A Burnaby resident is calling for a halt to an approved rental tower in the Metrotown area, calling the project unethical due to the risk it poses to an area forest.
Jordan Malcolm says the project being constructed near Kathleen Avenue by Bosa Properties is dangerous amid a climate crisis because of the loss of cedar trees. He is threatening to lock himself to the trees to stop the trees from being cut down.
"Destroying a sensitive ecosystem in order to build a 'green tower' is hypocritical and illogical," Malcolm told the NOW.
"Displacing low-income people via demovictions in order to build luxury tower is unethical, especially if the luxury tower was redesigned because they decided to take the affordable housing units and move them to another project."
The development is planned for three lots in the 5900-block of Kathleen Avenue and has stirred up pushback from some area residents. A "Save Kathleen Forest" website was recently launched to raise awareness about the project and how it will impact the trees.
The rental tower will boast 324 units and come in at 34 storeys high, with the company promising that 101 units would be affordable housing.
The 34-storey highrise drew opposition from Burnaby Coun. Colleen Jordan.
In October of 2020, Jordan said the building would be the “highest density FAR in our city by far and the building had a "really awful design."
Jordan compared the tower to another building on Broadway Avenue in Vancouver at Birch Street, which faced significant controversy and a tight approval vote by that city’s council.
That tower, she noted, was approved for lot of similar size – a difference of just about 20 metres squared – and came with similar density – 10.55 FAR, with a total of 28 storeys.
Burnaby city staff conceded in a report that the FAR is “atypical” but said the “resultant gross floor area and tower form is comparable to other highrise buildings” in the area.
But this past March, the project was approved with a few changes.
“I was told that there will be changes to the final design,” Jordan told the NOW at the time, with some balconies added and more amenities for kids to use.
Jordan said she still couldn’t support the project due to the density involved and eventually kept her vote as no, along with Coun. Dan Johnston.
In April of this year, the project received $100 million in federal financing from the federal government, $2.7 million of which is forgivable.
Despite the approval, Malcolm says the project is still not necessary, explaining the ecosystem that isn't visible to the naked eye can be severely damaged.
"We are in a climate crisis, every tree in the forest counts," Malcolm said. "As humans, we don't see the full picture that is below our feet."
"The forests we see are but a fraction of the actual ecosystem. Most of the ecosystem lies beneath the ground, with Mycelium. Mycelium is the root structure of fungus. It is what's responsible for setting the stage for all life on Earth. Mycelium connects the trees and the plants' roots into a network, which allows the connected organisms to send nutrients and water back and forth. Everything is connected.
"In a forest under one footstep can be upwards of 100 to 300 miles of Mycelium. Mycelium can hold up to 3,000 times its mass in carbon, effectively becoming a carbon sink. Proper land management practices during the climate crisis we are in is vital to survival. We must mitigate the issue and not contribute to the problem."
Malcolm has already taken several steps to stop the development, saying that in late May this year he made a delegation to the City of Burnaby environment committee, asking that the trees be protected and the forested property be turned it into a parklet instead.
"I am only one person doing what I can. I have spoken with the CEO of Bosa over the phone twice now about the situation."
Malcolm has a different suggestion for the area rather than follow through with the development.
"Bosa owns a parking lot directly across the street from the impending development. They have plans to develop it one day. I strongly recommend reconsidering the Kathleen Avenue project and providing social housing units in the proposed project where the parking lot is now and turn the forest into a community park, giving back in an ethical and responsible way."
He says he's thinking of starting an online petition, adding that if it "comes down to it" he is willing to protest and lock himself to the trees if he has to.
When contacted by the NOW, Bosa Properties acknowledged Colin Bosa has spoken to Malcolm twice while adding that out of the conversation, the idea of the cedar trees removed be given to First Nations.
"The City of Burnaby was consulted and outreach to First Nations’ communities was initiated," a communications representative for Bosa Properties said in an emailed statement.
"Bosa is now working with a local First Nations community on removal of the cedar trees in a manner that will honour their culture."
The statement also said the company goal is to develop a project that will benefit the local community on all levels.
"They will listen, engage, innovate and adapt throughout the entire process to the benefit of the community."
- With files from Chris Campbell, Burnaby NOW and Cameron Thompson
