Vancouver city councilors have approved a new city-wide plan intended to guide the next three decades of development.
But while the ambitious Plan Vancouver council voted on Friday lays out a vision for land use in different parts of the city, it doesn’t actually make any formal changes.
The implementation of the objectives of the plan will correspond to the next mayor and city council, elected in the municipal elections of October 15, through an official regulation of the follow-up development plan.
Read more: Vancouver unveils long-term plan to increase density and improve affordability by 2050
The plan was approved with the support of eight aldermen and Mayor Kennedy Stewart, and with the Nonpartisan Association Council. Melissa De Genova and TEAM Coun. Colleen Hardwick opposed it.
2:17 Vancouver council considers citywide development changes Vancouver council considers citywide development changes – July 6, 2022
“Today, with the passage of the Vancouver Plan, we’re charting a new path for our city’s future, guided by the promise to make every neighborhood more affordable, equitable and vibrant for everyone,” Stewart said in a press release.
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The Vancouver Plan sets out a strategy to accommodate the development of an estimated 260,000 new residents expected in the city over the next 30 years, while also seeking to ensure affordable housing for new and existing residents.
It paves the way for the city to allow mixed-use and purpose-built rentals in virtually every neighborhood in Vancouver, along with multiples and townhouses to target the so-called “missing middle” of the market. housing
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The plan also envisages extending economic activity from its current centers through the introduction of a mixed use of residential and commercial land in the city’s less dense neighborhoods.
Read more: Consultations begin on Vancouver’s ambitious city plan
The plan approved Friday also includes an amendment that opposes extending citywide tenant protections included in the recently approved Broadway Plan.
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Under those protections, described by Stewart as the “strongest in Canada,” tenants evicted due to redevelopment would be entitled to return to their unit at the same or lower rent.
2:05 Vancouver mayor wants to expand tenant protection rules citywide Vancouver mayor wants to expand renter protection rules citywide – July 6, 2022
Those protections have faced bipartisan criticism, with some warning they could scare away needed redevelopments, while tenant advocates have expressed concern that they won’t be enforced.
Read more: Vancouver council approves controversial 30-year Broadway plan
The approval of the plan concludes a process that began in 2019 and involved extensive public consultation and revisions.
The city says staff will now work out details of how tenant protections and developer input would be included in the planned future implementation of the plan.
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Staff have also acknowledged that the plan could be repealed if a majority of the next mayor and council elected in the fall opposes it.
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