Bosa is Refusing to Renew Tenant Leases! Or are they?

One of the reasons why it's so easy to be part of the anti-development crowd is that you never actually need to do any research. Why do all of that searching and phoning and reading when you can just make stuff up?

The latest round of rumour-mongering claims that Bosa, who are applying sometime soon to redevelop the Lynn Valley Centre property, have been refusing to renew tenant leases. Or, on alternate days, have been raising rents sky high in order to force out tenants.

By my count the Centre now has four empty store fronts, plus the old Zellers space, plus the dollar store which is about to close its doors.

Try as I might, I can't think up any business case to support the idea that empty stores would improve Bosa's bottom line.

And, conspiracy theories aside, I also can't think of any plausible way that emptying out the Mall would somehow make the District more likely to allow high rise construction.

So I did that thing that the no hirises (sic) people find so difficult: I e-mailed Bosa and asked them if they had been doing these things.

Their response seems pretty specific and direct:

Bosa is not refusing to re-new leases or trying to force tenants out. Actually nothing could be further from the truth! Recently, the fellow who owned the dollar store did not renew his lease and Bosa even offered to lower the rent to keep him. In all of the planning we are constantly focused on how to do the project with as little disruption to the mall and the tenants as possible.

Of course the conspiracy theorists will see this as yet another part of the Big Conspiracy.

DNV Takes the First Step Forward on Lynn Valley

Last night the DNV Council approved the following:

 "Develop a Planning Framework to guide decision-making (generally based on a 5- storey height limit with maximum 8 storeys at strategic locations; additional height considered on a case-by-case basis). "

This should be the first step in the process that leads to the redevelopment of the Lynn Valley Centre and surrounding properties.

The official notice from Council is here.


News Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 8, 2013

North Vancouver District Council adopts Flexible Framework
for future development in Lynn Valley Town Centre

North Vancouver District Council took a close look at the realities and facts of Lynn Valley Town Centre planning at their meeting last night and staked out a way forward.

At issue were two possible approaches to guiding new development over the next 20 years. The first option was to enshrine in policy an absolute height limit of five storeys across the town centre. The second option, recommended by staff and adopted by Council, was a "flexible planning framework‟ that allows heights of predominantly five storeys, increasing to eight storeys at strategic locations.

The framework also provides the flexibility to receive community input on and review, on a case-by- case basis, applications for developments that exceed eight stories. In adopting the framework Council set a height limit of 12 storeys for those specific locations.

Council arrived at this point after a rigorous and wide-ranging community consultation with 950 residents, during which they received over 1,400 submissions, distinctly focussed on Lynn Valley Town Centre. This was in addition to a previous public consultation program which reached over 5,000 people and resulted in the Official Community Plan being adopted by Council in 2011.

After much analysis, Planning staff provided Council with a side-by-side comparison of the trade-offs between the five storey absolute height limit and the flexible framework model. Highlights of the benefits of the flexible framework approach include:

• addition of a large local park as well as more public spaces and pocket green spaces
• the ability to create enough critical mass to support provision of enhanced transit service
• road dedication for a transit exchange along East 27th Street
• the ability to protect views in public spaces and avoid excessive shading from buildings
• enhancement of the area‟s ecology, including stream enhancement
• 45 – 60 percent difference in the dollar value of Community Amenity Contributions and Development Cost Charges (funds received from developers in exchange for additional density that help pay for highly-valued neighbourhood features such as daycare spaces, new parks, public plazas, walking trails, stream enhancements, etc.)
• increased economic opportunity by creating and maintaining a vibrant business community that enables and encourages a walkable streetscape
• the ability to more closely dictate and monitor the character of new buildings to meet the community's desired "mountain village‟ aesthetic
• more diverse and plentiful mix of housing types suitable for seniors and young families

The flexible framework allows the District to continue to meet objectives already adopted in the Official Community Plan around transportation, housing, parks and open spaces, economic vibrancy, the environment and the social well-being of the population, while acknowledging community concerns about rapid or extreme change, cookie-cutter design, shading from buildings, and transportation improvements. It also allows the community to help shape the future look, feel and functionality of the area by being involved in redevelopment proposals and rezonings for the town centre, particularly those that ask to exceed eight storeys and build towards the 12 storey limit that Council has set.

Mayor Walton said, “I‟m pleased that, with the help of the Community, Council has landed on a balanced approach that takes into consideration all viewpoints and provides a clear path forward for rejuvenation of the Lynn Valley Town Centre.”

– 30 –

North Vancouver District Communications Office

604-990-2459

View the full Council report from the October 7 North Vancouver District Council Meeting

North Vancouver District

355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver, BC

www.dnv.org



Document: 2195101

The Latest from Bosa.

If you didn't make it to the presentation week before last, or to the displays in the former pet store at Lynn Valley Centre (beside the soon to be former dollar store) here's what was presented.

