Planned Squamish Nation development near Kits doubles in size
Posted November 5, 2019 11:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SQUAMISH (NEWS 1130) –The Squamish Nation’s proposal for a massive development at the foot of the Burrard Street bridge is getting even bigger.
Back when this proposed development called for 3,000 new units on traditional lands in the area, Larry Benge with the West Kitsilano Residents Association had questions.
RELATED: Major housing development planned on Indigenous land in heart of Vancouver
But the list of concerns is only growing now that there are plans to double the size of the development to 6,000 units, if the Nation’s members approve.
“It’s going to have an effect on all of the area around that, so it’s not something that’s existing in a bubble, all alone, without any effects on anything else,” he says.
This is a community with a lot of low-rise housing, and Benge says he’s been caught off guard.
“It’s breathtaking,” he says, laughing. “The initial plan, let’s call it, that I heard of was the 3,000 units several months back, which was surprising to me, a little bit. And this is just, quite big.”
Squamish Nation Councillor Khelsilem insists they will give people in surrounding areas a chance to provide feedback.
“We’ve been in conversations with the City of Vancouver, and we’re very much interested in engaging in a public process to involve the community and to include them in some of the design concepts that we’re going to be proposing,” he says.
