Councillor seeks to track 'demovictions' over concerns about loophole in Broadway Corridor plan

Broadway in Vancouver is seen from above during the construction of the SkyTrain Millennium Line extension to Arbutus. (CTV)

Vancouver City Council is once again debating the next steps of the Broadway Plan.

The controversial project aims to densify the Broadway corridor, creating a second downtown.

But as the city continues to grapple with a housing crisis, there are concerns the project could lead to a spike in so-called “demovictions.”

Council has approved a report on consent from city staff titled “Broadway Plan implementation.” It calls for urgent amendments to the city’s zoning bylaws. Those recommendations will soon be subject to a public hearing.

The report asks councillors to consider providing additional height and density for commercial use in the Mount Pleasant Industrial and the Burrard Slopes Mixed Employment areas.

Staff also want to extend city-wide, six-storey secured rental housing allowances.

“We need to have that balance where, if we're introducing new residential, it's not at the expense of industrial, and I think that's what these (allowances) attempt to do,” said Green Party councillor Pete Fry.

Fry is putting forward a motion that seeks to track the pace of demovictions in the Broadway corridor area.

He says this will shine a spotlight on loopholes developers could try to exploit.

“The development permit triggers the tenant relocation protection policy, the building permit does not, and using a building permit to renovate a building and displace the tenants could be a workaround to displacing tenants on the Broadway corridor,” said Fry

A similar motion, aimed at tracking unprotected renovictions was rejected back in March. Without a change in policy, Fry says 2,000 households a year could be displaced from the Broadway corridor.