Grandview-Woodland Community Plan

Grandview plan

Grandview stretches from Broadway to Burrard Inlet, and from Clark Drive to Nanaimo Street.

This area features a diversity of people, housing, and land use.

At its heart is Commercial Drive (known locally as "The Drive"), a collection of ethnic restaurants and food stores, coffee bars, clothing stores and street activity.

Because demand for new development is growing, City staff are working on an official plan, to ensure that future growth in Grandview-Woodland meets the needs of the community.

Related projects

Emerging Directions for Grandview-Woodland – Open Houses

May 17, 2013 - Coming up in June, we'll be hosting three open houses for everyone to come and see the draft “emerging directions” that have been developed out of the workshops held this past winter. The events will showcase a mix of proposed community-wide policy and sub-area directions. It's your chance to review the material and provide further input. Your feedback will help refine the directions as we move towards finalizing the new community plan this fall.  

Join us at an open house:

  • Date: Saturday, June 1, 2013
    Time: 12 pm to 4 pm
    Location: Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac Street
  • Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013
    Time: 5 - 9 pm
    Location: Tangent Café,  2095 Commercial Drive (at 5th Avenue) <
  • Date: Thursday, June 6, 2013
    Time: 5 – 9pm
    Location: Princeton Restaurant,  1901 Powell Street
  • See the poster

What do you think about the future of the Nanaimo area in Grandview-Woodland?

May 8, 2013 - Share your views on the future of Nanaimo Street, as part of the development of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The questionnaire is open until May 22.

Share your views

Urban Aboriginal Forum

May 7, 2013 – Join us to share your ideas for the future of Grandview-Woodland. Help shape the plan at a special forum held at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

Topics will include: housing; transportation; parks and public space, social issues, urban health and safety, arts and culture; heritage and character. The event is free but registration is required.

  • View the poster  (48 kb)
  • Date: Saturday, May 11, 2013
    Time: 11:00am to 3:00pm
    Location: Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings Street

Community plan workshop in Chinese

April 4, 2013 – Help shape the plan at a special workshop conducted in Cantonese and Mandarin. Topics will include housing, transportation, parks and public space, social issues/safety, arts and culture, and heritage and character. You must pre-register to attend.

  • Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013
    Time: 5:30pm to 8:30pm
    Location: Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive

Social issues, urban health and safety online questionnaire

March 20, 2013 – If you were unable to attend our Social Issues, Urban Health and Safety workshop on March 7, it is not too late to share your thoughts. Our workshop materials and questions are available online until April 1, 2013.

  • This survey closed April 1. Thank you for your interest.

Housing online questionnaire

March 13, 2013 – If you were unable to attend our Housing workshop on February 27, it is not too late to share your thoughts. Our workshop materials and questions are available online until March 24, 2013. Over the next few weeks our team will be working to write up the 9 Dialogue sessions (combining notes, questionnaires, maps and drawings). Our plan is to share this synthesis back with you on a theme-by-theme basis – likely starting at the end of March.

  • This survey closed March 24. Thank you for your interest.

Social issues, urban health and safety workshop on March 7

February 26, 2013 – Our next workshop will focus on Social Issues, Urban Health and Safety in Grandview-Woodland. We'll discuss social well-being in the neighbourhood; how best to respond to key social and safety issues; what can we do to improve or enhance social services and housing facilities; and how these ideas can be part of the community plan directions.

Transportation online questionnaire

February 25, 2013 – If you were unable to attend our Transportation workshops on February 13 or 16, it is not too late to share your thoughts. Our workshop materials and questions are available online until March 17, 2013.

Parks and public spaces online questionnaire

February 25, 2013 – Our Parks and Public Spaces online questionnaire is now closed. Stay tuned for Transportation and be sure to register for our upcoming Housing workshop.

Housing in Grandview-Woodland open house

February 15, 2013 – The next workshop in our Neighbourhood Planning through Dialogue series will look at housing in Grandview-Woodland. Join us to discuss issues and offer your input on how the City can best support housing in the neighbourhood, and how directions on these elements can be integrated into the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The workshop is free, but you need to register:

Parks and public spaces online questionnaire

February 8, 2013 – If you were unable to attend our Parks and Public Spaces workshops on January 30 and February 2, it is not too late to share your view. Our workshop materials and questions are available online until February 23, 2013.

Arts and culture online questionnaire

February 5, 2013 – If you were unable to attend our Arts and Culture workshops on December 3 and January 23, it is not too late to give us your opinion. Our workshop materials and questions are available online until February 15, 2013. Review our workshop presentation, and then tell us what you think in our online survey.

