Staff recommend Vancouver council choose slowest pace of development for Broadway Plan
City of Vancouver planners are recommending council choose the slowest pace of development for some areas of the Broadway Plan.
The recommendation would see five projects built per year in designated locations covered by the plan, and is part of the “pace-of-change” policy, designed to prevent people from being displaced at some of the city's oldest and most affordable apartments.
Coun. Pete Fry said under this option, staff are anticipating that about 180 households per year would be displaced. He said developers who are frustrated with the potential policy should look to other areas along the Broadway Corridor.
“There’s still open season on redeveloping the station areas, and parking lots, warehouses and what have you,” Fry said. “It’s just, we’re concerned about the loss of the affordable rentals in the area, and we want to make sure we do it slow and measured.”
Sasha Faris, president of First Track Development, a group with a few projects proposed along Broadway, called the staff recommendation an “about-face.”
"Trying to shore up the ability to have more densification by only five projects per year, this is the complete opposite direction of trying to fix the housing crisis,” Faris said.
Other stakeholders – such as Landlord BC – agree. That group calls the proposed policy “unnecessary overkill.” The province also encouraged council to not go this route.
“We’re in a housing crisis and we’ve already gone through this public consultation," said Ravi Khalon, B.C.'s Housing Minister. "We’ve approved this project over three years and it’s about time we get to work.”
Mazdak Gharibnavaz, a volunteer with the Vancouver Tenants Union said the group would like to see as little displacement as possible. He told CTV News the VTU conducted a survey of renters that would be impacted by the redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor and found that over a quarter of residents have been there for at least a decade.
“It’s really the people that live in these neighborhoods that have made these neighborhoods and if you tear out the people from the neigbourhoods, then you’re destroy the neighborhoods themselves,” he said.
Coun. Rebecca Bligh told CTV News all options are on the table when council votes on March 29, including scrapping the policy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden-Trump rematch 6 months out from U.S. Election Day
Exactly six months before Election Day, Biden and Trump are locked in the first contest in 112 years with a current and former president competing for the White House. It's a race that is at once deeply entrenched and highly in flux as many voters are only just beginning to embrace the reality of the 2024 campaign.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 60, with 101 people missing
Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 60 people and another 101 were reported missing, according to Sunday's toll from local authorities.
Israel closes Gaza crossing after Hamas attack and vows military operation 'in the very near future'
Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday after Hamas militants attacked it, reportedly wounding several Israelis, while the defense minister warned of "a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza."
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Should you save or splurge on makeup this summer?
If you're wondering whether you should splurge or save when it comes to buying skincare products and makeup this summer, we got some answers for you.