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reGENERATE: A Vision for 22nd Street Neighbourhood

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Project Update, December 17, 2024: Staff are excited to share that work has been completed to develop a Vision for the 22nd Street Neighbourhood. Click here to read the Vision, and scroll down to see how your input influenced the plan! Council endorsed the Vision at their December 16 Workshop. Click here to view a recording of the meeting and to read a copy of the staff report.

More details on how the plan will be put into place are coming in 2025. Stay tuned here for details!


The City has launched a visioning process to imagine the future of the neighbourhood around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station. Join us in creating a climate-friendly neighbourhood where everyone can thrive!

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.

Diagram illustrating the sources of input for the 22nd Street neighborhood's reGENERATE long-range vision, including community ideas, provincial housing legislation, First Nations input, 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.


The Big Moves became the Vision’s chapters. Click here to see the draft Big Moves and strategy highlights. Each chapter includes a range of strategies for achieving its goal, and most include further detail on strategy highlights, such as a allowing for development of a mixed-use tower precinct in the pedestrian-oriented Transit Village, or 21st Street and adjacent streets offering groceries, restaurants, shops and services.

How did Community Input on the Big Moves Inform the Vision?

In September 2024, community members provided input through a survey and drop-in engagement event on the proposed “Big Moves” and strategy highlights. Feedback was generally supportive of the emerging directions. Click here to read the summary. Comments received informed further refinement of the Vision. The following table outlines how the three key outstanding concerns were addressed in the Vision:



Theme



How the feedback is addressed in the Vision



Continued concern about traffic along 20th Street



Strategies to promote sustainable transportation modes, as well as creating a mixed-use Transit Village to enable residents to meet some daily needs within the neighbourhood are the two main ways congestion in the neighbourhood is addressed through the Vision. Proposed new vehicle connections to Burnaby at the northwest and southwest edges of the neighbourhood are also intended to reduce the need for local residents to use 20th Street to get in and out of Connaught Heights. The Vision also calls for the City to continue to advocate to and collaborate with the Provincial government which own and/or controls major routes to and through the Vision area.



Concern about housing affordability



Strategies in the Housing Capacity and Choice chapter now include a call for a wide range of affordability levels, and emphasis placed on building housing that reflects community need (for each tenure, affordability and form).



Desire to ensure there is sufficient school capacity for the growing neighbourhood



School capacity is not in the City’s jurisdiction. Regardless, it is important to the city and community. As such, City staff have been holding conversations with School District staff related to growing capacity in the Vision area. The Vision now includes strategies to support New Westminster schools as they:

  • explore the creation of an urban school within the Transit Village,
  • develop a middle school somewhere within the Vision area,
  • acquire new sites in the Vision Area, and
  • intensify existing school sites in the Vision Area.

The City is committed to working with New Westminster School District to advocate for senior government funding for necessary schools to support the Vision area, as well as the city overall.



What’s Next?

The full Vision is scheduled to be brought to Council for their decision in December.

Project Update, December 17, 2024: Staff are excited to share that work has been completed to develop a Vision for the 22nd Street Neighbourhood. Click here to read the Vision, and scroll down to see how your input influenced the plan! Council endorsed the Vision at their December 16 Workshop. Click here to view a recording of the meeting and to read a copy of the staff report.

More details on how the plan will be put into place are coming in 2025. Stay tuned here for details!


The City has launched a visioning process to imagine the future of the neighbourhood around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station. Join us in creating a climate-friendly neighbourhood where everyone can thrive!

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.

Diagram illustrating the sources of input for the 22nd Street neighborhood's reGENERATE long-range vision, including community ideas, provincial housing legislation, First Nations input, 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.


The Big Moves became the Vision’s chapters. Click here to see the draft Big Moves and strategy highlights. Each chapter includes a range of strategies for achieving its goal, and most include further detail on strategy highlights, such as a allowing for development of a mixed-use tower precinct in the pedestrian-oriented Transit Village, or 21st Street and adjacent streets offering groceries, restaurants, shops and services.

How did Community Input on the Big Moves Inform the Vision?

In September 2024, community members provided input through a survey and drop-in engagement event on the proposed “Big Moves” and strategy highlights. Feedback was generally supportive of the emerging directions. Click here to read the summary. Comments received informed further refinement of the Vision. The following table outlines how the three key outstanding concerns were addressed in the Vision:



Theme



How the feedback is addressed in the Vision



Continued concern about traffic along 20th Street



Strategies to promote sustainable transportation modes, as well as creating a mixed-use Transit Village to enable residents to meet some daily needs within the neighbourhood are the two main ways congestion in the neighbourhood is addressed through the Vision. Proposed new vehicle connections to Burnaby at the northwest and southwest edges of the neighbourhood are also intended to reduce the need for local residents to use 20th Street to get in and out of Connaught Heights. The Vision also calls for the City to continue to advocate to and collaborate with the Provincial government which own and/or controls major routes to and through the Vision area.



