A proposed rezone for a 1.6-acre property at Northeast 50 Eighth Street that would change the designation from R22 to R50 was sent to a public hearing on Aug. 11 after residents and councilors raised questions about density, pedestrian access and trees.

The rezone would allow denser, multi-story housing than the surrounding Walnut Grove neighborhood. Anastasia Kozlowska, a Walnut Grove resident, told the council the R50 designation is “unprecedented” in Vancouver and does not fit the area’s character, saying the surrounding lots are mostly R9 and R18 and that the site lacks “robust infrastructure and good pedestrian connections.”

The council’s discussion focused on multiple practical concerns: distance to transit and commercial services, the condition of the existing roadway and the lack of sidewalks, the potential loss of street trees, and how a higher-density development would trigger transportation mitigation. Planning staff said the site is not adjacent to a transit stop and that the nearest stop is a short walk away, and that developers typically provide frontage improvements and may be required to fund off-site sidewalks or crossings if higher density causes failing intersections.

Planning staff member Brian Snodgrass said the applicant told staff the proposal could be adjusted to R35. Snodgrass also said the applicant recently indicated plans to preserve vegetation on the south side of the property and some western property-line vegetation but would likely remove trees at the site front where the primary building would sit.

Council members asked for more detail before the public hearing. Councilor Hansen and others requested written responses from staff and the applicant about tree preservation, transit distance, likely frontage and off-site improvements, and phasing. Councilor Fox said she would not support R50 moving forward and would support R35 if the applicant resubmits that option. City staff advised that if the applicant changes the requested zone to R35, the application would need to return to the Planning Commission for a recommendation before coming back to council.

The council voted to move item 9 to a public hearing on Aug. 11 and asked staff to compile the questions raised and have the applicant respond in writing before that hearing.

The hearing will include consideration of transportation mitigation, tree retention plans, and whether the applicant will formally change the requested zone from R50 to R35 so the Planning Commission can review it.

If the applicant submits a revised application (R35), staff said it would trigger a new Planning Commission review; council members asked that staff and the applicant provide the requested details in writing for the upcoming hearing.