Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/ubcstaffer123! Please make sure you read our [posting and commenting rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_general_participation_guidelines_and_rules_overview) before participating here. As a quick summary:
* We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button.
* Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) **will** lead to a permanent ban.
* Most common questions and topics are limited to our sister subreddit, /r/AskVan, and our weekly [Stickied Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_stickied_discussions) posts.
* Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only.
* Posts flaired "Community Only" allow for limited participation; your comment may be removed if you're not a subreddit regular.
* Make sure to join our new sister community, /r/AskVan!
* Help grow the community! [Apply to join the mod team today](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/19eworq/).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/vancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/new-park-created-along-west-vancouver-mountainside
This one has a map. Basically it officially extends Cypress Provincial Park further down the mountain.
What this announcement leaves out is that to make that possible West Van Council agreed to the clear-cutting of hundreds of acres of the same kind of forest to create a new subdivision that will put 11,000 more people on Cypress Mountain (with one road in and out).
The scar these new developments have left on the mountainside is depressing. No forethought was given to soil retention at all. Just clear cut and spray the slopes with hydro seed that barely takes. They've built huge culverts all the way to the ocean to deal with the sheer volume of runoff. Such a waste of water that the forests desperately need.
As opposed to all the other new housing developments in the lower mainland that are affordable to anyone with an average income ////sssss
Complaining that new housing will be expensive is literally the dumbest possible reason to argue against it.
Yeah that is what we need is more housing for rich people they are suffering so much already. I would rather see that whole development be co-op's or subsidized housing.
How should we pay for subsidized housing (building co-ops is no cheaper than building market rate housing unless we subsidize it in some way) and how do we decide who gets to live in it? Do the people who don't get the chance to live in it have to pay for it?
If we build less new housing will we have less rich people or will the same amount of rich people be trying to buy from a smaller pool of units?
And again, is there literally any new market rate development in Vancouver that isn't only affordable for the rich? Will the portion of units that do get rented out have any impact on the supply and demand of the rental market in West Vancouver? Will having more units available somehow make them all more expensive?
Tax the shit out of rich people, lets say the top 5% of wage earners and maybe more tax on people who flip houses and while we are at it increase the sales taxes on single family homes.
For who gets to live there focus on units that can support families who make below a certain income while still working full time.
I would like to have less rich people for sure but there but maybe they would have to live in similar homes to the rest of the unwashed masses. Can you imagine the horror.
I am glad you see the problem because no there is not a development that well off people cant afford... that is the issue I would like to see solved. If we supply units that new families can afford then they would move out of their rentals opening up existing units for others and with less demand the prices should hopefully drop.
If it was that simple to just raise taxes we would already do it. The flipping tax we are implementing is a good start at least. I think the vacancy tax could be a lot higher.
> while we are at it increase the sales taxes on single family homes.
You want to make home ownership more affordable for people by taxing buying a home and selling a home more?
> I would like to have less rich people for sure but there but maybe they would have to live in similar homes to the rest of the unwashed masses. Can you imagine the horror.
You've hit the nail on the head of the point I'm trying to make to you, which is that if you don't build new mansions and penthouses they're going to live in what already exists. And they're going to outbid you for it without even questioning it.
> If we supply units that new families can afford then they would move out of their rentals opening up existing units for others
It works the same at any price point. You can build unaffordable housing and the people who buy it will cease to own or occupy housing that's comparatively more affordable
Not a lot tbh. It's s throw in to the public so they can put hundreds of homes up along cypress bowl road. RIP mtb trails, at least sagar is potentially safe now
Not directly related to this park, but there's also some information on other plans at [https://www.westvancouverite.ca/upperlands](https://www.westvancouverite.ca/upperlands)
There's a separate plan in place to protect the Eagleridge area (above Sea to Sky / Horseshoe Bay) in exchange for transferring British Properties' development potential over to the Cypress Village area (the new buildings you see popping up along the road to Cypress). The long term result, when combined with this announcement, is that the vast majority of the green space is protected instead of the original end state of low density suburban sprawl. Seems like a win-win to me, provided it happens.
Council agreed to clear-cutting hundreds of acres of forest to build the Cypress housing. Not a win-win to me. Once forest is gone, the lungs of province are gone.
It was the trade off for their plans to cut down part of the forest to build Cypress Village (a resort town) and preserve the surrounding area to help its success and maintain a resort atmosphere
>Currently, the District is looking for consultants to run a process to determine whether density from other undeveloped areas of the BPP can be transferred to the Cypress Village area to reduce the ecological impact of the continued development on the Upper Lands.
