Planning the Upper Lands: Creating a sustainable urban community in Cypress Village and protecting lands in Eagleridge

June 17, 2024 update

In response to a question from some residents about the financial impact of Cypress Village on municipal finances and future property taxes, the planning team has posted an additional document.

Additional document:

1. Additional question and answer(External link)

May 23, 2024 update

Thank you to those who came to the May 22, 2024 Information Meeting about Cypress Village and Eagleridge.

Materials from the meeting

1. Display boards(External link)
2. Presentation slides(External link)
3. Video of presentation(External link)
4. Summary of questions and answers(External link)

May 15, 2024 update

Staff report has been published

The staff report with the proposed bylaws, proposed legal agreements, and background documents as appendices has been posted as part of the agenda package for the June 3, 2024 regular Council meeting, when the planning team will be presenting the proposed bylaws for Council’s consideration of First Reading. This is earlier than agenda packages are typically posted in advance of a regular Council meeting, recognizing that it is a large amount of information.

A copy of the staff report can be found in the Agenda which is online here(External link).

Updated documents

1. Updated summary information about traffic(External link)
2. Updated list of answers to anticipated questions(External link)

May 2, 2024 update

Update about project status

The planning team has finalized the proposed plan and associated proposed bylaws and legal agreements related to Cypress Village and Eagleridge.

If adopted, the proposed bylaws would govern:

• the phased development of a mixed-used, sustainable urban community in Cypress Village over the next 20 years or so; and
• the District’s acquisition and protection of 262 acres of land in Eagleridge that are currently owned by BPP and that have outstanding environmental and recreational value for the community.

District staff anticipate bringing the proposed bylaws forward for consideration of First Reading at the June 3, 2024 Council meeting. If given First Reading, Council would then set a date for a public hearing.

Information Session: May 22, 2024

Prior to the introduction of the proposed bylaws and public hearing, staff are hosting an information meeting to provide an overview of the proposed plan, bylaws, and legal agreements:

Cypress Village and Eagleridge Information Session
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 from 6–8 p.m.
Municipal Hall Council Chamber
750 17th Street, West Vancouver

Updates to the draft Area Development Plan created in 2022

One of the main documents included in the proposed bylaws is the Area Development Plan (ADP) for Cypress Village and Eagleridge. A draft of the ADP was posted on this project webpage in April 2022(External link).

The main changes since the April 2022 draft ADP are:

1. Refinements to reflect public input during the Phase 3 Engagement, such as:

• Increasing the setback from Cypress Creek.
• Adding text indicating that, as development proceeds, there may be opportunities to consider including space for community groups (e.g. a nature house).
• Adding a view of Cypress Village from Kitsilano Beach into the View Analysis section of the ADP.
• Noting that the Independent Transit Service will serve residents of Rodgers Creek and nearby areas in addition to residents of Cypress Village.
• Describing the goal of having mountain biking trails for all levels of riders and noting that opportunities to keep existing trails, re-route existing trails, and add new trails should be considered during implementation.
• Noting that there may be opportunities to utilize facilities at Mulgrave School in addition to the local-serving amenities planned for the village.

These were mostly clarifications and additional details, not substantial changes to the draft ADP.

2. Refinements to reflect additional technical work, input from other agencies, and negotiations with BPP, including:

a) Increasing the total permitted residential floorspace (from 4.8 million square feet to 5.1 million square feet), but with no change to the total unit count (which is still 3,711 housing units).

b) Changing BPP’s obligation regarding the affordable rental housing in the plan:

• BPP will be responsible for providing two subdivided, serviced parcels of land to the District (or, at the District’s option, to a non-profit housing operator selected by the District), instead of BPP being responsible for working with non-profit housing operators to provide the affordable rental housing units.
• The District can lease the sites to non-profit housing operator(s) who will build/operate the affordable housing, giving the District more control over selecting the non-profit entity and the construction schedule.

c) Refining some development pod and natural areas footprints.

d) Refining the routing of the multi-use path south of Eagle Lake Road.

e) Increasing the amount of District-owned land in and near Eagleridge that is proposed to be dedicated as municipal park as part of this process.

3. Preparing four Development Permit Area (DPA) Guidelines for Cypress Village (riparian areas, wildfire hazard, hazardous conditions, form and character). The draft ADP noted that DPA Guidelines would be developed and inserted in the final proposed ADP, and this is now complete.

