Vancouver mayor promises 200,000+ homes over 10 years if re-elected, opponents slam proposal

Vancouver’s mayor has released his party’s plan to help create more homes if re-elected, which quickly came under fire from political opponents also vying for seats at city hall this fall.

Forward Together mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart promised Tuesday to help create 220,000 new homes in the city over the next decade, including 140,000 market and below market rental units, social housing, and co-ops.

“Everybody should be able to live in every part of the city,” he said. “We know that houses can’t get built unless they’re approved, so that is the main job that we’re doing at the city. By increasing approvals, we’re enabling the construction. So that is why we also want to modernize the permitting process to get things done faster.”

The party’s housing platform also includes approving 40,000 new “ground-oriented homes for purchase by the middle class” and 40,000 full market condos or townhomes over 10 years.

Forward Together also plans to add permanent vacancy controls to many new rental units, make the public hearing process more efficient, and maintain the empty homes tax at a minimum of five per cent.

'HE'S HAD FOUR YEARS'

Other City Hall hopefuls are taking aim at the incumbent mayor's housing promises. Council candidate Peter Meiszner’s party ABC Vancouver said in a news release on Tuesday it intends to release its housing plan soon.

“He’s had four years to help create more housing in Vancouver and from my perspective it’s been a failure,” Meiszner said of Stewart and Forward Together's plan.

“We’re going to make it easier to build housing. Right now, it takes about six years for a high rise project to be approved and that’s one of many reasons why we have a housing crunch here in Vancouver."

'SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE'

Council candidate Bill Tieleman with TEAM for a Livable Vancouver said what is needed is more affordable housing.

“Most of this is market condos and market rentals -- and the market is sky high,” he said of the proposal.

“Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s plan is actually simply unbelievable. There is no way that the city is going to get to 22,000 housing units per year, and we already have almost 100,000 units in the pipeline.”

Director of Simon Fraser University’s city program Andy Yan said it’s important to look at the details of party promises regarding housing, including not only how many new units are being discussed, but the type of housing and where it’s located.

“Housing policy is made up of three things: housing supply, housing demand and finance,” he said. “What will they focus on? Will they have a balance between these three issues…but then also pragmatic towards really what municipal governments can do and what they can’t do.”

General voting day for the 2022 municipal election is in just over a month, on Oct. 15th.