Heritage Walk in Mount Pleasant (Uptown) — Jane's Walk

Heritage Walk in Mount Pleasant (Uptown) — Jane's Walk

Heritage Walk in Mount Pleasant (Uptown)

Guided by Robert McNutt, Lewis Villegas & Residents Association Mount Pleasant

Date

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Start Time

1:00 pm

Est. Duration

2 hours

Join us for a trip down memory lane with a Heritage Walk in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver’s original suburb. In addition to visiting landmark buildings such as the 100 year-old Quebec Manor, the Lee Building and Heritage Hall, the tour will touch Belvedere Court, Ashnola Apartments, Crosbie Block, Wenonah Apartments, the Royal Bank’s building, the Brewery, Williams Block and Watson Street. Mention will be made of the Vancouver Tannery, the original No. 3 Firehall, Mount Pleasant School, and Brewery Creek. The tour will conclude at Heritage Hall and JJ Bean Coffee House.
For more information, go to RAMP Vancouver’s website.

Mount Pleasant ... on the Rize

COME TO CITY HALL STARTING ON FEBRUARY 27TH AT 7:30. (Please note that it is 7:30 and not 7:00.

SIGN UP TO SPEAK AND THE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION OF MOUNT PLEASANT (RAMP) WILL TWITTER, EMAIL, AND WEB POST THE SPEAKER ORDER AND CURRENT NUMBER SPEAKING. YOU NEED ONLY SHOW UP FOR A MAXIMUM OF A HALF HOUR ON ONE OF THE MANY EXPECTED NIGHTS OF HEARINGS. EVEN IF YOU HAVE OTHER COMMITMENTS, RAMP WILL HELP TO FIT YOU IN WHEN YOU CAN BE THERE.

This has been a case study in how NOT to build a sustainable, let alone efficient, city. Check out this neighbourhood-busting urban redevelopment project that has been panned by the community ever since it was first floated over two years ago. And float it must, on an oil slick of energy profligacy and a thick layer of grease...as in from greasing many palms. The tax assessors, City Councillors, and developers will not let this one die. Every effort was made to shoehorn this skyscraping monstrosity--between three and seven times higher than it should be by code and bylaw--into a low-rise heritage neighbourhood.

The shoe don't fit, and Cinderella you ain't.

But the community is rizing up to test just how bought our political leaders are, to see just how serious they really are about housing affordability, let alone neighbourhood development, small business protection, support for the arts, and any other aspect of motherhood and apple pie to which they seem so dedicated.

This is one building that speaks to none of this, let alone the greenwashing that is an epidemic in Vancouver. This building just might try to secure a LEED Silver rating, but even this is not looking good! Passivhaus, Living Building, Architecture2030, ZED, carbon-neutral, ANYONE? Not here.

Vancouver appears now to just mint multi-million dollar glass, concrete, and steel condos for speculators.

Until.,,,until the early 70s come roaring back to take the wind--or is that just hot air--our of our sails.

Anyway, COME TO VANCOUVER CITY HALL on Monday, February 27th at 7:30 speak your piece. It'll take a LOT of dynamite to get rid of this profligate beast, so let's not start. Come enjoy the fun. With over a week to go, we have over 70 speakers signed up already.

Check out @RAMPVancouver to get updates on Twitter or go to http://www.rampvancouver.com !

Public Meeting at Heritage Hall (January 17th, 2012)

From Residents Association of Mount Pleasant

There's an Open House next week RE: The 19-storey high-rise proposal at Broadway and Kingsway.

Tuesday, January 17th at Heritage Hall, 3102 Main at 15^th Ave.
Open House 5:30pm - 8pm (drop in anytime)

This is a City hosted event. It's critical to attend or at least to stop by, because the City will have a comment sheet available that you can fill out.
Rize Alliance is still proposing a massive, 214-foot concrete and glass tower over the heart of Mount Pleasant.  The top of their newest "19-storey" design lines up with the middle of the 24th floor of their first design.  Surrounding this tower they plan a street wall on Kingsway, Broadway, and Watson from 77 to 115 feet tall,  all higher than the heritage Lee Building across the street.
The density proposed is 5.38 times what is allowed outright.
RAMP advocates:

• a tower with a maximum height of 70-feet surrounded by 3 and 4 storey buildings at 3.0 FSR (the maximum conditional density).  This height and density are in accord with what the City Zoning By-law, Design Guidelines and Community Plan recommends.

• a new development that is consistent with the current scale of the properties surrounding the “Heritage Heart" triangle of Mount Pleasant. 

• the use of renewable BC wood-frame construction to promote affordability, sustainability, and local jobs. 

• a lower building form and FSR will have less impact on land values, property taxes and rents in the neighbourhood, resulting in less displacement of low-income residents and small businesses. 

• Historic Watson Street be used for bicycles and pedestrians, and not for trucks, loading bays, and parking ramps.

RAMP recommends rejecting this rezoning application in its present form, and to direct the proponent to come up with a plan that reflects and respects the scale and feel of Mount Pleasant.
This will likely be the last time the public will have an opportunity to have a say before the final report goes to City Council.  If you are opposed to this precedent-setting development at this critical site, come out and HAVE YOUR SAY, even if you have expressed your opposition previously.

We are concerned that the discussion at this Open House might again be centered around ‘amenities’ instead of the height, density, character and impact on the neighbourhood.
Check out our website under 'Start Here', 'Take Action' and see what else you can do. http://www.rampvancouver.com
Cheers

Residents Association Mount Pleasant
See Page: http://www.rampvancouver.com/item/21/take-action/