Broadway Plan in Retrospect

On the morning of December 11th, Vancouver City Council will review the implementation of the Broadway Plan so far. To recap, the Broadway Plan is a plan to allow more housing in the Broadway Corridor area, to coincide with the opening of the Broadway Subway extension. Accompanying this increase in housing is an expanded Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) to ensure that this addition of much-needed housing does not come at the expense of renters in the area.

If you want to express your opinion on this topic, write to council here, select “Feedback on an upcoming Council meeting agenda item”, then “December 11 Standing Committee: Report 1. Broadway Plan Review and Implementation”

So far, the Broadway Plan has led to applications to build 20,324 homes, including:

• 15,372 market-rental housing units,

• 3,549 affordable units (below-market rental and social housing); and,

• 1,403 homeownership units (strata)

As well, the Plan has approved a number of daycare spaces, commercial buildings and additions to the public realm, such as arts and culture spaces.

However, this Plan has received pushback. Opponents have cited fears changes to the character of the community, skepticism that an increase in housing supply will improve housing affordability, and concerns about displacement.

It is undeniable that Vancouver has a housing shortage. Vancancy rates remain extremely low at 0.8%. The CMHC estimates that Canada will have a shortfall of 3.1 million homes by 2030, with 610,000 being in BC. Economists agree that building a large number of homes that target a mixture of incomes is necessary to improve affordability. The Broadway Plan does this.

Displacement is a significant concern, which is why the last council did not pass the Broadway Plan until it included very strong tenancy protections. This serves the dual purpose of directing housing development away from lots that already have dense housing, and protecting their residents if such development should occur. However, this also places a burden on developers. The Broadway TRPP is an essential condition to ensure that the Broadway Plan does not repeat the displacement that accompanied the redevelopment of the Metrotown area in Burnaby.

If you are concerned that the Broadway TRPP protections will be weakened, or that the Broadway Plan’s progress on increasing the supply of many kinds of housing will be stopped, write to council here, select “Feedback on an upcoming Council meeting agenda item”, then “December 11 Standing Committee: Report 1. Broadway Plan Review and Implementation”