midweek edition WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010
Vol. 101 No. 74 • Established 1908 • East
28
Laughing it up at Olio
Scrum king
29
Marpole rezoning plan tops unprecedented heights Proposal includes 24-storey tower Cheryl Rossi Staff writer
The building proposal includes a 24-storey rental tower and a 14-storey tower of condominiums.
submitted illustration
A key property in Marpole on Granville near West 70th Avenue could undergo a radical transformation under a proposed rezoning that would bring increased density and unprecedented building heights to the gateway neighbourhood. Henriquez Partners Architects has applied to the city on behalf of developer Westbank Projects to rezone the property, home to a Safeway store, under the city’s Short Term Incentives for Rental, or STIR, program. The proposal would see the Safeway store rebuilt closer to Granville, a 24storey rental tower, a 14storey tower of condominiums and a nine-storey slab
building of townhouses at street level with condominium units above. Marpole at present is a mixture of older apartment buildings, few higher than three stories, and single family homes. The city will host the first public meeting about the planned development at Marpole Place Sept. 20. Gudrun Langolf, president of the MarpoleOakridge Area Council Society, which runs Marpole Place, said she has heard concerns from residents. “The folks that have stopped me to talk to me about it, my neighbours, are unanimous that it’s far too high and too dense and that the STIR program is not helping,” Langolf said. See ARCHITECT on page 4
Survey says Vancouverites content with their quality of life According to poll, 48 per cent of respondents were ‘very satisfied’ with life Mike Howell Staff writer
How is your quality of life? Apparently, it’s pretty good for a majority of residents surveyed by local polling company, Justason Market Intelligence. The survey conducted between Aug. 16 and 23 found that 83 per
cent of 505 respondents were satisfied with their quality of life in Vancouver. More than half (48 per cent) were “very satisfied,” with 11 per cent dissatisfied and six per cent undecided. The polling company also found more than one third (37 per cent) of respondents said Vancouver
was “more fun” than other large Canadian cities. Only 25 per cent thought it was “as fun,” another 25 per cent said it was “less fun” and 13 per cent were undecided. But the questions not posed to those feel-good residents is why their quality of life is so great and what is their definition of fun. Those questions, according to
Barb Justason of Justason Market Intelligence, are for another survey. “Those open-ended questions are expensive to ask,” explained Justason, whose small polling company operates out of a Hornby Street office. “Quality of life is what it means to the person. So whatever their definition is, that
would be what they base their response on.” Generally, she said, people’s quality of life is measured by what they can afford, the quality of services available such as education and community centres and “what an individual’s priorities might be at any given time.” See RESPONDENTS on page 4
YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT! WWW.VANCOURIER.COM