  • This survey is now closed – thank you for your interest.

Transportation workshops

February 4, 2013 – We've got two new workshops coming up to talk about transportation in Grandview-Woodland. We'll discuss the current transportation options in the neighbourhood; what can we do to improve or enhance transportation; and how these ideas can be part of the community plan directions.

Workshops are free, but registration is required. Both sessions will be the same, so you only need to sign up for one.

  • Register for the workshop on Wednesday, February 13
  • Register for the workshop on Saturday, February 16

Heritage and character online discussion

February 1, 2013 – The online discussion on heritage and culture is now closed. Thank you for your input.

Parks and public space workshops

January 22, 2013 – Come and discuss parks and public space in Grandview-Woodland at our next Neighbourhood Planning through Dialogue workshop. It's your chance to talk about the issues and opportunities and share your ideas on the ways the City can help improve and maintain parks and public space in the neighbourhood. We'll also look at how all this fits into the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

Workshops are free, but registration is required. Both sessions will be the same, so you only need to sign up for one.

  • Register for the workshop on Wednesday, January 30
  • Register for the workshop on Saturday, February 2

Join the discussion online

January 9, 2013 – If you can't make it to a workshop or would prefer to provide input from the comfort of your own home, our workshop questions will be posted around the date of each workshop and will be available for 10 days. Stay tuned for details or be notified when each questionnaire is available online by joining our email list today (see sign-up form on right).

Heritage and character workshops

January 2, 2013 – The next workshop in our Neighbourhood Planning through Dialogue series will look at heritage and character in Grandview-Woodland. Join us to discuss issues and offer your input on how the City can best support heritage and character in the neighbourhood and how directions on these elements can be integrated into the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The workshop is free, but registration is required.

  • Register today for the workshop on Thursday, January 17, 2013

Materials from the workshop will be available online later in January.

Arts and culture workshops

November 22, 2012 – The new Grandview-Woodland Community Plan will set out long-term directions for the neighbourhood, including ones for arts and culture. Join us at a workshop to discuss arts and culture issues and offer your input on how the City can support its arts scene as effectively as possible.

Workshops are free, but registration is required. Both sessions will be the same, so you only need to sign up for one.

  • Register for the workshop on Monday, December 3, 2012
  • Register for the workshop on Wednesday, January 23, 2013

An online component will be available in January.

Foundational principles at open houses

November 2, 2012 – More than 150 people came to our open houses in September and October at the Cultch, Legion and Princeton Grill. These open houses were designed to get feedback on foundational principles that will guide the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The principles are intended to inform comprehensive planning in the neighbourhood and are derived from a range of city-wide policies, including the Greenest City Action Plan, Housing and Homelessness Strategy, Culture Plan and many others.

Participants reviewed the principles to see how they aligned with community input on Grandview-Woodland’s key assets, opportunities and issues. They were also invited to help “translate” the principles and objectives to the neighbourhood level.

Open houses

We took the priorities we heard from you over the last few months and connected them with city-wide policies to come up with some foundational principles that will guide the Grandview-Woodland plan. Come to the open house to learn more and offer your thoughts.

October 4, 2012
Princeton Grill, 5-9 pm
1901 Powell Street (near Victoria Drive)

October 2, 2012
Royal Canadian Legion, 5-9 pm
2205 Commercial Drive (at 6th avenue)

September 29, 2012
The Cultch, 12-4 pm
1895 Venables Street (at Victoria Drive)

October 3, 2012 – The information boards from the latest open houses are now online, providing a summary of our planning principles and how they’re shaped by city-wide and regional policies/initiatives and community input.

Neighbourhood walking tour

September 30, 2012
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 12:15-4:00 pm
1607 East Hastings Street (near Commercial Drive)

Asset maps

September 2012 – Remember the asset mapping that we were doing at our community events? We asked people to help us map the important places in the neighbourhood… and in so doing collected just over 1000 different ‘points’ from the community. This was one of the most popular activities we did over the past few months… and the exercise appealed to people of all ages and backgrounds.

We’ve since taken the big paper maps, digitized the data, and categorized the input we received – assigning each point to one or more key planning themes (e.g., housing, transportation, etc.). The work is still ‘in progress’ – we’ll be turning these maps into still other kinds of tools for our Phase II work – but the first draft is available for you to look at.

Grandview-Woodland photo contest winners chosen

August 16, 2012 – Congratulations to the creative folks in the community who are the Grandview-Woodland photo contest winners! Twenty photos were selected – 10 in the People's Choice category and 10 in the Jury Selection category. Thank you to everyone who took the time to send submissions and to the jury members (Damian, Wendy and Cyndy) for taking the time to select the winners.

