As Vancouver eyes relief for developers, some push back

A proposed City of Vancouver plan that would provide significant relief to developers is receiving pushback and questions from some community groups and city councillors.

The city’s top planner, Josh White, is recommending a series of changes to projects that have already been approved, with that report set to go before council on Wednesday.

While it comes during a challenging economic environment, some say the proposed perks go too far, with a serious downgrade to previously approved non-market housing on the table.

The changes are intended to increase the viability of certain projects, but some question whether the changes are needed – or appropriate.

One of the projects which could benefit is the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Ave.

A residents group called the Friends of Point Grey Village estimates the developer will save $38 million over the lifetime of the project. That group labels the changes as a “bailout” for developers.

If the recommended changes kicked in, the developer – in this case Bentall Green Oak – would not have to provide non-market rental units at a 20 per cent discount below the national housing agency’s city-wide average rents. It would also benefit from reduced development fees.

The changes are being contemplated after a public hearing has already taken place, in which the developer committed to non-market housing with that discount as part of the approval process.

“Public hearings are where we’re supposed to analyze and discuss and weigh those sorts of benefits, costs, considerations, what does it all look like? We made a decision based on a previous set of parameters, which are now being retroactively changed,” Green Party city councillor Pete Fry told CTV News on Tuesday. “So I can appreciate where folks feel that the public hearing process has been kind of overruled here.”

But the city’s concerns are not simply hypothetical. Throughout the region various housing projects have been cancelled or put on hold, with a series of economic pressures facing the housing sector.

“We want to keep that pipeline of supply to the market,” the city’s chief planner Josh White told CTV News on Friday while discussing the report and recommendations. “Especially things like rental homes, so that more people can afford to live in the City of Vancouver.”

Fry understands the challenges of the moment – but has concerns about the precedent.

“If this is forever, we’re taking a big step backwards on delivering more, sort of, robust deliverables for the people of Vancouver, especially when it comes to these large projects,” Fry said.

White’s report goes to council on Wednesday.

The Friends of Point Grey Village group is calling for councillors to vote to send the report back to staff to get more details. It wants staff to provide specifics on the value of the benefits each project would get under this proposal.

The group has a number of other questions it hopes staff can answer, including how taxpayers would be affected by the reduction in development fees.

CTV News has contacted Bentall Green Oak for comment on this story.