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
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.