Planned Squamish Nation development near Kits doubles in size
Posted November 5, 2019 11:19 am.
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.
The Squamish nation's proposal for a massive development at the foot of Burrard Street bridge is getting even bigger. Listen to @NEWS1130 as we speak with a Squamish nation councillor & neighbourhood groups concerned about the scale of a project which now envisions 6,000 units.
— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) November 5, 2019
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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.
Design concept for a proposed development on lands owned by the Squamish Nation in the neighbourhood now known as Kitsilano. (Source: Submitted)
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.
Aerial images of a proposed development by the Squamish Nation on its lands in the neighborhood now known as Kitsilano. (Source: Submitted)
