MOTION– Jericho Lands draft Policy Statement

Two days from today Vancouver City Council will make an important decision that if approved will transform a large expanse of the Westside forever.

The 59-page Jericho Lands draft Policy Statement goes to the Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities on Wednesday, Jan. 24, beginning at 9:30 am. It is the third item on Council’s agenda.

Please refer to our previous letter (Jan. 14, 2024) for a brief history of the Jericho Lands.

The Jericho Lands are bound by West 4th Ave. to the north, Highbury Street to the east, West 8th Avenue to the south and West Point Grey Park (Trimble Park) and Queen Mary Elementary School to the west in the neighbourhood of West Point Grey. The eastern portion of the site, known as the Jericho Garrison, is 52 acres; the western portion, known as Jericho Hill, comprises 38 acres.

The landowners — the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (MST) along with the Canada Lands Corporation — plan to turn the 90-acre site into a dense community with 60 towers, three of which would be 49-storeys, and housing for at least 24,000 residents. The provincial government along with TransLink have identified the area as a rapid transit site and have been working to make a business case for the proposed Millennium Line Skytrain Extension (UBCx) that would make a stop at the Jericho Lands.

According to the City, the “redevelopment of the Jericho Lands is an opportunity for the MST Nations to express their deep connection to the land while bringing forward new opportunities for prosperity for future generations.”

The Jericho Coalition, meanwhile, a local group opposed to the plan, has several objections to what is being proposed, including the number and height of towers andthe lack of a critical groundwater test they say should have been conducted long before the motion goes to Council. The Coalition has offered an alternative plan to MST’s, which envisions a more affordable low-to-mid-rise community with 7,200 units for 16,000.

If Council approves the draft Policy Statement, Planning staff will prepare an Official Development Plan for the Lands followed by a public hearing and decision at a future date. Council is also being asked to direct Planning staff to ensure that all necessary technical studies, including substantive groundwater studies for the entire site, are provided to the City prior to processing the Phase 1 rezoning application. Total build-out time is expected to take between 25 and 30 years.

If you have concerns with the draft Policy Statement, you can write here to City  Council.

To speak at the meeting, follow these instructions. This is your last opportunity to tell Council what you think about the Jericho Lands draft Policy Statement, so it’s important to speak up or write to Council now.

The Kits Point Residents Association, which lost its legal case against the Senakw development, has prepared this excellent letter about their experience dealing with the City of Vancouver and offered this advice, which we quote, in part: 

KPRA lost its fight against the massive and unprecedented Senakw tower development, but other areas of our city continue the fight to resist tower developments that are out of context with the character of surrounding neighbourhoods, in favour of more ground oriented developments that will not destroy the livability that our city was once known for.  

On Wednesday, January 24, the Jericho Lands draft Policy Statement goes to City Council for approval. The Policy Statement recommends approval of the ultra-high density of the MST Development Corporation development plan. Once the plan has been approved by Council in principle, it will be very hard to lower the height and number of towers, so this is the time for city residents to have their say. For the Senakw development, the City refused to allow residents to have a say and negotiated in secrecy. For the Jericho lands development the City is required to consult, and it is important for residents to respond to this opportunity if you are concerned about the direction in which our City bureaucracy is taking us.

 All residents of the City of Vancouver will be impacted by this development – there will be impacts on traffic, transit, infrastructure, community and park use.  Like the Senakw development the Jericho Lands development is being pushed through without the necessary infrastructure capacity and planning…


 A Vancouver-wide public opinion poll commissioned by the Jericho Coalition shows that 72 per cent of respondents want City Council to reject the proposed Jericho Lands high-rise development which has density three times greater than that of the City of Hong Kong and Vancouver’s West End, and multiple towers up to 49 storeys high, with 13,000 units for 28,000 residents.

 The Jericho Coalition also released an earlier that reports that the draft policy statement sent to Vancouver City Council by our City bureaucracy regarding a massive, proposed development of the Jericho Lands is missing a critical hydrogeological study and states that the city should delay plans to discuss the report on January 24 until the study is completed and made publicly available.

 Jericho is particularly sensitive as previous groundwater drillers reported that the groundwater aquifer under at least part of the site is confined and under pressure.  Hydrogeological (groundwater) data are usually required only at the zoning stage for individual structures, but given the size and complexity of the site, the size and numbers of proposed high- rise towers, the proximity to Jericho Park and major infrastructure and a suspected artesian aquifer, a comprehensive hydrogeological study is needed at the policy statement stage to assess the feasibility of the proposed project, reports the Jericho Coalition.

— from the Kits Point Residents Association 

Photo at top of page: a woman on an old footbridge crossing slough at nearby Jericho golf club, 1908. Courtesy of the Vancouver City Archives.