Thanks to Mark Sager for providing these pictures.  The big 20+ story tower is gone, replaced by two lower towers, plus all of that residential and commercial goodness that will bring Lynn valley back to life.

As you can see from the map, this design works within the Official Community Plan.

Will DNV Council move Lynn Valley Ahead next Week?

Next Tuesday's meeting represents an important opportunity for DNV Council to start the Lynn Valley Revitalisation rolling.

Although they won't be actually approving any new projects - in large part because no applications have been made - they will be voting on having District staff "Develop a Planning Framework to guide decision-making."

Here's my letter of support.  Click here to send yours.

October 4, 2013

Mayor Richard Walton
District of North Vancouver
Municipal Hall
355 West Queens Road,
North Vancouver, BC

Re: Lynn Valley Town Centre
Alternative Implementation Planning Directions

Dear Mayor Walton and Council,

I would like to urge you to approve Option Three, titled “Develop a Planning Framework to guide decision-making (generally based on a 5- storey height limit with maximum 8 storeys at strategic locations; additional height considered on a case-by-case basis).”

Surely the District has invested enough time, energy, and money in seeking out the opinions of those opposed to re-developing the Lynn Valley Centre area. I cannot see that anything more is to be gained by hosting more meetings, gathering more opinions, or encouraging more letter writing.

Lynn Valley Center and the area surrounding it are in desperate need of renovation. Delaying this work will do nothing but damage the District, the property owners, and the people of Lynn Valley.

I especially encourage you to make it a priority to find a redevelopment plan for the Bosa property. The mall is losing tenants on a regular basis, and time is of the essence. With their latest designs Bosa have demonstrated that they are prepared to create a development proposal that addresses both community concerns and their needs as investors and developers.

Now is the time for Council to begin to move this work ahead.

From the perspective of a Lynn Valley resident, I am particularly interested in seeing the District maximize the impact from Community Amenity Strategy (CAC) items. These are the things that will make the Lynn Valley Town Centre a lively and successful place.

I would especially urge you to make the development of cultural and arts facilities a priority in the Lynn Valley development. You need only look at the tremendously successful Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver, or the Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby, to see how lacking the District is in essential cultural infrastructure.

Every time that I visit the Shadbolt Centre I'm overwhelmed by the breadth of their programming – visual arts, dance, music – and wish that we had something similar on the North Shore.

Every time that I attend a concert or event at the Kay Meek Centre I am frustrated that the District has no public facility to match it.

You now have an opportunity to create a similar institution in Lynn Valley, a place where students and performers can gather; where artists can work and show their work, and which will allow our young creative artists to train and work in the District instead of traveling to Vancouver or Burnaby.

Surely these facilities are at least as important as playing fields, bike paths, and skate parks.

Over the last several years we have seen municipal elections,the lengthy Official Community Plan process, the many Lynn Valley specific planning events, and thousands of hours of staff and Council time invested into defining the future of Lynn Valley.

The District has studied traffic, has projected population and demographic changes, has commissioned studies, and has examined best practices from other locales. Surely you have learned enough that you can now make decisions

Enough is enough. Now is the time for Council to show real leadership and to starting moving the redevelopment of the region ahead.

Delaying change while trying to satisfy every single complaint will get us no-where.

Instead it is imperative that Council show leadership and look at the big picture, and at the long term future of Lynn Valley, and make those decisions that will give us a livable and sustainable community in Lynn Valley.

To be frank: there is a part of Lynn Valley's population – a minority to be sure – that will never ever be satisfied with any change. This group would rather that see the middle of Lynn Valley become a barren, empty parking lot than see anything built there.

Please don't let these people undermine the vision that is expressed in the Official Community Plan.

Yours sincerely,

Barry Rueger

Come Out and See the Latest Plans!

This just in from Mark Sager at Bosa:

If you would like to see our revised plans for the re-development of the Lynn Valley Shopping Centre please join us Thursday September 12th at 7 pm. in the former Zeller's space. Please enter using the exterior doors on the west side of the building (across from Safeway).
Thank you and I sincerely hope you will like and support the new plan.

Best regards
Mark Sager

Crime in North Vancouver

One of the biggest claims made by the anti-highrise crowd is that more people living in Lynn Valley will mean a skyrocketing crime rate.  Often this claim is accompanied by the assertion that crime in North Vancouver has doubled or tripled in the last (insert arbitrary number of) years.

In a nutshell, the basis premise of the anti-development crowd is that any person who might choose to move to Lynn Valley, except those who buy single family detached homes, are criminals.

To start this discussion, let's begin by looking at the claims that crime is already out of control in North Vancouver. A handy tool for that is Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index.

In a nutshell, the CSI allows you to compare different towns and cities in a consistent manner.

