P rofit-driven developers will have their way with Vancouver's West End should city council ignore calls from the community to temper redevelopment plans at 1201-1215 Bidwell St., area residents claim.
Hearings are underway to approve the rezoning of the two-storey heritage site, currently home to Maxine's Hideaway, to a 147-unit 20 storey tower made possible through municipal incentives to incorporate the existing building's facade and the inclusion of permanent rental housing.
West End residents, like Alan Kostiuk, are concerned that approving rezoning of the Bidwell site will lead other developers to follow suit without a comprehensive community plan in place.
"This sets the trend," Kostiuk says. "The City is saying, 'Nothing is safe. We're just going to redevelop wherever we can get builders to build because it gives more revenue.'"
City councillors are unable to comment on the rezoning process because the application is currently in the public hearings phase.
West End Residents Association president Brent Granby says developers have more weight than residents with city council on how the identity of the neighbourhood.
"That's the tragedy of what's going on right now," he said. "The community didn't have an opportunity to be engaged in a process with their vision."
Public hearings on the Bidwell rezoning continue Thursday at City Hall at 7:30 p.m.