616 - 640 Sixth Street

Project Update, August 2022: At its August 29, 2022 meeting, New Westminster City Council gave First, Second and Third Readings and approved the Rezoning Application for 616 – 640 Sixth St. Click here to view the Council meeting recordings from August 29, and click here to read the Council package and all public correspondence received.

July 2022: This rezoning application was initially put before Council for a waived public hearing on June 13, 2022. It received Third Reading on June 30, 2022. The City in June 2022 realized that it has made an administrative error in the timing of the Council readings due to changes in the Local Government Act. To correct this error, the City is repealing all three readings of the bylaw and beginning a new Council approval process. This process will correct the administrative error. No changes have been made to the content of the zoning bylaw, or the proposed project. Given this, the City is not requiring the applicant to complete any additional steps in the rezoning process, as all required steps were completed previously.

New notifications were mailed to properties in the immediate vicinity, and published in the New West Record newspaper.

What's being proposed?

A Rezoning application has been submitted to allow revisions to a previously-approved 29 storey, mixed-use development at 616 – 640 Sixth St. The revised proposal includes 338 market rental units (including 10 below-market rental units, all of which would be protected by a Housing Agreement) and retail units fronting Sixth Street at a density of 7.41 Floor Space Ratio (FSR).

The current proposal includes the following key revisions:

• increase the number of secured market rental housing units from 237 to 338 (increase of 101 units). This has been achieved primarily by increasing the tower floorplate and reduction to unit sizes;
• increase in density from 6.46 FSR to 7.41 FSR (increase of 1.34 FSR);
• an increase in the maximum tower floorplate size by 8.9% (from 689 square metres (7,414 sq. ft.) to 750 square metres (8,073 sq. ft.); and
• increase in the height of podium from three to four storeys with the proposed fourth storey being setback 3 metres (10 feet).

The application exceeds the number of required bicycle parking spaces (544 space). It also proposes a reduction to the amount a vehicle parking spaces from 313 to 272 spaces supplemented by the provision of transit passes for tenants and 5 car-share vehicles for residents and the public.

Aspects of the application that are the same as previously approved:

1. the building height would be 29 storeys;
2. retail units would front Sixth Street,
3. a privately owned, publicly accessible plaza would be provided at the corner of Sixth St. and Seventh Ave.; and
4. off-site improvements associated with the Sixth Street Great Street and the Rotary Crosstown Greenway (along Seventh Ave.) would continue to be provided.

Click here to view drawings of the proposed development.

How can I engage?

There are multiple opportunities for the public to provide feedback through the application review process. The process typically includes applicant-led consultation, review by City committees and City-led engagement. The review process is iterative and revisions are considered, based on consultation feedback, throughout the process.

The applicants hosted a virtual open house with a live Q&A session on April 21, 2022 (click here to access the presentation). Written feedback was accepted until April 26, 2022 and the applicants are currently reviewing the feedback received. Once this is complete, a summary will be posted on this page. Visit the applicants' website here.

Summary of applicant-led consultation

Applicant-led consultation took place in April 2022 and included an online comment form, two virtual open houses, and a project website. Residents within 100 metres of the project were notified of opportunities to submit feedback, and advertisements were placed in the New West Record advising the community of the proposal and engagement events. A total of 27 community members attended the virtual open houses and eight comment forms were received.

Feedback indicated that most respondents feel neutral about the project. Comments were focused on the project’s potential neighbourhood traffic impacts, proposed off-street parking and provision of electric vehicle infrastructure, and the construction timeline (should the project move forward). Several letters of support for the project were also submitted to the City, including a letter from the Uptown Business Association of New Westminster.

Click here to review the applicant's summary of consultation, which includes a description of the consultation process, all feedback received, and the applicant’s response to feedback.