On the morning of Wednesday, Dec 11, 2024, Vancouver City Council will formally receive a report entitled “Broadway Plan Review and Implementation” (meeting agenda and documents link here). Also on the agenda is “Vancouver Plan Implementation Update” (which will eventually lead to the elimination of public hearings — and public oversight of how our neighbourhoods change — in Vancouver).
The 300 page report was just made public at about 1 pm today (Dec 4). Unless they will have received a secret internal briefing by staff (which we will ask and confirm), the timing of this release means our elected officials (and media, and the public) have only four business days to digest the jargon-filled document, despite its massive implications.
For context, below is an interactive map of well over 100 tower rezonings already in the pipeline in the nearly 500 city blocks of the Broadway Plan area from 1st to 16 Avenues and from Clark to Vine Streets. This is as of today based on a CityHallWatch database, but if the turbocharge policy is approved, the number of potential tower rezonings will dramatically increase.
What you see above is just a template for the City and Province’s future plans to spread the wide band of demolition and reconstruction all the way to UBC in the future. The City and the media are not providing maps like this, so it’s up to volunteer efforts of citizens to figure it out.
To assist concerned groups and citizens in addressing City Council on or before December 11, we’re compiling analysis, information, and a report card.
We strongly encourage you to let your views be known to Mayor Ken Sim and the rest of City Council, and while you’re at it, let your MLA know (since the BC NDP provincial government under David Eby is driving some of this), the Broadway Plan team members, and media too. Tell them what you think but please do be polite. For instructions on submitting comments online, or signing up to speak online or in person, see the meeting page here. (Sign up to speak by 5pm the day before the meeting.) For a consistent message, after making your personal observations, you may wish to conclude with a message consistent with “Pause the Plan” or “Rethink the Plan.”
The implications of this report to turbocharge the Broadway Plan are massive. As soon as possible we will try to compile and share a plain-language analysis of what’s in there. But enough is known about how the Broadway Plan has unfolded since Sept 2022 when it went into effect, and about the amendments being proposed (as of June 2024) that about 7,000 people have signed petitions (“Rethink the Broadway Plan,” “Save Kits” version, and “Save City Hall Park”), and about 500 people attended a “Pause the Plan” rally at City Hall on Nov 23.
To assist in public discourse about the future of the Broadway Plan, here are some questions (our initial list, may be revised) we intend to rate in the coming days in the form of a report card, ranking each question on a scale between pass and fail.
REPORT CARD QUESTIONS (DRAFT)
Do the staff recommendations…
- Fairly and truthfully reflect public input received during engagement in June/July 2024?
- Provide context, solid facts and justification in the greater context of Vancouver’s housing needs?
- Strengthen renter protections in the case of demoviction?
- Reasonable meet (i.e., not exaggerate) what is required by provincial legislation for transit-oriented areas (Bill 47 of 2023)?
- Reflect concerns articulated in the “Rethink the Broadway Plan” petitions (signed by over 7,000 people) and the “Pause the Plan” rally at City Hall on Nov 23?
- Honestly, visually, and in plain language, convey what is being proposed? (For comparison see “Visualizing the Broadway Plan Amendments build-out with our own 3D model” regarding the turbocharge amendments)
- Result in sufficient media reporting by mainstream media?
- Allow sufficient time for our elected officials, media, and the public to digest and comment on prior to a Council decision?
- Include clear, objective, quantifiable plans for progress monitoring, and include proper public oversight, checks and balances, and allow for course correction?
- Leave room for sudden and substantial last-minute amendments that could dramatically change the impacts?
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BACKGROUND
The staff report is dated Nov 29, but just made public around 1 pm (today) on Dec 4. In this case, the authors of the staff report are not some amorphous entities, but individuals employed as public servants paid by citizens of Vancouver. The report is from the General Manager of Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability (Josh White, Vancouver’s new chief planner, who has no known previous experience of Vancouver, having started in May 2024 to replace Theresa O’Donnell who brought in the Broadway Plan and was fired by the City with no known reason), and most likely also John Grottenberg (project lead on the Broadway plan), Matt Shillito (Director of Special Projects and Acting Director of Planning, Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability), and Andrew Misiak (Planner, Stakeholder Engagement Lead). They are most likely the individuals who can take responsibility for the report.
In June 2024, the City attempted albeit minimally and very quietly to consult with the public about amendments to the Broadway Plan, with limited advertising of four open houses. To assist, CityHallWatch worked boost public awareness. A report of engagement results went to Council in Sept 2024 (see reports here – https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/broadway-plan), and then staff continued working to prepare this report going to Council on Dec 11.
If you are learning about all of this for the first time, you are not to blame. All major media and civic reporters were invited to the rally but none responded, except for CityNews, CTV, and Fairchild, to whom we are grateful for coverage.) All MLAs in the 500-block Broadway Plan area were invited, as well as the project leads at the City, all sitting civic parties, and all members of City Council. No one responded. Anyway, to understand the serious concerns raised, the Rethink the Broadway Plan petition summarizes them concisely.
The Provincial back story
One more important point to note is that the amendments to the Broadway Plan are being blamed on the heavy-handed Bill 47 (2023) on transit-oriented areas, passed by the BC NDP provincial government on November 30, 2023, an the reflected with amendments to the Vancouver Charter by Bill 18 (April 2024). (See our compilation here.) While not reported much in media, the process could be considered illegitimate. Under BC Housing Minister, the legislation was formulated with heavy lobbying influence from the real estate development industry (lobby group the Urban Development Institute — see this massive expose based on thousands of pages in response to FOI queries by Sasha Izard of CRD Watch – link here) along with industry-aligned self-declared YIMBY activists (see “YIMBY spawn” expose), under the shadow of severe non-disclosure agreements preventing municipalities from whispering a word about it all. Housing Minister even committed an outright lie in legislature to invoke closure (time limits) to curtail any discussion and race to Royal Assent on November 30, 2023. It requires further research, but the entire process could be considered illegitimate and might even be subject to a constitutional challenge. Meanwhile, all BC NDP MLAs representing Vancouver at in 2023 were absolutely silent, asking no questions on behalf of their constituents, and all voting as instructed by the party whip. Even the Union of BC Municipalities was upset, but muted in their criticism due to fears of retribution by the provincial government (see statement by UBCM president on 29-Nov-2023).
We write all of this not to undermine trust in our democratic institutions, but hope that through the actions of citizens and officials, when it comes to housing and urban planning policy, our municipal and provincial governments can be moved back toward proper processes of transparency, accountability, and good governance — all of this as democracies are facing challenges around the world.
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SOME REFERENCES (more to be added)
CityHallWatch portal page on Broadway Plan – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/broadway-plan/
Petitions
Open letter to Vancouver mayor, council, MLAs on ‘Save City Hall Park’ event July 9, 2024 – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/report-save-city-hall-park-event-july9/
