---
title: "Pete Fry outlines 6 commitments to Vancouver businesses"
description: "Mayor-elect Pete Fry has told Vancouver's business community he will create a permit concierge, speed up change-of-use approvals, protect small businesses from property tax spikes, and expand a non-police crisis response team."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/pete-fry-business-plans-october-19"
last_updated: "2026-10-20T06:25:05.512Z"
---

BCBusiness reported on October 19 that mayor-elect [Pete Fry](/candidates/pete-fry) laid out six commitments to Vancouver's business community two days after winning the October 17 election. Fry told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's pre-election forum that he had spent his career before City Hall "either running or servicing small businesses," according to BCBusiness.

## A concierge for business owners at City Hall

BCBusiness reports that Fry proposed a "business navigator," a single point of contact at City Hall to help owners understand which department handles what, what things cost, and how long each step takes. A Greater Vancouver Board of Trade survey found that nearly half of businesses name red tape as their top concern.

## Faster permits when a business wants to change how it uses a space

Fry pledged to fast-track change-of-use permits. BCBusiness reports he said owners can spend "months upon months" paying rent while waiting for approval, and that speeding this up would help turn vacant storefronts into working businesses faster.

## Tax protection when a City program expires

Fry flagged the coming end of Vancouver's Development Potential Tax Relief Program, which reduces tax bills for properties assessed for redevelopment potential rather than their current use. BCBusiness reports he called this a "big priority" and said a new tool is needed to protect small businesses from property tax increases when the program ends.

## A 24/7 outreach team for street crises

Fry proposed CROW, Community Response Outreach Workers, a non-police, non-medical mobile team available around the clock for non-emergency calls involving people experiencing homelessness or addiction. BCBusiness reports half of Greater Vancouver Board of Trade survey respondents said the city is not doing a good job on public safety. Fry said, "Small businesses are dealing with street disorder and vandalism, and they have real worries about staff and customer safety."

## A larger, more detailed city budget

BCBusiness reports Fry said the city budget had shrunk from 600 pages to 24 in the last term. "That's not good governance, and that's not how we run a city," he said, according to BCBusiness. He promised to ask staff for detailed line items showing where money goes and how fees change before making further tax commitments.

## City purchasing directed to local businesses

Fry announced a "Buy Vancouver, Build Canada" strategy to direct the city's nearly $800 million in annual purchasing toward local and Canadian suppliers. BCBusiness reports the plan includes prioritizing B.C. mass timber in city projects and reinstating community benefit agreements on major developments. "When City Hall spends public money, we should be thinking about the public benefit that money can create," Fry said in an announcement cited by BCBusiness.

Voters who want to follow whether these commitments move forward can track them on this site at [/candidates/pete-fry](/candidates/pete-fry), where Fry's full tracker will record council votes and decisions as the new term begins.

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