We love Lonsdale: here’s how to keep it great
17th and Lonsdale is becoming a gathering place for people. Photo: Heather Drugge
Some people are calling the Lonsdale Great Street plan a Trojan horse for density, a streetscape project with a hidden rezoning agenda. It's reasonable to be skeptical of planning documents. But in this case, the criticism seems unwarranted. Maybe even a bit loopy?
Based on the new report, the Lonsdale Great Street plan is an economic development and streetscape plan for the Central Lonsdale corridor, from Victoria Park to the Trans-Canada Highway.
It’s not a zoning document. It does not change permitted heights. It does not change permitted densities. Where the plan does touch on future land use, the language is consistently “could be considered during a future OCP update.” That's a signal to a future process, not an immediate policy change.
If people want to argue about increasing the density on Central Lonsdale beyond what the existing Official Community Plan Zoning Map already sets out, that conversation will happen during an OCP review. It’s not happening within the Great Street Project.
Protecting what we love
What we all love about Lonsdale is the small mom-and-pop restaurants, the small storefronts, and the active retail business. The plan protects the small storefronts that house these businesses by updating the zoning bylaw to include maximum storefront widths and minimum floor-to-ceiling heights. It recommends design guidelines requiring the small-scale, fine-grained retail bays that define the area today. It specifically directs future residential development off Lonsdale to side streets — to preserve both the existing storefronts and the mountain views from the Avenue.
Preserving mountain views with building set backs. Photo: Heather Drugge
That's not a plan that wants to erase Central Lonsdale's character. It's a plan trying to lock that character in through bylaw tools before market pressures erode it.
Central Lonsdale's retail vacancy rate is near zero. Demand for commercial space is strong. That's good news for existing businesses until a landlord decides to redevelop, and suddenly, a family business with 20 years on the corridor is out of options.
The plan identifies rules for new development that would encourage small business units. It also lays out two potential ways to help existing businesses survive through a redevelopment. Photo: Heather Drugge
The plan proposes two remedies:
A commercial relocation program modelled on programs in Arlington County, VA and the City of Vancouver, which provides lease-negotiation support, relocation-strategy assistance, and helps connect displaced businesses to new spaces within the corridor.
A legacy business program modelled on programs in San Francisco and several BC cities — recognition, promotion, and potential landlord incentives for keeping businesses that have defined the area over decades.
We love the small businesses on Lonsdale and want to encourage development that would allow them to stay. Photo: Heather Drugge
Neither program exists yet. They're recommendations, not commitments. But they're the right recommendations, and we’ll be watching to see whether they make it into implementation.
A better street experience for pedestrians
The plan focuses on the quality of the street for pedestrians: wider, more usable sidewalks, better lighting, a cohesive design palette, more places to sit, rain gardens, an expanded street tree canopy, formalized patio zones that extend the commercial season, and pocket parks and plaza spaces secured through redevelopment.
This passage between the Sunrise care home and the new residential development at Lonsdale Square is a good example of pedestrian/park infrastructure that is delightful to walk through or sit in. Photo: Heather Drugge
This development tucks in off Lonsdale allowing the new Steamworks to sit alongside a park. Photo: Heather Drugge
The plan also calls for multimodal transfer points integrating bike share, bike parking, and bus stops every 250–300 metres along the corridor. It calls for pedestrian intersection improvements to reduce crossing distances and vehicle conflicts. That better walking and cycling access directly boosts business is correct, and it’s an argument that should be made more often on the Shore.
The new corner on the North side of 17th at Lonsdale at the Lennox development extends the plaza feeling from the south side with new seating and green space. Photo: Heather Drugge
The plan does envision more density in the North Character Area around Harry Jerome Centre, but this is where the existing official community plan already permits mid-rise and high-rise development. It's not a new direction. Any expansion of what's permitted now would require a formal variance process with public engagement.
Density is coming to CeLo
The real question is whether the growth that comes is well-designed, protects small storefronts at grade, includes public space, and keeps the street feeling human-scale. That's what this plan is trying to ensure.
A bad version of that future is one in which redevelopment occurs without design guidelines, legacy business protections, or public space requirements.
Read the plan. It's a 20-year vision document focused on seating, sidewalks, small business protection, cultural programming, and streetscape quality. It recommends zoning tools to preserve the fine-grained retail character people value. It proposes programs to protect businesses at risk of displacement. It calls for better conditions for people walking and cycling.
That's not a Trojan horse. That's a neighbourhood plan.
Better North Shore supports good planning for Central Lonsdale. The draft Lonsdale Great Street report is available at letstalk.cnv.org/lonsdalegreatstreet.
If this story resonates with you, please forward this to a few friends, and suggest they join our email list. We’re building a group of like-minded people who want to see the North Shore positively embrace and manage the many changes we face. Thanks, we really appreciate it.
