On Monday, November 17, 2025, dozens of Chinatown elders, community members, and allies returned to City Hall to voice their opposition to Beedie’s redesigned 105 Keefer (now 570 Columbia) proposal. Starting with a press conference and continuing with speakers throughout the afternoon, the community highlighted the continued threats of gentrification and displacement, the lack of aesthetic character in Beedie’s new design, and the continued failure to meet or address the needs of the Chinatown community.
As with the October 20th hearing, speeches from today’s hearing will be posted on Chinatown Today’s website in a form of community archive.
After the public input period was completed, city staff received questions from the Development Permit Board and Advisory Committee, regarding issues including the numerous height figures put forward by Beedie, the sightlines and effects on public views in the community, Beedie’s failure to meet the deadlines and conditions set in the 2023 DPB decision, and the position of the “cultural amenity” space between garbage bays on the alley.
When responding to questions, architect James Cheng suggested that the placement of the “cultural amenity” space on the alley between garbage bays was based on the historical relegation of Chinese people to alleys and “gambling houses”.
Staff and applicant responses raise questions as to whether additional materials such as sightline studies and decisions regarding the characterization of the redesign as simply “responding to the prior-to conditions”, should have been made available for the public to comment on before the hearings commenced, rather than let city staff and Beedie’s architect present this information without challenge. For example, while city staff provided limited sightline studies in response to requests, a single 2D image and a photograph taken at the height of summer when trees are in full canopy from a different direction than 105 Keefer, no photographs showing the viewpoints requested were provided, and the architect’s statements were not verified.
At 6:03PM, the Development Permit Board approved Beedie’s proposal by unanimous decision.
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