For up-to-date information visit ~ Eye on Norquay ~ at:
http://eyeonnorquay.wordpress.com
NOTE: Norquay Neighbours functioned as a community-based action group from June 2007 into the first half of 2009. A portion of the Norquay Neighbours group decided to engage in the second round of Norquay planning, which began with a 29 November 2008 open house event. Others decided to steer clear of involvement in further city-controlled “process.” As a result, this Norquay Neighbours web site went dormant early in 2009. Throughout 2009-2010, communication within the Norquay community relied on email contact only. In November 2010, planners and Council imposed a plan on Norquay despite a lack of substantial community support. In February 2011 a successor web site came into being to complement and to update the Norquay Neighbours site. Eye on Norquay records what has taken place after 2008, monitors what is happening to the Norquay area of East Vancouver, and provides an ongoing forum for residents to communicate.
This web site is devoted to providing background, current information, and links related to what the City of Vancouver has chosen to call the “Norquay” area of East Vancouver (see Norquay Maps). A handy readable summary of specific major concerns 2007-2008 can be found in the first issue of Norquay Newsletter published in Fall 2008. Things Norquay Neighbours Are Doing lists our actions, with upcoming and latest at the top.
In June 2007 Norquay area residents formed a citizens action group in response to sudden, sweeping proposals for rezoning made by the City of Vancouver. Such mass rezoning had little basis in the Community Vision developed through lengthy process and involved no real consultation with neighborhood residents. Analysis of the Community Vision demonstrated that the June 2007 Draft Plan attempted to impose on Norquay an extensive range of new housing types that were designated as either “Not Approved” or “Not Supported.”
Contact with other neighborhood groups across Vancouver led us to believe that we stood in the front line of resistance to a hastily conceived and ill-considered attempt to remake the city of Vancouver without proper citizen consultation. Please spend time reviewing the following material and support us in our attempts to engage the City of Vancouver.
About 2400 single-family homes fall within the Norquay area. The Norquay area extends 1.35 km along Kingsway from Gladstone Street to Killarney Street, reaches as far north as East 24th Avenue and as far south as East 41st Avenue, and straddles the Nanaimo Street boundary between Renfrew Collingwood and Kensington Cedar Cottage.
Vancouver’s 22 Local Areas: Sizes, Population, Dwellings
– % Change 1996-2006
This set of calculations from City of Vancouver census data demonstrates
that with no mass rezoning Renfrew-Collingwood has for the
past decade experienced the greatest rates of both population and dwelling
unit increase among Vancouver’s single-family zoned local areas.
Across all of Vancouver, the rate of increase was second only to
Downtown. (January 2009)
Comparison of Housing Types in Community Visions
This study compares the categories of housing types classified as
approved / uncertain / unsupported for the eight local areas in
Vancouver that have community visions. (April 2008 / revised April
2009)
Expansion of Proposed New Housing Zones in Norquay Village
This map shows how Vancouver city planners redefined and expanded
the “Norquay” area four times in a little over one
year. (July 2007 / redrawn January 2009)
The Renfrew-Collingwood Community Vision: Trampled, Not Implemented
This analysis demonstrates how the Renfrew-Collingwood Community
Vision has been trampled. Our map shows how
proposed locations for new housing zones
in Norquay have grown like rapid cancer in City documents
during the past year. (June 2007 / revised September 2007)
Questions About Planning for Norquay
This two-sided half-sheet pdf was distributed as a leaflet to visitors to
City Planning’s Nov. 29, 2008 Open House about upcoming neighbourhood
centre planning in Norquay.
Norquay Newsletter (No. 1, Fall 2008)
This four-page pdf was distributed by hand as a print publication to
some 2400 homes in and near Norquay. It offers a handy summary of
recent history and some results of research. A restart of
neighbourhood centre planning for Norquay Village after an
eighteen-month suspension occasioned the preparation of this first issue.
Newsletter no. 4 (June 19, 2008) : Norquay Village
Neighbourhood Centre Program – A Preliminary Response
This document outlines issues of scope, method, context, process,
timing, and transparency related to the City of Vancouver’s
resumption of one-sided planning for Norquay Village in June 2008.
2300 Kingsway (at Nanaimo Street) – A Preliminary Response
This document outlines the challenges that a developer’s
“redrawing” of plans for a 282-unit skyscraper and
mid-rise presents to Norquay in the summer of 2008. The deadline for
written submissions is August 11, 2008. (Now see instead the final response.)
“EcoDensity” Charter – A Tool to Hoodwink Vancouverites
This two-page leaflet announces a city-wide rally on Tuesday
June 10, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at Vancouver City Hall.
Defend Your Neighbourhood – Mass Rezoning Will Change Our City
Forever
This two-page leaflet announces a city-wide rally on Tuesday
February 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Vancouver City Hall.
Norquay Survey Results: History and Context
This account shows how the City of Vancouver discarded unwanted
feedback from the Norquay community.
EcoDensity?
This two-page leaflet raises many serious questions about the City
of Vancouver’s proposals for EcoDensity.
Forum – Rezoning: ‘Where Do You Stand?’
This two-page leaflet announces a public forum on rezoning in
Norquay, to be held on Friday October 19, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at
Collingwood Neighbourhood House, 5288 Joyce Street (near Joyce
skytrain station).
