The Spires Road area could have a lot more people living there than originally planned – with rental housing mixed in with market condos.
However, John Roston, with the Richmond Rental Housing Advocacy Group, is pushing city council to zone the area for 100-per-cent rental buildings instead of “as little as 40 per cent.”
City staff are recommending Richmond city council approve bylaw changes to increase density in the area in exchange for developers creating rental units.
The increased density and possible rental is on the agenda for Tuesday’s planning committee meeting.
If the zoning changes are approved, it would mean 40 to 70 per cent of units built in the area would be rentals, half affordable rentals and half market rentals.
But Roston argues zoning for 100-per-cent rental would cap the value of the land, thereby, making it profitable to build fully rental buildings.
Furthermore, he states, buildings that are 100-per-cent rental bring economies of scale in the management of rental units, keeping rents down.
“If the zoning permits 60% strata condos then we will wind up with strata condo developers bidding up the price of the land beyond the level that would make 100% rental profitable,” Roston said in his feedback on the proposed bylaw changes.
If approved by city council, the Spires Road area, when completed, could have 1,000 more people living in the area than currently proposed.
It’s estimated, when built out, there would be between 1,600 and 2,100 units, home to between 3,400 and 4,200 people.
The Spires Road area, between Westminster Highway and Cook Road, and Cooney and Garden City roads, has been a largely single-family home area, but currently townhouses are being built along Cook Road. It’s about a 10-minute walk to the Brighouse Canada Line Station.
Four developments have been approved in the area already, and another one is in the works.
In-stream applications would be exempt from the new Spires Road zoning rules.
