The ThunderBlogs

Members of the public voiced both praise and condemnation for the proposed Marine Gateway development at an open house and information session, held Wednesday. It was jointly hosted by City of Vancouver planning staff and the rezoning applicant and proposed developer of the area, PCI Development Corp.

The intermittent whirring of the Canada Line SkyTrain could be heard through the open door of the unused auto parts and service building where the session was held. Each passing of a train was accompanied by a fresh wave of interested attendees. With a welcome from Beverly Chew, a Community Developer with the City, attendees collected a coffee and a cookie and listened to Chew’s introduction.

To the left was the developer’s 3-D renderings of the proposed Marine Gateway complex: an 890,000 square foot mixed use development constructed to LEED Gold standards.  It  features a movie theater, grocery and drug stores, restaurants, condominiums, rental units and offices.

And to the right, the City’s presentation of the rezoning application, its elements and the public consultation process.  “Most people don’t seem to understand the rezoning process,” said Chew, pointing to the placards on display around the room.

Attendees gathered in clusters, chatting amongst themselves about the features being presented. Representatives from the City and from PCI circulated, offering to answer questions.

“I’m quite involved in the whole thing,” said Randy Pilon, a resident of the area. Pilon is well aware of the proposal.  He was first contacted over a year ago. “It’s sort of like bringing a bit of downtown to our neighbourhood.  I’m giving it two thumbs up,” said Pilon.

However, at a height of 350 feet and an area approaching 1 million square feet, the development has opponents. PCI has revised its application twice, both in response to concerns regarding the overall size of the complex, the shadows it would cast, increased population density and traffic congestion.

“I’m fifty-fifty on the idea,” said Luchian Teodoropol, another attendee. Teodoropol is not a resident of the immediate community but passes through the area daily. “You can smell the waste transfer facility,” he said. “I’m not sure if anyone will want to live here.  It’s very industrial.”

Indeed, the faint smell of decaying matter is undeniable, so too is the presence of the surrounding industrial facilities and a corresponding parade of heavy truck traffic.

The developer’s rezoning application includes plans to remedy the smell. PCI “proposes to fund odour reduction work for the existing South Vancouver Transfer Station,” according the application.  But there are no plans to rezone the surrounding industrial area. The focus, according to the Cambie Corridor – Interim Rezoning Policy, is on the so called “civic gateway entrance.”