After controversial land deal, Vancouver school's basketball courts are set to become rental housing
CBC
Parents say they are frustrated with a recent Vancouver city council decision to rezone a portion of land owned by the school board to allow a six-storey rental building.
While the Vancouver School Board (VSB) announced it would dispose of the southern portion of land at Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary more than a year ago, the rezoning decision came to council Thursday last week.
The development at 1401-1455 East 49th Ave. is expected to include about 87 rental units, with 20 per cent of the residential floor area rented at below-market rates, according to a city staff report.
The VSB leased the land, which currently houses basketball courts, to developer Vittori Lanark Holdings Ltd. in a 99-year, $8.5-million deal.
The lease terms include that priority access to vacant rental units would be provided to VSB staff, according to the report.
But Heman Mehta, chair of the Fleming Elementary parent advisory council, said the decision to rezone part of the school property just doesn't make sense.
"[We’re] trying to explain to them that their numbers are outdated and flawed," said Mehta, who has two children at Fleming.
"If you’re going to give away this piece of land for 99 years, we’re already 22 students over capacity — how are we supposed to grow within this school?"
He noted Fleming is estimated to have 646 students in its catchment area in 2043, or 133 per cent of its capacity, according to updated enrolment projections released earlier this year.
Mehta is concerned that if the school needs future portables, the only land available will be the soccer field.
He said while he’s not opposed to new rental housing, it's likely that families who move into the new units will find it difficult to get into local schools.
And he doesn’t make much of the lease price: “How can you give away such precious land for $7,000 a month?”
The VSB acknowledged the parents' concerns but said its numbers are sound.
"The updated projections show that we have sufficient space in the Fleming area to accommodate students now, and into the future," the VSB said in an emailed statement.
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