A rezoning application to replace two low-rise rental apartment buildings with highrise condo towers atop commercial space is going to public hearing next Tuesday.
The Metrotown properties in question, at 6380 and 6420 Silver Ave., were the site of a rally last week where members of the Burnaby branch of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) Canada gathered to demand the city do more to protect low-cost rental apartments in the area.
“We have lots of members who live in rental apartments in Burnaby and a lot of them, like the ones one Silver Street are relatively inexpensive,” ACORN spokesperson and Burnaby resident Murray Martin told the NOW regarding the rally. “We’re worried that none of our members are going to be able to afford these new places. They will be displaced. With the vacancy rate so low, they will probably be forced out of the city.”
The apartment buildings were built in the early ’60s, according to a staff report, and contain a total of 109 units.
The applicant, Belford Properties, is putting forward a development plan that includes a 41-storey residential tower atop a 6.5-storey podium with commercial, institutional and retail space, according to the report, and a 26-storey residential tower atop three-story townhouses.
The proposed development would include 479 apartment units in total, the report stated, adding that the density bonus from the project is estimated at $15.88 million and would go to the Metrotown Town Centre account for amenities including a Metrotown performance and events centre.
The public hearing only includes one other item – a rezoning application from Telus for a temporary Cell on Wheels installation to replace telecommunications antennas that are currently located at the former Telus industrial complex, according to a city staff report. The temporary set-up would be located near Lougheed Highway and Bainbridge Avenue and would be removed prior to July 1, 2016.
The public hearing takes place in council chambers at city hall on Tuesday, June 23 at 7 p.m. For those who cannot attend, written submissions must be received at the city clerk’s office by 4:45 p.m. on the day of the public hearing.
Burnaby council does not accept submissions regarding rezoning applications after public hearings.
