West End residents fight high-rise plans

A group of downtown Vancouver residents is trying to stop plans to build several new high-rise apartment blocks in the city's West End.

Organizer Michelle Mathias says she and other opponents have gathered more than 2000 signatures on a petition calling for a new community vision for the neighbourhood.

Mathias plans take the petition to city council on Tuesday afternoon to pressure councillors to make changes to their plans for the neighbourhood.

"I feel the density should be distributed along the Canada Line or other transit, because there's this myth that there's no land [there]," said Mathias.

'There is tonnes of land. You look on the East Side, it's mostly houses.' Organizer Michelle Mathias

Vancouver's West End is already one of the densest neighbourhoods in North America, and Mathias says it's time developers looked elsewhere for places to build.

"There is tonnes of land. You look on the East Side, it's mostly houses. If you go out to Commercial Drive, there's no skyscrapers there," said Mathias.

Vancouver city council has already approved plans for a 20-storey tower on the corner of Bidwell and Davie Streets, and plans forseveral more high-rises are also under consideration, including one on the site of St John's Church at 1401 Comox Street.

The approval for the Davie Street project was fast-tracked by the city as part of its Short Term Incentives for Rental Housing program, which is intended to help develop more rental housing in the city.