The second Brentwood tower was met with a mixed reaction at the latest public hearing at Burnaby city hall.
On Tuesday, more than 40 residents turned out for the hearing to voice their concerns with the project, despite council’s recent adoption of the first 53-storey Brentwood tower. While about 20 people wrote in letters of support for the tower, many citizens echoed concerns from the first tower’s jam-packed hearing last February over such issues as height, density, traffic and emergency access.
Several members of the Burnaby First Coalition turned out to ask questions about the project, including mayoral candidate Daren Hancott and council candidate Helen Ward. One of Ward’s main concerns was earthquake preparedness as the province has been overdue for some high numbers on the Richter scale.
“UBC came out with an earthquake study back in January that said that, in this particular area where we live, shaking from an earthquake could be three to four times what was previously estimated and that the duration of the shaking could be much longer than expected,” she said. “They called for a review of planning and building codes, so I’m wondering if council has raised this concern with the provincial government.”
Resident Ross Howard also questioned if the city could handle some shifting tectonic plates and also asked about affordable and subsidized housing for low-income residents.
Mayor Derek Corrigan noted that part of the second tower is designated for market rental, but said the units would likely not be affordable to people who are on welfare or social assistance.
Eric Anderson, who lives near the proposed development, criticized the city’s 30-metre notification radius, saying many of his neighbours did not receive letters regarding the public hearing.
“As far as I know, nobody across the street from me has received one of these,” he said, referring to his notification. “My lane is up against the parking lot, so I’m the first row of houses north of the shopping centre. The second row of houses, which is the odd side of Brentlawn, I don’t think anybody got a notice.
“Their front window is approximately 200 feet from my dining room window. Does that mean that 200 feet is so much farther away that they wouldn’t be interested in having the tower in their view?”
Nagib Karim of Rennie & Associates Realty was one of the few to speak favourably of the tower, noting the demand for housing in North Burnaby is growing.
“There’s a large amount of people coming to Vancouver on a yearly basis and we need to provide housing for them,” he said. “Why send them elsewhere? Why not keep them in North Burnaby?”
