Little Mountain site planning program

little mountain

The purpose of this project is to plan the redevelopment of the Little Mountain social housing site, after the federal government transferred ownership of the area to the provincial government in 2007.The Province (BC Housing) has selected Holborn Properties Ltd. to redevelop the site.

The plan will consider the future mix of uses, density and height, building forms and character, public spaces, circulation and movement, and parks and community facilities to serve the new and existing community.

Read about this plan in depth

Recent developments with the plan

Rezoning application approved

July 2016 - Council approved the rezoning application at the Regular Council meeting held on July 26, 2016. The next steps in the project will be development permit applications for each building on site.

Read more about the rezoning application and the decision by Council

Public hearing date

July 2016 – The public hearing for the Little Mountain rezoning application is scheduled for July 19, 2016.

Read about the Little Mountain rezoning application

Presentation on updates to the rezoning application

May 2016 – IBI presented updates to the rezoning application to the Little Mountain Community Advisory Group and to the City’s Urban Design Panel.

View the presentation  (6 MB)

Questionnaire: What do you think of the Little Mountain Rezoning Application?

December 2015 – We asked for your thoughts on the proposed elements of the application in an online questionnaire from November 30 to December 20, 2015. Thanks to everyone who completed the questionnaire. We are currently analyzing the feedback we received.

November 28 and December 3 open houses: Little Mountain rezoning application

November 2015 – The City received a rezoning application from Holborn Properties and IBI Group for the 15-acre Little Mountain site on October 30. The application is based on Little Mountain Policy Statement, which was approved by City Council in 2012 after two-and-a-half years of consultation and design work.

The proposal includes:

  1. A variety of buildings between 3 and 12 storeys (12 storeys in 2 locations)
  2. Mainly residential uses (approximately 1,400 market housing units) with some commercial and civic uses
  3. 234 units of replacement social housing owned by BC Housing (53 are already built)
  4. A City-owned building with the new Little Mountain Neighbourhood House, a childcare facility, and 48 units of additional affordable rental housing
  5. A new City street and extension of 35th Avenue
  6. A new community plaza and public park

View the rezoning application

You're invited to attend a pair of open houses about the proposal.

  • Saturday, November 28, 11:00am - 3:00pm, at General Brock Elementary School Gymnasium (4860 Main Street)
  • Thursday, December 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm at the Holy Name of Jesus Parish Church (4925 Cambie Street)

View the open house information displays:

Adjacent Area rezonings approved

April 2015 – City Council approved the first three rezoning applications within the Adjacent Area next to the Little Mountain housing site. View the rezoned properties on the map and learn more about each rezoning below.

Little Mountain rezoning process is moving forward

October 22, 2013 – The Community Advisory Group (CAG) met at Hillcrest Centre to learn about the upcoming rezoning process for Little Mountain. Representatives from the City, Holborn Properties, and IBI Group (Holborn's selected architect) made presentations, listened to comments, and answered questions. The CAG was introduced to IBI Group's previous work, their vision for Little Mountain, and the steps to the rezoning process, including opportunities for public input.

Council approves the Adjacent Area Rezoning Policy

February 13, 2013 – Council has approved the Little Mountain Adjacent Area Rezoning Policy to guide future rezoning proposals in the area next to the Little Mountain housing site (south of East 33rd Avenue, west of Main Street). Developed concurrently with the Little Mountain planning process, the rezoning policy encourages a variety of innovative housing types suitable for families and options to improve housing affordability. The policy also addresses a range of issues, including: building forms, heights and densities, housing mix, public benefits, transportation, and sustainability. A fixed-rate community amenity contribution (CAC) target for new development in  the adjacent area is recommended in the policy.

Little Mountain adjacent area draft rezoning policy

November 26, 2012 – The information boards and comment form from the adjacent area open house on November 24 are now online. The open house presented the City's draft rezoning policy options for the adjacent area at 33rd Avenue and Main Street, which include recommendations on new housing forms such as townhouses and apartments, public benefits, transportation and sustainability. If you missed the open house or didn’t have a chance to fill in the form, you can still complete it online until December 1.

  • Go to the Documents tab to review the information boards

Little Mountain development is moving forward

October 26, 2012 – The City of Vancouver, BC Government, and Holborn Properties have signed an agreement to allow up to 50 units to be built at Little Mountain prior to the completion of the rezoning process.

Council approves the new policy statement 

June 27, 2012 – Council approves the new policy statement for the Little Mountain site. This marked the end of a two-year collaborative policy planning process involving the community, Holborn Properties, and the City.

