On November 20 the Community Planning Working Group of RePlan hosted the second of two design charrettes to engage the community in planning for its future. These charrettes follow from, and extend, the City’s 2017 and 2018 community planning process, which has been put on pause. The series was led by local resident and leading architect Graham McGarva and master urban designer Scot Hein. The first session in September had invited community members to participate in thoughtful discussion of opportunities for change, as well as the neighbourhood features and values that are the most important to sustain.
At this second event Scot Hein presented the team’s reflections on what they drew from the consultations, and proposed a foundation for community-led planning going forward. Scot identified twelve “transformational drivers” that he believes form key contexts, sites, and principles that can guide further planning and lead to a provisional vision statement. These drivers include the need to incorporate responses to large contextual forces such as the history and continuing presence of indigenous culture, and to the ecological sensitivity required for effective adaptation to climate change. Other drivers identify key sites within or contiguous to False Creek South that will shape the form and character of the area as it is redeveloped, such as the three “bridgeheads” at Cambie, Granville and Burrard, and the “transitional edge site” along a Sixth Avenue reworked to improve urban connectedness, including a planned streetcar.
Scot also drew attention to specific local sites that could be re-conceived to accommodate a fuller urbanism, suggesting that Sitka Square might be redeveloped as a “community heart,” with both local retail and links to Fairview and to Granville Island. The current idea of an “intergenerational hub” near Ash and Moberly that would include an innovative extension of the Broadway Lodge care home is another of the formative possibilities that could co-exist with an incremental refresh of the existing residential fabric. He emphasized the planning group’s essential premise that the ideas for change should accompany and reinforce the historic character and community identity of our neighbourhood. Perhaps most important, he identified participatory planning as a key expression of this identity and welcomed all those interested in further consideration of any or all of the transformational drivers.
The Community Planning Working Group now plans to undertake broader community engagement in January and February. Multiple meetings are being planned that will allow everyone in the community to give feedback on the provisional vision statement and the transformation drivers. The meetings will also be an opportunity to hear about general RePlan updates. Once the community input is incorporated, RePlan intends to present the work to City Councillors.
For more RePlan updates, visit falsecreeksouth.org/replan
To see the 12 transformational drivers, click here.