Updated documents

1. A copy of the ADP showing edits since the April 2022 draft (PDF)(External link)
2. A copy of the final proposed ADP (PDF)(External link)
3. An updated overview of community input from previous phases and how that has helped shape the ADP(External link)

February 2024 update

The planning team is working on finalizing the comprehensive package of proposed bylaws related to Cypress Village and Eagleridge to bring forward for Council’s formal consideration of adoption.

If adopted, the proposed bylaws and associated legal agreements will govern the phased development of a mixed-use, sustainable urban community in Cypress Village and the District’s acquisition and protection of 262 acres of land in Eagleridge that are currently owned by BPP, and that have outstanding environmental and recreational value for the community. We currently anticipate bringing the bylaws package forward in the spring.

Updates will be posted on this webpage. You can sign up to receive email updates by entering your email in the "stay informed" box on this page.

Thank you for your continued interest in this project.

July 2022 update

Thank you to everyone who provided input during the Phase 3 engagement for Planning the Upper Lands: Creating a Sustainable Urban Community in Cypress Village and Protecting Lands in Eagleridge. A summary of the Phase 3 engagement is now available.

Phase 3 - Engagement Summary Report

Phase 3 (April 25, 2022)

Drawing on the planning work and community/stakeholder engagement from Phases 1 and 2, Phase 3 involved documenting the proposed plan and associated bylaws for consideration of formal adoption by Council. The bylaws will include:

• An Area Development Plan for Cypress Village and Eagleridge. The plan will set out policies to guide the development of Cypress Village over the next 20 to 25 years and policies to protect lands in Eagleridge for recreation and conservation purposes.
• New comprehensive development zoning for Cypress Village.
• A phased development agreement between the District and the developer, British Pacific Properties Limited (BPP). This agreement will set out the development phasing and the provision of community amenities in Cypress Village as well as the legal mechanisms for protecting the lands in Eagleridge that are currently owned by BPP.
• Supporting bylaws (such as a park dedication bylaw and OCP amendments bylaw).

Given the high level of interest from the community and stakeholders in planning for Cypress Village and Eagleridge, prior to the introduction of bylaws and the public hearing process, we are providing an opportunity for community and stakeholder engagement.

The purpose of the Phase 3 engagement was to allow the community and stakeholders to review the draft Area Development Plan and ask questions, before it is presented as part of a package of bylaws for Council’s consideration. The question form was open until 4 p.m. on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Five new documents are posted at the links below:

1. The Draft Area Development Plan for Cypress Village and Eagleridge
2. A summary of where we are in the process
3. An overview of what we heard in Phases 1 and 2 and how that has helped shape the Draft Plan
4. A document with answers to anticipated questions (Phase 3 FAQs)
5. Summary information about traffic

Virtual information meetings

Virtual information meetings were held on May 17 and 18. There was a 20-minute presentation followed by a question and answer period.

Watch a video of the presentation

Read a summary of the Q&A

Pop up information booths in person

Pop up information booths were held at Spring Fest West (May 7), West Vancouver Memorial Library (May 10), West Vancouver Community Centre (May 11), and the Cypress Pop-Up Village (May 12).

Update: December 7, 2021

Thank you to everyone who provided input during Phase 2 of Planning the Upper Lands: Creating a Sustainable Urban Community in Cypress Village and Protecting Lands in Eagleridge.

The planning team submitted a report to Council and presented an update to Council at the December 6, 2021 Council meeting. The report summarizes the Phase 2 planning work and Phase 2 engagement which is now complete. The report also describes the documents to be produced in Phase 3, which is the final phase. A copy of the Council Report can be found online here.

At the December 6 meeting, Council received the Phase 2 Engagement Summary report and directed the planning team to proceed to Phase 3. We look forward to continuing to work with the community and stakeholders on planning for Cypress Village and Eagleridge.

Phase 2 (September 13, 2021)

Phase 2 of Planning the Upper Lands presents a proposed land use plan and development concept for Cypress Village consistent with the policies in the OCP and the direction from Phase 1.