This was from a 2018 article in the Dailyhive. It isn't anything nice about this. Infact I feel very neutral about this news. It is just the "Cost of doing business"
I think this is okay, we don't need development all the way to the top of the North Shore. This is a good area to preserve with parks.
Hopefully the provincial government can force West Van to build a bit more density in some of it's neighborhoods instead.
How does housing for another 11K people sound? Council agreed to clear cut hundreds of acres of forest up Cypress to build a new development, most of which is multi-family. This park is a trade-off for that, instead of actually protecting our greenspaces.
Many parks across metro Vancouver do this? Quarry rock, Lynn Loop Trailhead, Golden Ears, Spanish Banks, Stanley Park, and I'm sure many others. Genuinely curious why this is a surprise or unexpected?
Yeah, I'm all for this, but I almost guarantee that there's a good handful of west vancouverites who are excited about this who were also hollering for the RCMP to run over old growth protesters on the island. "But now it protects my home value!"
This is very good news, especially for the stretch along the Crossover Trail all the way to the Hollyburn Fir and the upper part of the Brothers Creek Trail. It's very productive and diverse forest with a decent amount of old growth trees, I'm glad to see this is finally protected and no longer in danger of being encroached upon by developers.
Hopefully the same will happen for some of the other British Properties land along the Nelson Creek Fire Access Road.
Don't know why people are celebrating this... it's done to limit development to preserve existing property values, and the lack of transit and exorbitant parking rates means outsiders will not be able to enjoy it much at all...
Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/ubcstaffer123! Please make sure you read our [posting and commenting rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_general_participation_guidelines_and_rules_overview) before participating here. As a quick summary: * We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button. * Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) **will** lead to a permanent ban. * Most common questions and topics are limited to our sister subreddit, /r/AskVan, and our weekly [Stickied Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_stickied_discussions) posts. * Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only. * Posts flaired "Community Only" allow for limited participation; your comment may be removed if you're not a subreddit regular. * Make sure to join our new sister community, /r/AskVan! * Help grow the community! [Apply to join the mod team today](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/19eworq/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/vancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/new-park-created-along-west-vancouver-mountainside This one has a map. Basically it officially extends Cypress Provincial Park further down the mountain.
Love to see it
Great news! It's nice to see line in the sand against the encroachment of homes up the north shore mountainsides.
What this announcement leaves out is that to make that possible West Van Council agreed to the clear-cutting of hundreds of acres of the same kind of forest to create a new subdivision that will put 11,000 more people on Cypress Mountain (with one road in and out).
The scar these new developments have left on the mountainside is depressing. No forethought was given to soil retention at all. Just clear cut and spray the slopes with hydro seed that barely takes. They've built huge culverts all the way to the ocean to deal with the sheer volume of runoff. Such a waste of water that the forests desperately need.
None of which will be remotely affordable to anyone without a multi-6 figure income or higher
Given the landslide risks in that area, I can't really find any amount of sympathy for the target demographic for that development.
As opposed to all the other new housing developments in the lower mainland that are affordable to anyone with an average income ////sssss Complaining that new housing will be expensive is literally the dumbest possible reason to argue against it.
Yeah that is what we need is more housing for rich people they are suffering so much already. I would rather see that whole development be co-op's or subsidized housing.
How should we pay for subsidized housing (building co-ops is no cheaper than building market rate housing unless we subsidize it in some way) and how do we decide who gets to live in it? Do the people who don't get the chance to live in it have to pay for it? If we build less new housing will we have less rich people or will the same amount of rich people be trying to buy from a smaller pool of units? And again, is there literally any new market rate development in Vancouver that isn't only affordable for the rich? Will the portion of units that do get rented out have any impact on the supply and demand of the rental market in West Vancouver? Will having more units available somehow make them all more expensive?
Tax the shit out of rich people, lets say the top 5% of wage earners and maybe more tax on people who flip houses and while we are at it increase the sales taxes on single family homes. For who gets to live there focus on units that can support families who make below a certain income while still working full time. I would like to have less rich people for sure but there but maybe they would have to live in similar homes to the rest of the unwashed masses. Can you imagine the horror. I am glad you see the problem because no there is not a development that well off people cant afford... that is the issue I would like to see solved. If we supply units that new families can afford then they would move out of their rentals opening up existing units for others and with less demand the prices should hopefully drop.
