Vancouver councillors have approved controversial changes to density in the city’s Broadway Plan.
After discussion and adding several amendments, council voted in favour of the updated plan, which covers areas adjacent to the under-construction Broadway subway on Thursday evening.
More than 100 people turned out to speak at city council on Wednesday for a late and sometimes tense session.
City staff say the sweeping plan needs to be amended to align with new provincial zoning requirements.
Provincial legislation passed last year sets new minimum density requirements near transit.
The zoning changes would allow some buildings within 400 metres of transit hubs of over 20 storeys, and buildings of 12 to 20 storeys within 800 metres, depending on local context.
The updated plan would expand development capacity from 30,000 to 41,500 residential units, and from 42,000 to 45,000 job spaces.
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It also increases the 30-year hotel room target from 1,200 to 3,000 rooms.
Many of the speakers raised concerns that tenants living in existing affordable rentals will be displaced to make way for new construction.
“There’s a lot of concern around what kind of units would be the replacement units, and people don’t want to lose their homes,” Green Coun. Pete Fry said.
“Many of these are homes that people have lived in for decades, and so it definitely induces a lot of anxiety and we’re totally hearing it.”
The changes have also drawn concerns from some members of the region’s planning and development community.
“I am involved right now with projects where we’re trying to find apartments to relocate existing tenants, whereas right now there’s proposals for 15,000 market units and about 4,000 affordable rental units,” architect and planner Michael Geller said.
“We’re probably taking down potentially 2,000 existing older apartment buildings. Where are those people going to go?”
Chris Mah, with the city’s Special Projects Office, said that while the proposal would include more density than originally envisioned, it would not necessarily mean the city’s commercial villages would see transformative change.
“In many cases existing land values are high due to valuable retail uses in these busy commercial areas,” he told councillors.
“Redevelopment would not necessarily be financially attractive especially with the below-market rental requirements.”
Tenant protections in the Broadway Plan require renters who are displaced to be given the right to return to new buildings at below-market rental rates, based on their pre-relocation rent.
Displaced renters are also entitled to between four and six months’ rent in compensation, depending on how long they lived in their units, along with help finding and relocating to a new unit.
Construction on the Broadway Subway is forecast to be complete in fall 2027.
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