Editor:
Burnaby council is once again trying to sell public land by Edmonds - by trying to create an appearance of some public benefit, while hiding a massive developer giveaway.
The proposal for the city to sell 6438 Byrnepark Dr. was at a previous public hearing on April 30, and there was significant opposition to the giveaway of public land without public benefit.
So the city went back and cut a deal with the developer, Polygon, to give the appearance of getting some public benefit with a few rental units, while actually hiding a massive giveaway to Polygon.
The updated proposal is to include 20 rental units in addition to the 102 condos at the Byrnepark Dr. site (near Edmonds), while giving Polygon an additional 27,641 square feet of density at a site in Metrotown (5900 Olive Ave.). So not only will Polygon make a (slightly more modest) profit from the 20 rental units by Edmonds, they also are being given massive profits from the additional density at the Metrotown site.
This is the "benefit" Burnaby receives for selling public land: a huge giveaway to a donor developer and forever loss of opportunity and affordability for the site at 6438 Byrnepark Dr.
Additionally, since the previous public hearing in April, Burnaby has officially declared a climate emergency and committed to 45-per-cent reduction in GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 2030. However, this project flies in complete opposition to that, by building 194 new parking spaces in an area close to both SkyTrain and frequent bus service. This huge number of new parking spaces encourages more personal auto travel, which is one of the largest sources of GHG emissions in our city and region.
This project locks in that increase in personal auto travel emissions for 30-plus years (the lifespan of the buildings and underground parking), while we need to be at net-zero emissions within 30 years.
This is a perfect example of Burnaby saying one thing with the climate emergency, but actually moving in complete opposition to taking action (and, in fact, making the problem that much worse) in light of that emergency.
So what is an alternative to selling this public land and increasing GHG emissions? Well, if Burnaby wants to put in minimal money and effort, they could simply partner with the Community Land Trust, which has already partnered with a number of cities in the region and has built/is building hundreds of new units of co-op and non-market housing right now in Vancouver and other cities.
Their biggest need is land, so if Burnaby will provide a long-term lease at a nominal cost, the trust has said they have enough other partners and resources to get the money to build and operate the new non-market housing if they can get access to land.
This would guarantee long-term affordability for all the housing on this site, while also enabling the city to retain ownership of a very important asset (the land) that will be lost for a least a generation or more if it is sold now.
By including minimal amounts of parking (which often costs $30,000-$80,000 per space), the new homes could be that much more affordable and encourage more sustainable modes of transportation, including transit, biking, and walking.
The good news is that there is still one more chance to stop this abhorrent giveaway to Polygon and sale of public land for next to no public benefit:
There will be another public hearing this Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at city hall, where you can speak to council, or you can email [email protected] with your thoughts before then.
Burnaby is in the middle of a rental and affordable housing crisis, yet here they are, attempting to sell public land which should instead be used to guarantee long-term affordable housing, while doing their best to worsen he climate crisis.
Please write a letter opposing this rezoning and sale of city land, or show up to the public hearing and let them know your thoughts in person. You can send letters to: [email protected], referencing 6438 Byrnepark Dr., and include your address. Let Mayor Hurley and Councillors Pietro Calendino, Sav Dhaliwal, Paul McDonell, Joe Keithley, Dan Johnston, Colleen Jordan, Nick Volkow and James Wang, know how you feel about the lack of affordable housing in our City. Let's stop the sale of our public lands to this or any other private developer.
Joel Gibbs, Burnaby
Editor’s note: Joel Gibbs ran for a seat on city council for the Burnaby Greens in 2018.
