Residents speak up at Vancouver City Hall over proposed changes to Chinatown

Dozens of speakers filled Vancouver city hall Thursday night to voice their opinion on new developments in Chinatown.

While city staff say the plan will preserve Chinatown’s identity, the people who live there call it corrupt.

Leader of the Save Chinatown Campaign, Melody Ma, says the city’s current plan is going to ruin the area’s heritage.

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“Right now, Chinatown is under threat from real estate pressures who are seeing the changes happen and they are negative and they impact people’s lives,” she said.

The recommendations include changing building heights and the size of store fronts.

Yulanda Lui works with seniors and is already seeing, first-hand, the impact that gentrification is having on them.

“It’s displacing residents, it’s causing people to lose their food sources, their businesses, their community in Chinatown.”

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She says the solution is simple, avoiding big developing companies and providing affordable housing.

The city of Vancouver’s website says the project is meant to preserve the area’s heritage, while bringing new life to the community.