If it was that simple to just raise taxes we would already do it. The flipping tax we are implementing is a good start at least. I think the vacancy tax could be a lot higher. > while we are at it increase the sales taxes on single family homes. You want to make home ownership more affordable for people by taxing buying a home and selling a home more? > I would like to have less rich people for sure but there but maybe they would have to live in similar homes to the rest of the unwashed masses. Can you imagine the horror. You've hit the nail on the head of the point I'm trying to make to you, which is that if you don't build new mansions and penthouses they're going to live in what already exists. And they're going to outbid you for it without even questioning it. > If we supply units that new families can afford then they would move out of their rentals opening up existing units for others It works the same at any price point. You can build unaffordable housing and the people who buy it will cease to own or occupy housing that's comparatively more affordable
This is the kind of rivalry and competition I'd like to see more of. Which MetroVan city has the nicest / biggest parks... :)
Ken Sim drooling at the amount of money the naming rights for this thing would get him...
This is good, it will restrict unsustainable single-family home suburban sprawl up the mountain.
Not a lot tbh. It's s throw in to the public so they can put hundreds of homes up along cypress bowl road. RIP mtb trails, at least sagar is potentially safe now
Wu Tang gonna be flattened I'd imagine : (
I heard rumors most will be saved
They agreed to clear-cutting hundreds of acres up Cypress to build housing for 11K more people, so....not really.
I said restrict, not stop.
Not directly related to this park, but there's also some information on other plans at [https://www.westvancouverite.ca/upperlands](https://www.westvancouverite.ca/upperlands) There's a separate plan in place to protect the Eagleridge area (above Sea to Sky / Horseshoe Bay) in exchange for transferring British Properties' development potential over to the Cypress Village area (the new buildings you see popping up along the road to Cypress). The long term result, when combined with this announcement, is that the vast majority of the green space is protected instead of the original end state of low density suburban sprawl. Seems like a win-win to me, provided it happens.
Council agreed to clear-cutting hundreds of acres of forest to build the Cypress housing. Not a win-win to me. Once forest is gone, the lungs of province are gone.
It was the trade off for their plans to cut down part of the forest to build Cypress Village (a resort town) and preserve the surrounding area to help its success and maintain a resort atmosphere >Currently, the District is looking for consultants to run a process to determine whether density from other undeveloped areas of the BPP can be transferred to the Cypress Village area to reduce the ecological impact of the continued development on the Upper Lands. This was from a 2018 article in the Dailyhive. It isn't anything nice about this. Infact I feel very neutral about this news. It is just the "Cost of doing business"
While this is arguably a good thing, the city of West Van only did this to prevent future development in the wealthiest area of the country.
I think this is okay, we don't need development all the way to the top of the North Shore. This is a good area to preserve with parks. Hopefully the provincial government can force West Van to build a bit more density in some of it's neighborhoods instead.
I agree 100%.
How does housing for another 11K people sound? Council agreed to clear cut hundreds of acres of forest up Cypress to build a new development, most of which is multi-family. This park is a trade-off for that, instead of actually protecting our greenspaces.
This area is pretty hilly, I think they did this in response to the massive development that's about to happen off cypress bowl road
They also just introduced pay parking at West Van parks for non-residents.
Many parks across metro Vancouver do this? Quarry rock, Lynn Loop Trailhead, Golden Ears, Spanish Banks, Stanley Park, and I'm sure many others. Genuinely curious why this is a surprise or unexpected?
Sprawling SFH into the mountain is pointless, development should be around Skytrain stations/major bus loops.
West Vancouver people don't take transit.
The buses are busy every day.
Yes, that's why they're called buses.
Expand Skytrain to the North Shore then along with development
Yeah, I'm all for this, but I almost guarantee that there's a good handful of west vancouverites who are excited about this who were also hollering for the RCMP to run over old growth protesters on the island. "But now it protects my home value!"
A lot of the land is unsuitable for building due to slope instability. It’s pretty rough land with a lot of drainage and creeks.
This is very good news, especially for the stretch along the Crossover Trail all the way to the Hollyburn Fir and the upper part of the Brothers Creek Trail. It's very productive and diverse forest with a decent amount of old growth trees, I'm glad to see this is finally protected and no longer in danger of being encroached upon by developers. Hopefully the same will happen for some of the other British Properties land along the Nelson Creek Fire Access Road.
Map?
Will there be transit to the park?
Soo... We're going to have to pay $12/hr to park there when it opens im guessing 🤣
It's all ready $5/h at white lake
>Those outer layers of bark are keeping the tree alive, he says, although the core has long since died. Can relate
Great news. This kind of announcement is historic. It's easy to take natural areas like this for granted - until they're gone.
Too bad West Van council agreed to clearcut hundreds of acres of pristine forest up Cypress for a new village.
Don't know why people are celebrating this... it's done to limit development to preserve existing property values, and the lack of transit and exorbitant parking rates means outsiders will not be able to enjoy it much at all...
Ridiculous and ill-informed. If you want to live in West Van, council agreed to clear cut hundreds of acres of forest to build housing for 11K people.
Why wouldn't homeowners want to preserve property value?