Nov 20, 2021: Vancouver City Councillors vote to delay Streamlining Rental Plan
A long-awaited decision on the contentious Streamlining Rental Plan has been delayed. On Tuesday, Nov. 16, Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to refer the item to its Tuesday, Dec. 14 meeting — almost one month away and the last Council meeting of the year.
Cllr. Sarah Kirby-Yung clarified that postponing the meeting would give the public more time to digest the SRP. Many have criticized the planning department for combining the proposed commercial and residential changes, originally separate reports, into a mammoth 384-page report. The Streamlining Rental Plan calls for added density to many of Vancouver’s established neighbourhoods and along major arterials.
The deferral follows three days of public hearings during which Council heard from more than 100 emotional speakers, and received comments from over 1,000 residents. Local West Broadway resident and political commentator Bill Tieleman called the plan a “Rubik’s cube” of policy decisions. He told Council the plan proposes so many major changes it should be put to a vote at election time so the people of Vancouver can decide.
Public Hearings Under Threat
In other news, Randal Helten, a director of the media foundation, CityHallWatch, warns that recent legislation by the province to remove public hearings in many BC municipalities with the exception of Vancouver will not stop there. “It would be a short next step to amend the Vancouver Charter correspondingly,” Helten said. “Then, anything that is equivalent to an OCP [official community plan] or ODP [official development plan] would be under similar processes: straight to development permits with no public hearing.”
Read the whole article that appeared in the Georgia Straight:
Attorney General threatens to withhold funding
David Eby, BC’s Attorney General and Housing Minister, says he won’t rule out cutting funding to municipalities who don’t find ways to increase new housing. See the Vancouver Sun post for details:
Phase 3 Broadway Plan
Neighbourhood workshops for the Broadway Plan Phase 3 Refined Directions are currently underway. The City is hearing residents’ views on the direction for land use and built form along and near Broadway. This will affect many neighbourhoods as the City continues with its transit-oriented development plans including “shoulder areas” — streets near subway stations. The planning department is preparing a draft that will go to Council in the spring of next year. Staff has envisioned 12-to 20-storey towers for Kitsilano, defined as the area from Vine to Arbutus St, from West 1st to 16th Ave.
Learn more about the Broadway Plan, and take the survey:
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