The City of Burnaby has passed the first reading of a proposed bylaw to save renters facing demovictions.
The ambition plan would require developers to replace every rental apartment they demolish on a one to one basis, and that replacement must be offered at an affordable rate, defined as 20 percent below the market average.
And if you get demovicted, you get first dibs on the new apartment.
Murray Martin with ACORN, a national organization that stands for low income families, says the plan is a good long term goal, but doesn’t help the immediate needs.
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“Right now, there’s 862 units in the demoviction process,” says Martin, “so about 2000 people facing demoviction.”
He wonders where people will go while the new building is being built.
“If you remember the occupation up on imperial back in 2016, and those were demolished and the new units aren’t ready yet,” says Martin. “So if this was in place, what would those people do for three years?”
Under the proposed bylaw, builders would still have to apply for zoning permits.
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