Concern about housing affordability



Strategies in the Housing Capacity and Choice chapter now include a call for a wide range of affordability levels, and emphasis placed on building housing that reflects community need (for each tenure, affordability and form).



Desire to ensure there is sufficient school capacity for the growing neighbourhood



School capacity is not in the City’s jurisdiction. Regardless, it is important to the city and community. As such, City staff have been holding conversations with School District staff related to growing capacity in the Vision area. The Vision now includes strategies to support New Westminster schools as they:

  • explore the creation of an urban school within the Transit Village,
  • develop a middle school somewhere within the Vision area,
  • acquire new sites in the Vision Area, and
  • intensify existing school sites in the Vision Area.

The City is committed to working with New Westminster School District to advocate for senior government funding for necessary schools to support the Vision area, as well as the city overall.



What’s Next?

The full Vision is scheduled to be brought to Council for their decision in December.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    22nd Street Draft Bold Vision Survey

    Introduction


    The reGENERATE Vision will guide change over the coming decades as the neighbourhood around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station grows to become a transit-oriented, climate-friendly neighbourhood where everyone can thrive. The neighbourhood is envisioned as a complete, connected, and vibrant community centred on the transit hub.

    The Vision is informed by community input, inspired by proposals and themes from innovative submissions to the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge, and in alignment with Council’s Strategic Priorities Plan and the new Provincial transit oriented development area regulations. The Vision is also informed by priorities expressed by local First Nations. 

    The emerging Vision is made up of eight Big Moves:

    1. Transit Village
    2. Housing Capacity and Choice
    3. Streets for People
    4. Green Networks 
    5. Coast Salish Cultural Contributions
    6. Social Connections
    7. Climate Friendly Buildings
    8. Fiscally Responsible Approach


    Each Move includes a series of strategies that help guide decisions on land use and development in the area, as well as how the City can serve the neighbourhood better. The Vision will be used as a reference for City staff, Council, industry professionals, and residents when considering the future of the neighbourhood. Click here to read the full draft Vision. 

    Click through to share your thoughts on the proposed Big Moves and highlights of the strategies to achieve them. Your input will be used to refine the Vision, which is planned to be considered for endorsement by Council by the end of the year.

    The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will be open until end of day on September 30.

    Prefer to complete the survey in a different language? Click the Select Language button at the top right of the page, and choose your language. The survey, page content, and all other feedback tools will be translated. We are also happy to offer additional support to complete the survey. Please contact us at engage@newwestcity.ca with requests.


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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Community Survey

    The City of New Westminster is developing a plan for the future of the neighbourhood around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station.

    Thank you for taking time to share your views through this survey – your input will help us shape the future of the area!

    The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and will be open until end of day on October 22, 2023. Those who complete the survey will be entered into a draw to win one of three $50 gift cards for a local business.

    Prefer to complete the survey in a different language? Click the Select Language button at the top right of the page, and choose your language. The survey, page content, and all other feedback tools will be translated. We are also happy to offer additional support to complete the survey. Please contact us at engage@newwestcity.ca with requests.

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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Vote in the Community's Choice Award!

    In January, the City held the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge to gather ideas on climate-friendly neighbourhood design for the 22nd Street Station area. These ideas will build on what we’ve been hearing from community members since the fall of 2023. The Ideas Challenge has now closed, and we were excited to receive 82 submissions from New Westminster, BC, and beyond!

    A jury will award most prizes, such as Top Comprehensive Idea and Top Youth Idea (click here for a full list of awards). But we want you to be part of the jury too! So we’re running a Community’s Choice Award of the shortlisted submissions from New West and beyond! The winner of this award will be up to you and your neighbours! 

    Vote on the submission that most resonates with you. What’s your favourite? Which do you think will land best in the neighbourhood? What do you think is most innovative? Review each submission below and let us know! The idea with the most votes will win a prize of $1,500. Please vote once only – multiple responses will not be counted. 

    Voting will close on February 28, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST.

    All ideas put forward in reGENERATE are going to be taken as inspiration and may be integrated into the neighbourhood vision coming later this year. Ideas responding to truth and reconciliation (a foundational value underpinning the vision process) will be brought to First Nations for their consideration first.

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Page last updated: 17 Dec 2024, 11:57 AM