Report

Map above shows where social housing is planned across Vancouver.  In the dark blue areas, six-storey buildings would be allowed; in the pink/red areas, towers 15 to 20 storeys would be permitted. (Source: City of Vancouver).

The City’s Social Housing Plan is going to public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 27, with a Council decision to follow. But many neighbours may still not be aware of the plan that covers half of all residential land across the city. Should Council vote to approve it, up to six-storey buildings for Villages areas and 15-20 storey towers in “Neighbourhood Centres” (such as Upper Kitsilano), will be allowed. The majority of these buildings will not require a public hearing.

According to CityHallWatch, tens of thousands of residents in all forms of housing live in the affected areas, yet no general notification has been sent out about the public hearing. And the local mainstream media has given the matter virtually no coverage.

UPDATE This just in:

• 17,592 individual land parcels, meaning about 9 km or over 17% of Vancouver’s residential land area upzoned for 6 storeys
• 35,157 individual land parcels, meaning nearly 17 km or 32% of Vancouver’s residential land area upzoned to 20 stories
• Totalling 52,729 parcels, nearly 26 square km, and over 49% of Vancouver’s residential land area (for “social housing” and no more public hearings).

And yet, to our knowledge, not one single affected resident or land owner has been directly notified by the City of this Public Hearing.

Some of the most obvious concerns about this proposal are:

• The one-size-fits-all approach of towers everywhere without any local planning context
• It ignores local area plans that were carefully planned over many years
• The plan’s architecture is out of character with most of the areas identified
• No public hearing and proposals— proposals would go directly to development permits
• Only 30% will be actual social housing, the rest will be 70% (i.e., expensive market rentals)
• It would displace many existing tenants in current social housing or older rentals (purpose-built rentals as well as secondary suites, both authorized and unauthorized –potentially affecting tens of thousands of renters)
• There is much more opposition to this proposal than support, as shown in previous public feedback
• No meaningful consultation with anyone other than those in the development industry
• It undermines the intent of the Heritage Conservation Area and First Shaughnessy bylaws that are intended to achieve greater density through retention options for multifamily conversions and complementary infill, not out-of-scale towers

The plan contradicts many policies and programs of three levels of government put in place to promote solar energy generation. Potential shadowing threatens the viability of existing and future solar PV installation in the entire Social housing Initiative area.

Villages Program

The countdown is on to have your final say on phase two of the Villages initiative. The deadline is December 12. In addition, a series of Open Houses hosted by the City will run until Dec. 7 (see below).

The Villages program was introduced in January 2025 as part of Vancouver’s Social Housing policy. According to the City’s website, the current phase involves “collecting community input on draft policies and plans for development, land use, and transportation, which will include supporting more ‘missing middle’ housing up to six storeys, enabling local shops, and creating more vibrant public spaces.”

This summer, residents were asked to consider a map of potential villages (see below). “Who decided on these 25 villages? And what are they?” asked Vancouver architect Brian Palmquist. See his answers here on his Substack post.

Open Houses

Central Villages:
Saturday, Nov. 29, 1-4 pm—Rooms 320 and 328, Hillcrest Community Centre (4575 Clancy Loranger Way)

Southwest Villages:
Sunday, Nov. 30, 12-3 pm —Auditorium Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre (990 W. 59^th Ave.)

West Villages:
Sunday, Dec. 7, 12-3 pm—Room 208, Dunbar Community Centre (4747 Dunbar St.)

More Provincial moves regarding housing

In our last post (Nov. 14, 2025), we told you about Provincial Bill M 216, the Professional Reliance Act, which, if passed, would give the Province the authority to override municipal decisions on new development. The Bill is currently now before the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills for review. See this letter opposing the Bill from the West Coast Environmental Law Association to the BC Government.

In addition to Bill M 216, Bill M 218, regarding landlords’ ability to raise rents after a tenant moves out, is also being introduced.