More amendments will be coming on June 22 as City Council scrambles to pass the Broadway Plan.

Council has been highly criticized for failing to finalize a decision at their June 9 meeting despite weeks of hearings and debate. That session devolved into utter chaos, with Councillors taking jibes at each over off-topic items raised by Cllr. Melissa De Genova — leaving chair Adriane Carr visibly upset, Cllr. Christine Boyle exasperated, and Cllr. Sarah Kirby-Yung calling on her colleagues to “dispense with the sidebar comments.”

Cllr. De Genova had been attempting to persuade staff and Council to re-draw the Broadway Plan boundary to include the Safeway site at 4^th and Vine, which the owner plans to redevelop. She proposed an amendment to encourage developers with already approved applications in the area to re-apply under the Broadway Plan via an expedited process that would effectively allow them both greater height and density. The Broadway Plan covers the area from 1st Avenue in the north to 16th Avenue in the south, and from Clark Drive in the east to Vine Street in the west. Cllr. Pete Fry called De Genova’s 11th hour amendment “reckless.” When put to a vote, the amendment failed to pass.

De Genova made other amendments, including the removal of the two-tower per block maximum, which was quickly amended by Cllr. Kirby-Yung to allow three towers per block in the densest areas along Broadway. During previous meetings Council heard complaints from some developers that the frontage minimum required to build a tower — 150 ft. — was too large. Cllr. Kirby-Yung amended it to 99-ft, against the advice of planning staff, who said 150 ft. was specifically calibrated to allow for tower separation. Cllr. Kirby-Yung said the reduction will give tower frontages a variety of forms. Council approved the amendment, with Councillors Adriane Carr, Michael Wiebe, and Colleen Hardwick in opposition. Cllr. Hardwick said that reducing the frontages “will be a big win for developers.”

Cllr. Wiebe introduced a lengthy amendment to include more parks, green space, dog parks, and additional tree canopy in neighbourhoods in the Broadway Plan, but Head Planner Theresa O’Donnell told Council there is not enough money in the City’s budget to pay for it. She reminded members that the priority of the Broadway Plan is affordable housing, and that adding new parks would cost “billions of dollars” and mean less affordable housing.

Both the Park Board and the Urban Design Panel have been highly critical of the lack of area devoted to green space in the Plan. Cllr. Pete Fry said he was “really struggling with this” and that he was troubled with the process, which led Cllr. Hardwick to declare that the Broadway Plan model is “fundamentally flawed.” Cllr. Kirby-Yung made two changes to Cllr. Wiebe’s amendment which satisfied most Councillors. Staff will now report back on the financial and economic impacts for acquiring areas of open space for parks in the area.

Other amendments that passed:

• Jean Swanson amended Mayor Stewart’s tenancy protection plan to make sure renters in buildings being demolished for redevelopment “are offered units appropriate for them,” before the developer can receive a demolition permit. Cllr. De Genova questioned if the word “appropriate” means the same size unit. Theresa O’Donnell clarified that it would mean the number of bedrooms needed, not the same square footage as a renter’s old unit;
• Carr proposed that the City involve and work with the three local First Nations on the Broadway Plan;
• Boyle proposed a “car-lite” Broadway to increase space for pedestrians, emergency vehicles, and micro-mobility vehicles (scooters, etc) and asked staff report back on creating a safe transportation lane that would include bikes and other modes of transport.