City of Vancouver Plans for Norquay Village: A Statement of Concerns
This detailed statement, released in October 2007, embodies much
consultation with citizens resident in Norquay as well as input from
citizens in other neighborhoods across Vancouver.
Press Release: City-Wide Rally September 18 at City Hall
This August 20 press release coordinates with the following leaflet
that is already being distributed.
Massive Rezoning Threatens Vancouver Neighbourhoods
(English Version
–
Chinese Version)
This two-page leaflet calls for a rally at City Hall on September
18, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. by concerned citizens from across Vancouver.
Norquay Neighbours seeks broad support in this action.
Proposed Mass Rezoning in Renfrew-Collingwood
This information is revised from an email with attached documents that
was distributed starting July 16, 2007 – before Norquay Neighbours
had a web site. The pdf attachments to the email have been replaced
by links to relevant contexts on the City of Vancouver web site. This
earlier version overlaps considerably with the other documents listed
here, but it offers a view that may remain helpful. This document will
not be updated.
Documents
Application for Working Group
Although available at the November 29, 2008 Norquay Village Open
House, this form was not on the literature table and was hard to
find. Download a copy, fill out the form, and send it in so you can
participate in a “working group” in the first half of
2009. Don’t let the City plan the long-term future of our
neighborhood WITHOUT YOU.
Newsletter no. 4 and
Newsletter no. 5
from the Norquay Village Neighbourhood Centre Program
See detailed response to Newsletter no. 4:
Newsletter no. 4 (June 19, 2008) : Norquay Village
Neighbourhood Centre Program – A Preliminary Response.
Newsletter no. 5 announced the Nov. 29, 2008 Open House at
which a vague process was outlined, to include the restart of
“working groups” and the holding of three Spring 2009
Workshops (with no dates set).
Draft Plan for Future Housing in Norquay Village Neighbourhood Center ...
[also known as Newsletter #3]
This twelve-page brochure was distributed in late May and early June 2007
as an unaddressed junk mail flyer to many (but not all) houses in and near
the affected area. The 30% of Norquay that does not have English or
Chinese as a first language was given no indication of the
importance of this information.
Adoption of the Hastings-Sunrise and Renfrew-Collingwood Community Visions
Policy Report of January 24, 2004. This document clearly states:
“Directions categorized as ‘Not supported’ not to be
adopted nor considered in future planning processes ... ”
Low-Income Households
City of Vancouver data mapped from the 2001 census shows that the
Norquay neighborhood consists of 25% to 30% low-income households. The
Draft Plan for Future Housing in Norquay says (p. 4doc/5pdf):
“How much will the housing cost?”
“New units are always more expensive than older ones of a
similar type and size.”
Taken together with the map, this statement suggests that the City of
Vancouver has targeted low-income households in the Norquay area for
displacement.
View Map Showing Neighbourhood Centres as Identified through Community Visions
This one-page pdf map identifies 19 areas in Vancouver as targets
for mass rezoning.
Future Neighbourhood Centres Planning
This City of Vancouver report of June 2007 names Hastings Sunrise
North and Main Street Riley Park as targets for 2008. Under
Summary, the report indicates undue haste, using
words like “expedite” and “faster.”
This report also verifies – contrary to statements from Director
of City Planning Brent Toderian – that an undiscussed, unapproved
EcoDensity agenda hijacked the Draft Plan for Norquay.
“EcoDensity is already influencing Centres planning, as exemplified
by the review of new housing potential along Kingsway in the Norquay Village
planning process” (p. 5). This report is simultaneous with
distribution of the survey form in Norquay.
Renfrew-Collingwood Community Vision
Approved by City Council March 23, 2004. One of the documents used
in providing the analysis found in
The Renfrew-Collingwood Community Vision: Trampled, Not Implemented
Neighbourhood Centre Delivery Program: Terms of Reference
Approved by City Council July 9, 2002. One of the documents used in
providing the analysis found in
The Renfrew-Collingwood Community Vision: Trampled, Not Implemented
Kingsway and Knight Housing Area Plan
This first rezoning proposal was approved in October 2005. See the
map on page 25doc/29pdf. This neighborhood served as a guinea pig
and already does not like some of the results of the
“experiment.”
2007 Property Taxation: Land Assessment Averaging Program Amendments
This document provides evidence of poor planning for property tax
impacts despite the extended – not expedited – process for rezoning
Kingsway & Knight.
EcoDensity – Suggested Tools and Actions – Draft (May 2007)
It seems that the City of Vancouver is trying to implement
EcoDensity ideas under the already existing Neighbourhood
Centres Program without broad discussion or neighborhood
consultation and with no respect for process or for the existing
Community Vision of Renfrew-Collingwood.
Links
City of Vancouver – CityPlan and Community Visions
CityPlan is “a city-wide plan that provides a framework for
deciding City programs, priorities and actions ... from
transportation to arts, housing to community services.”
The purpose of the Community Visions Program is “to bring
CityPlan to the neighbourhood level.”
City of Vancouver – Planning Department
“The Planning Department’s two main groups, City Plans and
Current Planning, advise Council on policies which guide growth and
change in the city.”
Updated May 1, 2009
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