Twelve new documents have been posted at the links below, including an overview of this phase plus detailed information about eleven topics:

1. Planning the Upper Lands: Phase 2 Overview (PDF)(External link)
2. Planning Principles for Cypress Village and Eagleridge (PDF)(External link)
3. Community Size and Proposed Housing Mix (PDF)(External link)
4. Concept Plans (Urban and Natural Areas, Road Network, and Land Use Plan) (PDF)(External link)
5. Transit (PDF)(External link)
6. Active Transportation Network and Recreation Areas (PDF)(External link)
7. Community Facilities (PDF)(External link)
8. Proposed Form and Character of Development (PDF)(External link)
9. Servicing Strategy (water, sewer, and stormwater servicing networks) (PDF)(External link)
10. Summary of Preliminary Transportation Impact Analysis (PDF)(External link)
11. Anticipated Phasing of Development (PDF)(External link)
12. Protecting the Lands in Eagleridge (PDF)(External link)

The Phase 2 materials will be inputs to developing the proposed Area Development Plan and zoning bylaw for Cypress Village in Phase 3, which will then be presented to West Vancouver’s Council for formal consideration of adoption as part of the District’s Official Community Plan.

Survey

A Phase 2 survey was available to collect community input about the proposed land use plan and development concept for Cypress Village.

The survey was open from September 14 to October 4, 2021. Thank you for providing your input!

Virtual information meetings

Thank you to everyone who attended a virtual information meeting to learn more about the proposed land use plan and development concept for Cypress Village and ask questions.

Watch the presentation from the September 21 virtual information meeting (YouTube)(External link)(External link)

Meetings were held on:

• Tuesday, September 21 from 7–8:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 28 from 7–8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 29 from 1–2:30 p.m.

Update: February 11, 2021

Thank you to everyone that provided feedback in Phase 1 of this project.

The Planning the Upper Lands team submitted a report to Council and presented an update to Council at the February 8 Council meeting. The report summarizes the results of the Phase 1 engagement, which is now complete and sets out the proposed foundations for more detailed planning work in Phase 2.

View the Council Report

At the February 8 meeting, Council directed the planning team to proceed to Phase 2 of the process based on Approach B (protect 100% of Eagleridge, plan for about 3,500 housing units plus amenities and commercial space in Cypress Village, and determine what other mechanisms are needed to make this approach work) and the proposed Planning Principles developed during Phase 1.

The work to be completed in Phase 2 will include preparing proposed conceptual land use plans for Cypress Village, proposed urban design guidelines for Cypress Village, a Traffic Impact Analysis and Transportation Study for Cypress Village, priorities for community amenities in Cypress Village, and an evaluation of different mechanisms that could be used to protect the lands in Eagleridge.

We look forward to continuing to work with the community and stakeholders on planning for Cypress Village and Eagleridge.

Initial Information (July 2020)

As an introduction, initial background information about the lands, planning context, goals, process, team, and how to stay involved are provided in the links below.

• Map of the Upper Lands Planning Area (updated Nov. 2020)
• History and Current Status
• Official Community Plan Vision for the Upper Lands and the Goals for this Process (updated Nov. 2020)
• Additional Planning Context
• Process and Team (updated Nov. 2020)
• How to Stay Involved (updated Nov. 2020)
• Planning the Upper Lands Postcard
• Summary of Initial Background Information (updated Nov. 2020)

Please watch the introductory video and read the initial background information as the first step in this engagement process. More detailed information and analysis will be added to these webpages and there will be opportunities for small group discussions as well as a public survey. Please subscribe to be notified about information updates and opportunities to participate and provide your feedback.

Additional Materials and Survey #1 (November 2020)

The planning team has drafted proposed Planning Principles for Cypress Village and Eagleridge and prepared some additional background materials about the lands and the proposed number of housing units in Cypress Village. These new documents are provided at the links below:

• Proposed Planning Principles for Cypress Village and Eagleridge (Draft November 2020)
• Information about the Lands in Eagleridge
• Information about the Lands in Cypress Village
• Background about the Residential Unit Count in Cypress Village

The first community survey was open from November 16 to December 14, 2020. The planning team was seeking your input about proposed principles to guide detailed planning for Eagleridge and Cypress Village. We also asked your opinion about the trade-off between the scale of development in Cypress Village and the share of Eagleridge that is protected at this time.

Survey #1 for Planning the Upper Lands now closed (December 2020)

Thank you to those who participated in the first Planning the Upper Lands community survey! Survey #1 is now closed. We received a great response with hundreds of surveys completed between November 16 and December 14.

Staff and the consultant team will now carefully review all public input to present to Council and seek directions on next steps.

Please stay informed by subscribing for project updates.