UBC’s upcoming Stadium Neighbourhood has been delayed as community concerns continue to dog the project.
In a letter dated January 3, UBC Board of Governors (BoG) Chair Michael Korenberg announced the university will consider additional opportunities for UBC community housing, the development’s impact on local services and further consult with the Musqueam Indian Band before moving forward with a final plan.
However, the university does not appear to be reconsidering the neighbourhood’s proposed density or building heights, which remain at the heart of residents’ concerns.
UBC began drafting plans and consulting the public on this project in the fall of 2017. UBC Campus and Community Planning (CC+P) was previously slated to present a final neighbourhood plan to the BoG in February. Now, according to Director of Planning and Design Gerry McGeough, CC+P expects to present the plan “later in 2019.”
Stadium Neighbourhood will be located near the south end of UBC’s Point Grey campus and will feature a mix of market-rate condominiums and rental housing. A new stadium will also be constructed near East Mall and West 16th Avenue to replace Thunderbird Stadium.
In his letter, Korenberg said that the BoG’s Housing Action Plan Working Group has expressed interest in dedicating “up to two-thirds” of the neighbourhood to rental housing, a significant development from previous proposals that only allocated a third of residential space for rental housing with the remaining two-thirds allotted to market-rate condos.
McGeough says the neighbourhood’s rental housing would include a share of discounted units for university faculty and staff as well as other restricted rental housing available to students at market rates comparable to similar housing developments on campus.
Proposed towers rile local residents
Murray McCutcheon, a university area resident and UBC alumnus, is pleased with the university’s decision to extend Stadium Neighbourhood’s planning and consultation process but says UBC hasn’t addressed concerns about the project’s proposed density and building heights.
“There’s overwhelming opposition to a density greater than 1 million square feet and to heights that are being proposed up to 32 storeys,” said McCutcheon.
Based on preliminary plans released in the fall, Stadium Neighbourhood is expected to include 1.5 million square feet of housing, including four or five towers as high as 32 storeys. This proposed level of density and building height would require the Province to amend UBC’s Land Use Plan, which only permits buildings up to 65 metres or approximately 20 storeys.
McCutcheon believes the university’s proposed plans will have a detrimental impact on the area’s “sense of community, belonging and livability,” and could set a negative precedent for the university to ignore the Land Use Plan when designing future developments. He also worries about the pressures an additional 3,700 people could have on local services and amenities.
“We’re not opposed to the use of land to create sustainability for the university but there’s essentially one model being put forth here and one proposal, and it’s 1.5 million square foot,” said McCutcheon. “Where did the number come from? Why 32 storeys? None of this has really been unpacked or shared in consultation.”
McCutcheon says he has gathered 1,480 signatures on a petition calling for UBC to reduce the Stadium Neighbourhood’s proposed density and building heights so they fall within limits set out in the current Land Use Plan. He’s also met with David Eby, Vancouver-Point Grey MLA and BC Attorney General, whose government will have the final say over how the project proceeds.
But it seems unlikely that UBC will change its mind.
“The housing and building heights proposed for Stadium Neighbourhood are a result of relocating Thunderbird Stadium to a more efficient footprint that frees up additional neighbourhood land, significant pressure for more UBC community housing, and a need to provide important community amenities,” explained McGeough.
He added that the university has gone through “extensive technical work to develop this proposal.”
McCutcheon says he and other neighbourhood residents will continue to encourage the university to reconsider.
AMS pushes for more, Musqueam's stance unclear
While residents are hoping for a considerably smaller development, the Alma Mater Society (AMS) is taking the opposite stance.
The society’s plan would expand housing in Stadium Neighbourhood from 1.5 to 1.8 million square feet, featuring market-rate condos and options for faculty ownership. It would also restrict rental housing to faculty, staff and students, including some discounted units for faculty and staff members.
Max Holmes, VP Academic and University Affairs, says that the AMS’s support for Stadium Neighbourhood is driven by Vancouver’s housing crisis.
“Making sure that there is more available housing, especially close to campus for faculty, staff and students should be a priority when housing insecurity is such an issue,” Holmes said.
When asked about the contention over Stadium Neighbourhood’s proposed density and building heights, Holmes said that the AMS respects all perspectives but feels these concerns are irrelevant compared to ongoing housing troubles faced by many at the university. Fourteen per cent of respondents to the last Academic Experience Survey said they’ve experienced housing insecurity during their time at UBC.
“We don’t have much sympathy for those arguments just because many of the arguments that we’ve heard come from a point of privilege,” said Holmes.
But it is unclear how affordable Stadium Neighbourhood will be for students. While some rental housing is expected to be discounted at approximately 25 per cent below market rate, these units will only be available to faculty and staff members, not students.
However, Holmes believes that Stadium Neighbourhood will have an indirect impact on housing affordability by reducing waitlists for more affordable housing elsewhere on campus and by growing the university’s endowment, which he believes could be used to fund additional student housing.
Holmes said he is also glad to hear the university is further consulting with Musqueam on this project. The proposed development — and the university as a whole — are located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.
“Without respectful and in-depth consultation with Musqueam, AMS and our members could never support the neighbourhood development or be a part of the process going forward,” Holmes said.
Musqueam’s position on Stadium Road represents more uncertainty for the project.
In November, Leona Sparrow, the director of Treaty, Lands and Resources for Musqueam, said that the band was “not in favour of the development at all.” When reached by phone last week, Sparrow declined to comment on where the band currently stands.
Musqueam is currently in the process of building a 2,500-person neighbourhood near Pacific Spirit Park, along University Boulevard.
Besides community opposition and potential conflict with Musqueam, UBC might also soon face backlash over the plan to remove trees to make room for the site of the new stadium, a frequent consequence of development that often ruffles feathers on campus.
The BoG Housing Action Plan Working Group is scheduled to meet and discuss the various issues surrounding the Stadium Neighbourhood Plan on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Chair Korenberg has invited Murray McCutcheon to join them.