The policy statement provides direction for site planning, housing, transportation, sustainability, and more. The policy statement will guide the next stage of planning, rezoning the site. The rezoning phase will include additional community engagement and a public hearing.

Community advisory group meetings

February to June 2012 – The Community Advisory Group met seven times to discuss:

  • Feedback from earlier public open houses
  • Various aspects of the redevelopment, including sustainability, transportation, and urban design

Urban Design Panel workshop receives Draft Policy Statement

May 9, 2012 – City of Vancouver planning staff presented the Draft Policy Statement to the Panel in a non-voting workshop.

Open houses on public process, guiding principles, and development concept

January 26 and 28, 2012 – Open houses were held at Brock Elementary School. The City of Vancouver Planning staff presented materials on the public process, guiding principles, and an urban design analysis of the development concept. The proponent, Holborn Properties, also presented models and drawings of a development concept. Representatives from the City, Holborn Properties and the Little Mountain Community Advisory Group were available to answer questions and listen to comments.

Members of the public were invited to provide their feedback on the how this development concept meets the guiding principles for the project.

MOU with BC Housing

Council reports

2013

2012

Earlier

Public engagement

Open house information boards (November-December 2015)

Adjacent area open house information boards (November 2012)

Open house information boards (January 2012)

Material prepared by the Holborn Group

Key documents from the advisory group meetings 

Background materials

Resources

Planning process steps

Stage 1: Policy Statement

A Policy Statement guides the future development of a large site by describing the intended mix of uses, building form (including height and density), transportation and circulation, and community facilities.

Date Step
July 2007 City Council approved a planning program for Little Mountain.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is signed between the City and the Province
October 2009 Program scoping and backgrounder review
May 2009 City Council approved the revised work program and timeline for Little Mountain
December 2009 Public open house #1: Share background information and planning objectives, and identify community issues
January – May 2010 Prepare the initial development site plan concepts
June 2010 Public open house #2: Present the initial site plan concepts for feedback
June 2010 – Present Refine the site plan and explore 3D massing
July 2011 Public open house #3: Present the 3D massing concepts for feedback
Fall 2011 Incorporate public feedback into the site plan concept
January 2012 Public open house #4: Present the redevelopment plan concept for feedback
Spring 2012 Draft the policy statement and refine the redevelopment concept
Mid-2012 Refine the concept and the policy statement
Summer 2012 Present the policy statement to City Council. The policy statement was approved by Council on June 27, 2012

Stage 2: Rezoning

The rezoning process involves submission of a comprehensive redevelopment proposal by the proponent, formal review by City staff, community consultation, a Public Hearing before Council, and legal enactment of any zoning changes.

Date Step
Review of rezoning applications

Approximately 1 year from date of application  

Community advisory group

In November 2009, the City created a Community Advisory Group. The advisory group will allow for feedback from a wide range of people who are interested in, or affected by, the planning and redevelopment of the Little Mountain site.

The advisory committee will:

  • Represent the Little Mountain/Riley Park community in advising City staff on community outreach
  • Assist in the creation of the development framework
  • Provide information and identify information gaps
  • Engage comprehensively in workshops and meetings with the developer and the City

Read the advisory group's draft policy feedback

On March 25, 2010, the advisory group endorsed Terms of Reference for the group.

History of the area

Little Mountain is located on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish People. In 1954, Little Mountain became home to the first large-scale modern social housing project in Vancouver. The project was built and managed by the federal government, and consisted of apartments and rowhouses. There were no retail or commercial uses on the site.

For over 50 years, Little Mountain was home to a vibrant, creative, and active community. Residents were an important part of the broader Riley Park community, and were directly involved in the creation of the Little Mountain Neighbourhood House and the Riley Park Community Centre.

Early 2007

The federal government transferred ownership of Little Mountain to the provincial government.

July 2007 

The federal and provincial governments signed an agreement regarding the future of the site. The conditions of the  agreement included the City leading a collaborative planning process to develop a new policy for the site, and replacing all of the social housing on site.

May 2008

BC Housing selected Holborn Properties Ltd. as the developer.

September 2009

BC Housing and the City signed a Letter of Understanding (LOU) regarding the site (see the MOU-LOU board for details).

The majority of Little Mountain residents have been relocated to housing elsewhere and demolition of all but one building is complete.

November 2009

City Council approved a planning program for Little Mountain.

Contact us

Payam Fouladianpour
Project Facilitator

payam.fouladianpour@vancouver.ca

604-873-7663