The Crime Severity Index (is) a new tool for measuring police-reported crime in Canada that for the first time tracks changes in the severity of crime, not just volume.The report also examines how crime is measured in Canada, as well as recent improvements to statistics on crime that are gathered from the police.

Nationwide the overall CSI for 2010 was 82.7.  For the District it was the remarkably low 48.9.

In other words, there is really not much crime in the District of North Vancouver, although in the District we do skew towards violent crime compared to the City.

And, if you compare it to other municipalities that sit around 90,000 people you'll see that even within similarly sized places we're sitting in the lower end of the scale.

Source: Crime Severity Index values for 238 police services policing communities over 10,000 population, 2010

Thanks for your patience

We're back after a couple of weeks filled with life and business, all of which left no time for this side project.

First up - will a few more people turn Lynn Valley into the Crime Capital of Canada?

We Get Letters!

We've added a page for letters.  Not so much letters raving about this site - and we've had a few - but a place for letters to politicians, to the North Shore News, to the Outlook.

It's important for all of us to understand that we're part of a large group of Lynn Valleyites who understand that it's time to revitalize and invigorate this community; that there are fiscal and corporate realities involved in this process; that really tall buildings do mean the downfall of civilization; and that new people moving here are not all criminals, drug addicts, and "renters."

In particular it's important to understand that the lack of pro-development Letters in the local news media does not mean that people aren't writing them - it just means that they're not being published.

Today we kick off our Letters page with three letters to the North Shore News that you haven't been able to read.

Your submissions, to politicians, to the local media, and to us, are heartily encouraged!

Target is Coming to Lynn Valley! Well, Actually not.

One of the ongoing rumours around Lynn Valley Centre is that Target will be taking over the old Zellers space.

Today I received confirmation from Bosa Developments that this is not true.

Looking at the size and configuration of the Zellers space, and the limited amount of parking around it, I'd be hard pressed to think of a large retailer that would be interested.

Large retail these days is in the Big Box model, which wants a lot more floor space than Lynn Valley Centre can offer, and enough parking to handle a clientèle that's drawn from a region, not just a neighbourhood.  Although Target is opening some small stores - small being 125,000 sq ft - those stores are designed for urban areas with high population densities.

Looking at the major retailers who are moving into Canada, it's pretty clear that none of them are too likely to see Lynn Valley Zellers space as a priority location.

Will There Really be FIVE THOUSAND people moving into Lynn Valley?

Short answer: maybe some day.

Long answer: the proposed plans suggest an increase in population over the next twenty years.

Yes. Twenty years.

So it's not sensible to paint a picture of thousands of people arriving overnight and overwhelming transit, roads, parks, and schools.

And most of that new residential development is expected to be town houses and low-rise development, not towers.

Regardless of what a twenty year plan might suggest, the proposals currently on the table (Bosa and Safeway)  have asked for two 6 floor towers, one 14 floor, and two 22 floor buildings, with just over 600 residential units.  At current family sizes for the DNV of 3.1, that might add 1800 people, not  5000.

Let's Bring Lynn Valley Back To Life!

Every time that I drive by the closed stores at the Safeway end of Lynn Valley Centre I get worried.

In cities and towns all over North America we've seen similar scenes - one business closes, then another, then a third, then a whole nieghbourhood.

Lynn Valley is on the edge of that sort of collapse, with Zellers gone, and an empty library building beside it, and two or three empty spaces at any time inside the Mall.

Now Safeway has been bought by Sobeys, and it's anyone's guess how long it will be before the Eastern owners decide that our seventies supermarket is an underperformer and closes that too.

Already most people in Lynn Valley make two or three trips each week to shop elsewhere - there are simply too many things that aren't available here.  Those trips become habit, and going to the local mall becomes just one thing too much to bother with.

The truth of the matter is that the centre of Lynn Valley is old, tired, and in desperate need of redevelopment.

Right now the District of North Vancouver is part way though a process of consulting with anyone and everyone to get ideas on what direction that development should take.

At the same time there are a group of people who are adamant that any development above four stories is too much, that any new influx of residents are too many, and that anything that significantly alters the existing Lynn Valley Centre is an affront to their ideas of community and culture.

What I've tried to do here is counter the mis-information and fear-mongering that has characterized the anti-development groups.  What I have tried to do is offer facts, links to source materials, and ideas that acknowledge the reality of the commercial development process, while still encouraging everyone to explore the ideas and speak their piece.

I absolutely want informed contributions to add to what's on the site.  I'd love for some meetings to be arranged for people who like the idea of re-inventing and revitalizing Lynn Valley.

And if someone wants to register a domain name, or print pamphlets, that's good too!

Next up for me, when time permits, are some of those automated e-mail forms so that we can also blitz the elected officials.

Barry Rueger
Lynn Valley resident
barry.rueger@gmail.com