Oakridge Centre rezoning proposal faces opposition from residents’ group

The $1.5-billion Oakridge redevelopment proposal is moving forward to public hearing, but some worry that the public is not well enough informed to move forward.

The only Vancouver councillor to vote against the Feb. 18 referral was Adriane Carr.

“[There was a] change from calling the rooftop open space, an open space, and then in the final document calling it a park,” Carr said.

Those changes in language could be a loophole for developers to avoid paying for ground-level public amenities, Carr said, which is why she voted in opposition.

Residents’ group questions plan

Residents worry about whether the public will be able to use the rooftop park, said Tracey Moir, founder of the Oakridge Langara Area Residents group.

“Rather than putting the park in a place that’s accessible to everyone in the neighbourhood, being ground floor, they’re putting a green space on top of the roof,” Moir said.

The proposal would see a massive expansion of retail and office space that includes 11 towers, each between 19 and 44 storeys high.

It would also increase the permitted floor area more than five times over, from 80,438 to 424,600 sq. metres.

OLAR is concerned about a lack of transparency and said the proposal could create problems with traffic congestion and overpopulation.

Public hearing held while people are at work

Dwayne Drobot, project planner for Oakridge Centre, said he could provide more information about rezoning and population-to-park ratios at the public hearing.

The public hearing has a daytime start of 2 p.m. on March 10. Most public hearings are held in the evenings.

Reported by Renee Sutton