The future of the proposed Ambleside Local Area Plan (LAP) remains uncertain, as West Vancouver Council has yet to decide whether to move it forward to a public hearing. Despite being discussed at two consecutive Council meetings, the first ended in a deferral, and the second concluded without advancing the plan. These outcomes have left local residents and business owners wondering what the next steps will be.
The proposed Ambleside LAP was designed to serve as a roadmap for revitalizing the community’s heart, offering a thoughtful mix of housing, commercial spaces, and amenities that reflect the aspirations of those who live and work here. After years of community consultations, workshops, and surveys, the plan still sits in limbo.
HOUSING NEEDS
One of the most pressing needs in Ambleside is housing. The commercial core urgently needs more residents, not just visitors, to bring life, vibrancy, and consistent, year-round support to local businesses. Currently, the existing housing stock fails to meet the diverse needs of our community. Options for downsizers, young families, and first-time buyers are scarce. Smaller units, roommate-friendly layouts, rent-to-own opportunities, and rental apartments are all in short supply.
Without new housing, it’s difficult to attract and sustain the kinds of businesses the community wants: cafés, bakeries, specialty shops, and services that thrive on local foot traffic. Our community is also aging, and we’re struggling to retain or attract younger residents who bring energy and innovation. We often hear that young people can’t afford to live here, and even if they could, there’s little that appeals to them — new and interesting businesses are needed to serve a younger demographic.
In West Vancouver, 40% of our jobs are located in the commercial areas, yet 80% of our residents live elsewhere. This imbalance underscores the need for housing that enables people to live near their place of work. By creating more opportunities for people to live here, we can foster a stronger, more vibrant, and sustainable local economy.
AGING INFRASTRUCTURE
Looking at over 80 buildings in the Ambleside commercial area, more than half are 60+ years old, and almost a third are 75+ years old. There are 10 that are near or over 100 years old! While we acknowledge that heritage and character are very important to our community, and we agree that we should preserve what we can, it’s also crucial that we recognize the realities of these aging structures.
Many of these buildings weren’t built with the materials or systems that can withstand 60 to 100 years of continuous use. They often have aging or inadequate infrastructure, including outdated plumbing, heating systems, and electrical systems that fall short of today’s standards. Bringing these buildings up to modern fire codes, ensuring accessible washrooms, and addressing seismic safety concerns would require significant, and often prohibitively expensive, renovations.
Some community members feel more time is needed for further review and engagement. While additional review is always valuable, it’s important to remember that this proposed LAP builds upon 33 studies conducted over the last 79 years, including our very own Imagine Ambleside survey. That’s decades of work, planning, and dreaming about what Ambleside could become. A lack of clear direction from the council leaves the community in uncertainty. While deferrals may help some catch up, they risk undermining the voices of the many who participated in the consultations and who now want to see the plan move forward to a public hearing.
If we want Ambleside to thrive, we must embrace housing as an integral part of our commercial revitalization strategy. Housing supports local businesses, provides opportunities for seniors to downsize while staying in their community, and offers younger generations a foothold in the housing market. We respectfully ask Council to listen to the thousands of voices that have shared their feedback — the residents and businesses who have helped shape this vision. Let’s not leave Ambleside’s future on hold while local families and businesses wait in uncertainty.
Maureen O’Brien is the Executive Director of the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association (ADBIA).
Well said
Consecutive councils across Metro Vancouver have been held hostage by special interest groups that know they have the power to elect or remove people from office. What they don’t realize is that they are hollowing out their community, shrinking and atrophying the very place they claim to love.
Yet it’s perfectly accepted and the norm in most of Europe.
What I read is density, density and more density = more taxes collected. Forget about updating infrastructure.
I couldn’t agree more. There will never be a “perfect” time to start. If we don’t move forward we will continue to go backwards – buildings will continue to deteriorate, young people willcontinue to leave the area when they move out of home, residents will continue to downsize to other areas. There is no such thing as “standing still” in this situation.