not walk in feces every day, and I walk my dogs every day in the alley behind the proposed development. I chat with my neighbors, housed and unhoused. More than once, they have offered me things that they have. They've given me a dog bag for my own dogs, and I didn't have one. They pet my dogs. They engage. I have never once felt unsafe. And in fact, these community members are what make me want to live here and to continue to live here. We need to consider that when we see signifiers like PCs in an alleyway, a person screaming in distress, discarded drug pedophilia, These are not fundamental threats to our safety. These people are members of our public. And this is a reflection of the incredible risk that those community members live in every day and the lack of safety that they are living in without safe places to toilet, without running water, without appropriate care and support and shelter. The reality, too, of homelessness is that different communities need different things. There seems to be a notion among many Vancouverites that we can ghettoize everyone in the downtown east side, and not everyone in the homeless community is created the same or has the same needs. There are people already living in this community. The question is whether we make the decision to shelter them and to provide them with appropriate services, and I have every confidence in the Kettle Society to do that with this project. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Good evening, Council. My name is Allison Smith, and I'm the rezoning planner presenting the ODP amendment and CD1 rezoning for 1683 to 1691 East Pender Street and 485 Commercial Drive. The subject site is composed of one parcel located in the Granview Woodland neighborhood at the northwest corner of Commercial Drive and Pender Street. The site is currently vacant. The surrounding neighborhood consists of a mix of purpose-built rental and strata buildings as well as commercial and industrial uses. The existing built form is primarily low to mid-rise forms with some higher forms anticipated to be built in the area in the future. A number of existing social service centers and community and cultural spaces are concentrated in the area, including the existing Kettle Friendship Society facility on Venable Street and the Urban Native Youth Association and Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Center on Hastings Street. The site has a split generalized land use designation in the ODP of mixed-use mid-rise on the western portion of the site and mixed-use low-rise on the eastern portion of the site. Mixed-use mid-rise and mixed-use low-rise designations consists of mixed-use buildings with non-dwelling uses at the ground level and office or dwelling uses above, up to 12 and 6 stories respectively. The application proposes to change the GLU designation for a portion of the site to residential high-rise one, which permits buildings of up to 26 stories. As the application proposes to change the GLU designation through an ODP amendment, a public hearing is required. The eastern portion of the site is designated commercial drive north in the plan, which permits six stories and a maximum density of three FSR. The western portion of the site is designated as the Pender Street transition area, which allows for up to 10 stories with a maximum density of 3.2 FSR. A minimum of 20% floor area of non-market housing is required in the Pender Street transition area. Section 7.1 of the plan aims to increase housing options for vulnerable community residents and to end homelessness, including by working with service providers to respond to the specialized housing needs of communities that are disproportionately at risk in the neighborhood housing market. The housing policies of the plan permit consideration of modest increases in height and density for delivery of non-market housing, including supportive housing, to assist with project viability subject to fit within the neighborhood context. Although originally envisioned for development at a different location during creation of the plan, the plan prioritizes the renewal and expansion of the Kettle Friendship Society facility with a minimum of 30 non-market supportive housing units. Proposal is for a 21-story residential rental building with 239 market rental units and a six-story mixed-use building with a two-story drop-in center and 40 social housing units in four floors above. The 40 social housing units would operate as supportive housing. The total site density is 7.78 FSR, which is in excess of what the plan envisioned. Staff are supportive of the increase in height and density to support the delivery of the social housing and drop-in center. Proposed development is a partnership between Cressy and the Kettle Friendship Society. If approved, a condition of enactment would require subdivision of the site. Cressy would retain ownership of the western portion of the site for the market rental tower and transfer ownership of the eastern portion of the site to Kettle. Kettle would own the subdivided east portion of the site and the drop-in center, while BC Housing would own the air rights to the social housing and grant a long-term lease with Kettle for the operation and management of the supportive housing units. Under the Vancouver Charter, consultations opportunities must be provided for persons, organizations, and authorities affected by an ODP amendment. Council directed staff to consult with the VSB, CSF, and the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and the TTsleil-Waututh Nation. The school board noted that there is continued surplus capacity at the site's catchment schools, both Admiral Seymour Elementary and Britannia Secondary School. No other comments were received from other groups by the end of the consultation period. Public support was expressed for new housing, both in the form of rental and social housing, as well as focusing density near to transit routes. Some respondents supported the proposed height, density, and massing at this location. Others noted that the development will replace an underutilized site with a project that improves and serves the neighborhood. Staff have the following responses for the concerns that were expressed. Firstly, in relation to the comments of excessive height, scale, and massing. The proposed height of the market tower does exceed the 10 stories contemplated in the plan. However, staff are supportive of this extra height in order to facilitate the delivery of the social housing and the drop-in center. Secondly, in response to the concern for over-concentration of social and supportive housing in this area, staff note that the plan does encourage new non-market housing in the neighborhood and that it is the city's goal to ensure that there is a range of affordable housing options in every neighborhood. Thirdly, in terms of pressure on amenities, traffic, and infrastructure, staff note that the project includes an expanded social service center to benefit local community members. And staff are looking at strategies to respond to pressures on local services across the city's portfolio as part of capital planning reviews. In terms of neighborhood impact from the proposed social service center, staff note that the Kettle Friendship Society currently serves the neighborhood at their existing drop-in center location, and they're proposing a continuation of their services which benefit the community while also integrating housing at the new location. In response to concerns about the planning process, staff note that every project is reviewed based on its own merit. The total anticipated public benefits from this project is $2.7 million, including $0.3 million for public art and $2.4 million for DCLs. Other public benefits include the 40 social housing units, 236 rental housing units, and approximately 14,000 square feet for a social service center. In conclusion, the proposal meets the intent of the Grandview Woodland Community Plan and staff support this application subject to conditions contained in the report. Please note that there is a yellow memo attached to the application, which has two items. The first relates to additional information that Council must consider when amendments are made to the Vancouver ODP. And the second is to provide revised engineering conditions of approval in response to a request from the applicant after referral to separate the services agreement conditions for the two future proposed land parcels. Staff and the applicant team are available to answer questions.

