Vancouver Downtown Eastside Discussion

[jollyburger]

Vancouver city council unanimously approved a motion Wednesday from Coun. Mike Klassen that aims to make it easier and faster for entrepreneurs, artists and others to move into the dozens of empty storefronts in the Downtown Eastside.

The motion is in response to Klassen hearing from business associations, building owners and people searching for affordable commercial space that it can take up to a year or more to get the doors open of a potential business or enterprise.

“Let's open the door to safe temporary activation of ground-level commercial units for up to 12 months without the need to permanently change use or zoning,” he said in introducing his motion in the council chamber.

City staff will now look to set up what Klassen described as a temporary occupancy pilot program that would apply to empty storefronts along the Hastings Street corridor and surrounding neighbourhoods such as Strathcona and Chinatown.

The program could be in place by October and expand to other areas of the city, including the downtown Granville Street strip, although an evaluation would first have to be completed of the 12-month experiment in the Downtown Eastside.

Vacancy rates are currently at more than 30 per cent in the Downtown Eastside, which has some of the cheapest rents in the city. Klassen acknowledged crime and street disorder is driving some of that vacancy, but so is red tape at city hall.

https://www.biv.com/biv-rss-newslett...assen-10927666