Rooftop Yaletown restaurant rejected by Vancouver council

A new rooftop patio restaurant planned for Yaletown's trendy Opus Hotel has been rejected by Vancouver city council, following several public hearings and comments from some 180 speakers.

Councillors voted 5-2 against a rezoning application that would have allowed the proposed eatery, at the last meeting for the outgoing council on Tuesday night.

Coun. David Cadman, who was re-elected in Saturday's civic election, introduced the final motion to reject the application.

"It really behooves us not to open this Pandora's box and have all these applications coming in from all sorts of people saying, 'Wow, I could have a rooftop restaurant on my building.' We need to get some policy guidelines in place," said Cadman.

Developers argued the open air restaurant could be designed to limit noise and would be good for business and property values, but Yaletown residents and neighbours of the hotel remained concerned about noise and privacy concerns.

Non-Partisan Association Coun. Susan Anton, who was the only NPA councillor elected in Saturday's civic election, and NPA Mayor Sullivan, who did not run again, were the only councillors who opposed Cadman's motion to reject the application.

Residents pleased with decision

The rest of council felt the application had to be rejected in the absence of clear policy and asked city staff to develop guidelines for commercial venues in conflict with residential tenancies.

Jean Francois Guimond, who has been living in Yaletown for 13 years, was pleased with the decision.

"We're not trying to spoil business, we just think it's a really great idea, but in a bad spot.... I'm very relieved. I think they've made a very wise decision," said Geemond.

Fellow Yaletown resident Michael McCoy was thrilled, but remained cautious.

"You approve one, how are you going to deny the rest? So I think someone will try it in another end of the city," McCoy.

After the vote the disappointed business owners left council chambers in a hurry, and refused to comment on the decision.