Vancouver mayor makes final pitch for controversial Broadway Plan ahead of municipal election
Vancouver’s mayor appears to be attempting to position himself as the renter’s candidate, with just five months to go until the next municipal election.
Kennedy Stewart is giving voters the hard sell on the controversial Broadway Plan.
The proposal seeks to build thousands of new homes along the planned subway on the Broadway corridor, but critics are calling it a pie-in-the-sky idea.
The proposed plan would create enough housing for 50,000 people.
The mayor says renters in the existing buildings, which would need to be demolished, will have the right to move into the new towers at or below current rents, but he would not guarantee they would be the same size units. Stewart said the city would "see" about getting people who are living in over-crowded spaces into larger units
“It's more about what housing is appropriate, rather than exactly duplicating what they have in the past,” he said in a press conference Thursday morning.
“So you have to think, too, that we're building an area's first, where there's no rental, you know, there's very little rental housing, if any, and so that will increase the stock of housing across this corridor."
The plan would redevelop the Broadway corridor between Clark Drive and Vine Street.
That area is slated to be home to the new Broadway Subway by 2025.
The proposal would create a high-density zone, allowing for residential towers up to 40 storeys tall, with the goal of building a second downtown over the next 30 years.
However, residents of the existing low-rise buildings have raised concerns about losing their homes to so-called demovictions.
Stewart has said any displacement would be temporary and residents would be compensated or given the right to move into the new units.
Stewart says the builders of the new towers will have to agree to pay for renter’s moving costs and any difference in rent at their temporary accommodations in order to secure a contract.
He says the lower rental rates are tied to the units themselves.
Strategist Bill Tieleman, who opposes the Broadway Plan, calls the proposal a “pie-in-the-sky” idea.
“You're talking about much smaller units, less floor space, less space overall. Not to mention that we're going to have these giant towers which take up a big footprint in the city,” Tieleman told CTV News.
Tieleman says Stewart is claiming to be the renter’s mayor, but believes the project would end up displacing thousands of current residents.
“I think anybody who wants to think that they're going to have the same size apartment, the same rent or less, going to have temporary housing for up to five years, I've got a bridge to sell you,” said Tieleman.
Planning and engagement for the project started in 2019 and the draft plan will go to council next Wednesday for a vote.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Travis Prasad and Alissa Thibault
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
'$6.66 per day': Advocacy groups disheartened by funding in budget for disability benefit
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.