The photo site will remain open through to the end of 2012 so you can keep submitting, rating, and commenting on photos.

Community assets, issues, and opportunities questionnaire

August 8, 2012 – Thank you to everyone who completed the Community Assets, Issues and Opportunities Questionnaire. Here are the prize draw winners who were randomly selected after submitting a questionnaire and “Picture This” comment card:

  • Catherine – two tickets to the PNE
  • Lynda – two tickets to the Orpheum Theatre
  • Lisa – $10 gift certificate to JJ Bean

Report out

July 2012 – The Grandview-Woodland planning team reported out on what the community wants for the future of their neighbourhood at three outdoor events on July 16 (Commercial Drive), July 28 (Pandora Park) and July 29 (Grandview Park). The results from the asset mapping, questionnaire and open houses were on display and visitors were treated to hot dogs at Pandora and Grandview Parks.

Strides for Stroke 2012

June 23, 2012 – Lead planner, Andrew Pask, joined the local community at a fundraiser awareness event for stroke survivors. Participants at the event stopped by to find out more about the community plan, sign up on the Grandview-Woodland mailing list, and to comment on what they love and what they would like to see change in the community.

National Aboriginal Day

June 21, 2012 – The Grandview-Woodland planning team set up an interactive display at the National Aboriginal Day celebration at Trout Lake engaging people who attended the celebration to get involved with the community plan. People took the opportunity to share their ideas on the future of Grandview-Woodland.

Jane’s Walk recap and dialogue

June 19, 2012 – The City of Vancouver, Museum of Vancouver and Spacing Vancouver revisited the special Jane's Walk tours that were held in Marpole, Grandview-Woodland and the West End in Home: An Exploration of 3 Vancouver Communities. This event, held at the Nauseam of Vancouver brought together planners and tour leaders from Marpole, Grandview-Woodland and the West End along with residents for a reflective dialogue that explored similarities between the three neighbourhoods currently undergoing community plans.

Car Free Day

June 17, 2012 – The Grandview-Woodland planning team, with the City’s Transportation 2040 team and the Home Energy Loan Program joined the festivities at Commercial Drive’s Car Free Day on Sunday, June 17. Information about the planning process was provided, questionnaires were available and people shared their ideas for the future of Grandview-Woodland.

Grandview-Woodland photo contest

Enter the Grandview-Woodland photo contest

June 17, 2012 – Our Grandview-Woodland photo contest is now closed. We will announce the winners soon. If you would still like to share your images of the neighbourhood, the photo site will remain open through to the end of 2012 so you can submit photos, add comments, and rate images.

  • Submit your photos and view other submissions!

Italian Day 2012!

June 10, 2012 – Planners joined the festivities on Commercial Drive to experience “La Dolce Vita” and to spread the word about the 18-21 month community planning program in Grandview-Woodland. Hundreds of people placed dots and wrote comments about what they love and what they would like to see change in Grandview-Woodland.

Exploring neighbourhood energy futures

June 9, 2012 – The second workshop on energy futures took place in the grand Simon Baker room at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre on Saturday, June 9. Together with facilitators from UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability and City of Vancouver staff, 35 participants worked together to plan and design what low carbon neighbourhoods might look like in the future. After facilitators introduced the Grandview-Woodland community, highlighting land use and energy trends of the community.

Community assets, issues and opportunities questionnaire

June 8, 2012 – We need your input and ideas to help assess community priorities in Grandview-Woodland. The Community Assets, Issues and Opportunities. The questionnaire will help us to identify what we have in the area now, what you feel we need and ways we can improve things. Your answers will shape the planning process over the next 18-21 months. (The questionnaire closed on June 29.)

Community Plan open houses

May 16, 2012 – Café Deux Soleils hosted the second Grandview-Woodland Community Plan Open House, offering residents the chance to share their ideas on the future of Grandview-Woodland.

May 13, 2012 – The City held a Community Planning Open House, which featured an opportunity to learn more about the planning process, and how to get involved. The event feature music, face painting, button making, asset mapping, and more.

Grandview-Woodland photo contest

May 13, 2012 – Show us the hidden gems, your favourite routes, the places you like to visit, or the ones you choose to avoid, in this community planning photo contest. Submit your favourite photos, and we will choose the winners.(The contest closed on June 17.)

Stone Soup Festival

May 12, 2012 – The planning team joined the Stone Soup Festival at Britannia Square to celebrate the culture of food and community, as well as spread the word about the planning program.

Storytelling event

May 11, 2012 – We held the Grandview-Woodland Community Storytelling Event at the WISE Hall. It was hosted by local storyteller Naomi Steinberg, and featured local resident and musical talent, Jess Hill.