Statement Watch

My name is Julian Kendall. I'm Vice President of Development at Crecy Development Group, and I'm pleased to be here on behalf of the project team. And since staff just did a great job of summarizing the application already, I'll just do a short introduction and then turn it over to a representative from Kettle to highlight some of the work they currently do in the community and the programming intended for their portion of the project. Cressy is a local family-owned real estate company focused on developing, owning, and operating real estate with a long-term ownership approach to rental housing. Cressy currently owns and operates nine rental buildings in the Grandview Woodlands neighborhood alone. We have been working closely with Kettle for over three years now on this project and have a great amount of respect for the work that they do in the community. Both Kettle and Cressy have deep roots in the Gramby Woodland neighborhood, each with over 50 years of history here. That shared local experience allows us to bring a thoughtful, practical, and respectful approach to delivering this project to the community. As proud long-term owners, both Cressy and Kettle are invested not only in our buildings, but also in the communities around them. We work hard to ensure each project is a good neighbor and a positive addition to the community, as reflected in the long-standing track records of both organizations. If approved, this project will deliver 40 supportive housing units, 100% of which will be at shelter rates, plus an expanded 14,000 square foot social services drop-in center, all in a self-contained building to be owned and operated by the Kettle. This building represents 20% of the floor area for the overall project. In the tower, there will be 236 secured rental units, all of which will meet the Class B DCL waiver rents, which are significantly more affordable than market rents in the city. This building will be owned and operated long-term by Cressy. The existing property, which is over half an acre in size, is sitting completely clear of any buildings, meaning there will be no tenant displacement. This project would allow the currently underused property to contribute much-needed rental housing, supportive housing, and social services space to the community. Both Cressy and Kettle are extremely proud of the project we've proposed for consideration this evening and are confident we have the expertise to deliver the project in a timely manner and to ensure it will be managed responsibly over the long term, resulting in a lasting value for the neighborhood at large. I'd now like to introduce Janet. You're speaking. Janet Smith from Kettle, just to say a few words. Okay. Good evening, Deputy Mayor and Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Janet Smith, and I am here in my role as Director of Housing and Real Estate on behalf of the Kettle Society, proposing the redevelopment of 485 Commercial Drive. I'm joined this evening by Michelle Jerome, who is the Director of Community Services. We are very proud to be partnering with Cressy Developments to bring this project forward and create a much needed homes and services here in the Grandview Woodlands community. Together we are working to deliver a purpose-built community asset that combines the Kettle's decades of frontline mental health, housing, and community service experience and thoughtful redevelopment capacity. The Kettle has been located in the community for 50 years. Our reputation has been built through decades of intentional operations, strong relationships, and a clear understanding that we are responsible not only to the people who come through our doors, but also to our neighbors, businesses, and the public spaces around us. The need this project responds to is not theoretical, and it is not new. Our current building is aging, overcrowded, and no longer adequate for the level of demand we are seeing. Demand has increased by 15% this year alone and has grown by 50% since 2020. When the redevelopment is complete, our current drop-in will close and relocate three blocks away. The people we serve and services we provide will remain in the community What will change is our ability to respond to the growing demand and the facility that is larger, safer, and purpose-built for today's needs. The building will be purpose-built with community safety in mind, features such as separate entrances, part storage, improved sight lines, better circulation, and enhanced staff oversight directly addresses concern raised by neighbors and operational challenges we face today in a building that was never designed for this level of demand. The project also brings supported housing and community services together under one roof, which reflects the Kettle's longstanding belief that housing and support must be delivered together for people to achieve long-term stability. Pedal on the Drive will include 40 self-contained subsidized homes connected to wraparound supports, relationships, and community services that help people stabilize and stay housed. The co-location model has several important benefits. One of the most significant is the supported housing will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing ongoing presence and added oversight on the block during the times when the drop-in is closed. It also creates opportunities for stronger connections to support. When tenants or their guests need assistance, they can be connected directly to the drop-in, helping them access the resources and the support they need to improve stability and well-being. The Kettle is well-positioned to operate this housing. We currently operate more than 400 homes across the continuum that includes licensed care. enhanced care, supported housing, portable subsidies, and transitional housing. By spring 2027, that number will grow to more than 500 homes as we expand our portfolio to include complex care. Our mental health model is built around strong staffing, wraparound support, advocacy, health connections, and early interventions. We are equally committed to strong operations and accountability. This project will be supported by upfront investment in staffing, including 24-7 on staff coverage for the housing, trained mental health workers throughout the drop-in, 365 days a year. We will be implementing our good neighbor policy, which we take great pride in at all of our housing sites. We have a posted number that people can contact for urgent concerns. We maintain clear complaint and issue resolution processes, and we form a community advisory committee so neighbors, local businesses, partners, and the Kettle have a regular forum to share information, track concerns, and work together through solutions so all of the community is partnered together. This project is a practical investment in the future of this community. It will improve the capacity, accessibility, and the safety of our drop-in, while adding much needed supported housing connected to services people need to succeed. Kettle on the Drive will give us the space, Staffing and tools to respond more effectively to the needs that already exist in the neighborhood We respectively ask council to support this project so the kettle can continue serving the Grandview woodland for decades to come Thank you for your time Okay, thanks very much Are there any questions from council to staff or the applicant noting?