Condos could cut into this Vancouver mountain vista, if the city lets them

You may not own a home in Vancouver, but everyone who lives in the city can lay claim to breathtaking views of spectacular mountain vistas.

One of those views could be under threat, however, if the City of Vancouver on Tuesday approves a plan for Northeast False Creek that calls for condo towers that would cut into a view of the mountains along Cambie Street.

Coverage of False Creek on Globalnews.ca:

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The plan would include a park, a cultural centre and condo developments that could house up to 12,000 people.

But three of the proposed towers could cut into the mountain view along Cambie, and community advocates are concerned.

“Essentially you’re privatizing our mountain backdrop for these multi-million-dollar condos that nobody can even afford,” said Melody Ma, who created the website Save Our Skyline YVR.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Essentially you're privatizing our mountain backdrop for these multi-million-dollar condos that nobody can even afford," said Melody Ma, who created the website <a href="http://saveourskylineyvr.ca/">Save Our Skyline YVR</a>.

Two of the towers are being proposed by Concord Pacific, one of them by the B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PAVCO).

City council will vote on whether to approve them Tuesday night. Staff have recommended that they put it through.

READ MORE: The plan for northeast False Creek after the viaducts come down is going before council

The City of Vancouver has had a policy to protect 27 view corridors since the 1980s, and the Cambie Corridor is one of them.

“We wanted to promote density, we also wanted to ensure there were these view cones that people could see down from the city, if you were walking, biking or sitting down,” city planner Sandy James told Global News.

“I think it’s one of the most important things Vancouver has ever produced.”

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Ma is concerned that if building continues like this, then “soon we might not even have our mountain backdrop anymore.”

“This might set bad precedent for other real estate developers to build through our public views,” she said.

The city wasn’t available for comment on Monday, but a staff report on the plan calls for higher buildings to establish “significant and recognizable new benchmarks for architectural creativity and excellent, while making a significant contribution to the beauty and visual power of the city’s skyline.”