reGENERATE: A Vision for 22nd Street Neighbourhood

Background

The area around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station is identified in the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) as an area intended to accommodate higher-density development, with good access to transit and amenities. With input from the community, and in collaboration with local First Nations, the City is developing a long-range Vision for the future of this neighbourhood. This Vision will help set the land use framework to enable growth and change in alignment with community aspirations and priorities, for decades to come.

Process and Framing

To support the City’s commitment to climate action, the Vision will focus on identifying how to create a climate-friendly future, guided by the City’s Seven Bold Steps for Climate Action. The Vision will also be framed by Council’s Strategic Priorities Plan, and the City’s commitments to truth and reconciliation such as applying lessons from A Year of Truth.

To reach a Vision, we are integrating the following:

• ideas and direction from local First Nations,
• input and priorities from community members (see a summary of community engagement activities and findings here),
• ideas from participants in the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge (see the reGENERATE website or a summary of the winning submissions, the jury’s statements, as well as the full shortlist can be found here),
• the minimum density framework from the new Provincial legislation on Transit Oriented Development areas (more information on the City’s webpage); and
• technical analysis.

To learn more about the visioning and engagement processes to date, read our past project updates, here.

Big Moves for a Bold Vision

Building on community input and the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge themes, aligning with Council’s Strategic Priorities Plan, and integrating priorities from First Nations, the Vision calls for the following eight Big Moves:

	1) Transit Village: A high-density mixed-use core centered around a regional transit hub, where residents’ daily needs can be met in close proximity to home. This move to a more complete, less vehicle-dependent community supports climate goals by reducing transportation-related emissions.
	2) Housing Capacity and Choice: A neighbourhood of abundant housing with a mix of tenures and affordability levels, and somewhere for everyone to call home. Integrating the minimum density framework from the new provincial legislation on Transit Oriented Development areas, development will be tallest by SkyTrain, stepping down from towers to mid- and low-rise forms.
	3) Streets for People: A well-connected place with a range of safe, sustainable, and enjoyable mobility options that reduce vehicular dependence and lower transportation-related emissions. Improving bike and pedestrian facilities, car-share and EV charging opportunities, and bus speed and reliability will promote sustainable transportation choices.
	4) Green Networks: A diverse system of ecologically-rich, resilient public green spaces and corridors, supported by green private and semi-private spaces. Green Networks include corridors, green streets and lanes, connecting to expanded and new parks. Green Networks will support climate adaptation through rainwater management, reduced urban heat island effect, and improved air quality in the neighbourhood.
	5) Coast Salish Cultural Contributions: A community that celebrates the Coast Salish context of the land, and where opportunities for cultural revitalization and reconciliation are provided. Opportunities could include providing places for ceremony, cultural visibility, and inclusion of housing and economic opportunities for First Nations and Indigenous people.
	6) Social Connections: A vibrant and inclusive community with a range of social spaces where diverse people can gather, connect, and support each other – through community spaces like a Neighbourhood House (a multipurpose facility), inclusive public realm design, and housing designed to support social connectedness.
	7) Climate-Friendly Buildings: Low-carbon, low-emissions buildings, powered by clean and renewable energy. Designed to provide safety and comfort through extreme weather, Climate-friendly Buildings also support reduced energy consumption, and minimized waste. Clean and renewable energy powers the neighbourhood, and community members are empowered to conserve and reduce their own energy use.
	8) Fiscally Responsible Approach: A livable neighbourhood that supports long-term municipal financial resilience, where “growth pays for growth” to the degree possible. The emerging Vision is ambitious, and aspirational in addressing the housing crisis, pursuing equity and inclusion, advancing reconciliation, and addressing the climate emergency. Neighbourhoods also need to be served by core infrastructure, such as water, sewer, sidewalks, greenways, roads, electrical, as well as parks, natural assets, buildings, and other facilities and amenities that ensure livability. The draft Vision calls for an approach that balances livability and creating an “amenity-rich” neighbourhood with fiscal responsibility.

The following brief video presents the Big Moves and related strategy highlights.

You can find in-depth details on the draft in this document. This content will also be on display at the community drop-in event on September 24.

What’s Next?

Following community engagement in September 2024, the project team will work towards bringing the full Vision to Council by the end of the year.

After endorsement, the City will move on to implementation actions to bring the Vision to life. City-led implementation actions will include the following:

• Continue to engage with First Nations to define priorities and identify partnership opportunities
• Develop a Transit Village Concept to guide development applications and land assemblies
• Update the Development Cost Charge program
• Create an Amenity Cost Charge program
• Amend the Official Community Plan to apply new land use designations that reflect the Vision, new development permit areas, and related design guidelines.