Grandview-Woodland walking tour

May 6, 2012 – Coordinated by the City of Vancouver and its partners, Museum of Vancouver and Spacing Vancouver, residents joined hosts Dan Freeman and Marta Farevaag Long as they explored the diversity of features that make Grandview-Woodland unique. City of Vancouver planner, Andrew Pask, was on hand to answer questions about the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan and discuss opportunities to get involved. This walk was park of the Jane’s Walk series.

Grandview-Woodland plan Council vote

July 28, 2011 – City Council voted to direct staff to begin a new community plan program for Grandview-Woodland.

Reports and documents

Read about the purpose, structure, and process of  the community planning process:

Read the full report that went to Council, which includes the policy on rezoning and heritage revitalization agreements:

Review estimates of the residential development capacity or how much new housing could be constructed in the area.

Maps

See maps that outline what your neighbours love about Grandview-Woodland, and what they would like to see changed.

About Grandview-Woodland

Public engagement

Workshop series: Neighbourhood Planning through Dialogue

Public open houses

Input from stakeholders

See the information gathered from stakeholders that helped shape the terms of reference and will inform future planning process discussions:

Meeting notes

Read the notes from the Grandview-Woodland Process Advisory and Civic Engagement (PACE) Group meetings

The community planning process in Grandview-Woodland will take 18 to 21 months. It will be done in four phases.

Below is an overview of the four phases.

Phase 1: Launch (Spring 2012)

During the first phase, we will:

  • Compile relevant city-wide policies
  • Review the existing research on neighbourhood issues
  • Discuss the needs, challenges, and opportunities related to the plan's key areas of focus with the community
  • Develop a local area profile

Phase 2: Plan and policy generation (Fall 2012 - Spring 2013)

During this phase, we will:

  • Develop community-wide policies
  • Create sub-area plans
  • Create community action projects and plans

Phase 3: Draft plan (Summer to Fall 2013)

At this phase, all the elements of the community plan will be brought together for broad community review.

During this phase, we will:

  • Prepare a draft community plan that combines the community-wide policies and sub-area plans
  • Identify recommended priorities and other implementation-related activities
  • Conduct a final, broad public review of the draft plan

Phase 4: Plan approval (Fall to Winter 2013)

At this phase, we will finalize the plan and prepare to present it to Council.

During this phase, we will:

  • Modify and refine the draft plan based on feedback
  • Prepare a report for Council
  • Forward the draft plan to Council for adoption, and to the Park Board and the School Board for consideration of parks and recreation, or education-related matters

Work leading up to this community plan

The City has conducted a number of planning programs in Grandview-Woodland since the 1970s:

  • A neighbourhood improvement program in the 1970s used federal funds to improve parks, schools, and social service facilities.
  • The Grandview-Woodland Area Policy Plan (1979-83) led to the current C-2C/C-2C1 commercial zoning along Commercial Drive, and the RM-4 apartment zoning east of that, both of which provide a better control on the quality and appearance of development.
  • The City created the Broadway Station Area Plan (1987) because of the first Skytrain line, which led to revised zoning and design guidelines for development near the Broadway and Commercial station to address Skytrain impacts. Improvements to Commercial-Broadway Station were identified through Translink's Commercial-Broadway Transit Village Plan. The plan was developed through consultation with stakeholder groups, including local business and residents organizations.
  • The City introduced a design review for the RT-4 and RT-5 zones (1997) after consulting and polling residents.
  • As a result of the second Skytrain line and station at Broadway and Commercial - and in keeping with the Kensington Cedar Cottage Community Vision adopted in 1998 for the neighbouring KCC area - the City undertook a new Broadway and Commercial Precinct Plan to address streetscape and open space improvements, a retail study, and a review of the various C zones regulations and guidelines.

Background documents from previous plans

Grandview-Woodland Local Area Policy Plan (1979-1983) 

Land use and development guidelines

History of Grandview-Woodland

Ask. Tell. Connect.

Phone 3-1-1 to ask, tell, and connect with the City

Outside Vancouver:
604-873-7000

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More ways to contact us

What do you think?

Share your views on Nanaimo Street, as part of the development of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The questionnaire is open until May 22nd.

Share your views

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Grandview-Woodland local planning area

Talk to a planner

For more information about this community plan, contact a community planner directly:

Andrew Pask
Grandview-Woodland Community Planner
604-673-8171

Tate White
Planning Assistant
604-871-6302

Email:
grandviewplan@vancouver.ca

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Last modified: Wed, 08 May 2013 19:22:12

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