Vancouver Greens on planning: dynamic zoning, benefit deals, speculation limits
The Green Party of Vancouver says new density must come with nearby amenities. Its platform proposes dynamic zoning, community benefit agreements, speakers at some rezoning meetings, time limits on approved rezonings, fees on vacant land used as tax-sheltered parks and a new Office of Strong Communities.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH · PAGES 4 TO 5
Urban Planning: what the Platform 2026 says
The Green Party of Vancouver opens its 2026 platform with city planning. The party says that when a neighbourhood gets more homes, it should also get the amenities and services that people need within a short walk, bike ride or transit trip from home. The platform says the cost of those amenities should be shared between developers, government partners and taxpayers.
Two ideas carry most of the chapter. The first is "dynamic zoning": the city would agree in advance on standard rezonings for areas near transit and services, so more homes could be added in a predictable way, while height, setbacks and trees would still fit each street. The second is a group of rules aimed at speculation, meaning buying or holding land mainly to profit from a rising price. It lists time limits between a rezoning approval and the start of construction, enforcement against empty buildings, and fees on vacant land that owners turn into informal parks to lower their taxes.
The party also says it would bring back community benefit agreements, which it says were removed by Mayor Ken Sim and ABC. These are conditions that ask a major development to support the local economy, hire locally and buy Canadian. The Greens would let people speak at some rezoning meetings, within the 2023 provincial law that the platform says bans formal public hearings.
Most of these steps are City Council decisions, because Council controls zoning, rezonings, city bylaws and the city's own meeting rules. It can also create a new city office through the budget. The housing targets that the platform wants changed were set by the Province, according to the platform, so on that point the city can only negotiate with the provincial government.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Year of the provincially-imposed housing targets that the party says are impossible to meet
The party's figure, page 4Year of the provincial legislation that, according to the platform, prohibits formal public hearings on rezonings
The party's figure, page 59 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Complete communities: amenities and services to meet growth and public needs
The platform says that as density is added, communities would get the amenities they need within a short walk, bike ride or transit trip. The party says it would balance the cost between developer, government partner and taxpayer contributions.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves rezonings and development permits, so it decides what amenities a new development must provide or pay for.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 4
Dynamic Zoning and Community Context Planning
The party would plan growth with each community, reflecting its cultural, architectural, environmental and geographic features. It proposes dynamic zoning: pre-agreed, standardized rezonings applied case by case, to add homes near transit and services while using flexible design for height, setbacks, trees and building form.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets zoning and approves rezonings, so it can create a standard rezoning process on its own.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 4
Resolve provincial housing targets, limits on amenities, and good planning
The Greens would work with the Province on Vancouver's housing targets, which the platform says are failing to deliver amenities such as promised schools for growing families. The platform says slower construction starts and changed migration patterns make the provincially-imposed 2023 housing targets impossible to meet.
- Who has the power
- Province The platform says the Province imposed the targets, so the city can only ask the Province to change them.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 4
Community Benefit Agreements
The party would restore policies that it says Mayor Ken Sim and ABC removed. These would make local economic support, buy-Canadian purchasing and employment a condition of major developments.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves major developments and sets the conditions attached to them.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
Public access on re-zonings
The Greens would amend the city's procedure bylaw so Council hears speakers on extraordinary zoning amendments. The platform says this would respect the 2023 provincial legislation that prohibits formal public hearings.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council writes its own procedure bylaw, which sets how its meetings run and who may speak.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
Tools to manage speculation
The platform proposes "pace of change" measures to protect existing affordable housing and tenants, bylaw enforcement and tax levies to prevent empty buildings, and a time limit between a rezoning's enactment and the start of construction.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets zoning conditions, enforces city bylaws, and already charges a tax on empty homes under the Vancouver Charter, the provincial law that gives the city its powers.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
Control tax-sheltered land banks
The party says developers who lower the tax on vacant land by setting up informal park-like uses would need permits. They would also have to meet clear public benefit standards and pay fees for privately owned land used as a tax-advantaged park or garden while it waits for redevelopment.
- Who has the power
- City Council Permits and permit fees on private land in Vancouver are set by city bylaw, which Council passes.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
Green infrastructure urbanism
The platform would score and build expanded tree canopies, rain gardens, urban forests, permeable surfaces that let rain soak into the ground, and cooling strategies into new growth.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the planning and design rules that new development must meet.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
Strong Communities Action Plan
The Greens would create an Office of Strong Communities as the city's neighbourhood engagement hub, working with residents, community organizations, business improvement areas and neighbourhood groups to set local priorities and feed them into city planning. The platform names the River District, South Vancouver, Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside as examples of neighbourhoods with their own needs.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget and can create a new city office with it.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 5
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about urban planning
What is dynamic zoning in the Vancouver Green Party platform?
The Green Party of Vancouver describes dynamic zoning as a set of pre-agreed, standard rezonings that the city applies case by case. The party says this would let more homes be added near transit and services in a predictable way, while height, setbacks, trees and building form still fit each neighbourhood (platform, page 4).
Does the Green Party of Vancouver want to change the provincial housing targets?
Yes. The Greens say they would work with the Province on Vancouver's housing targets. The platform says the 2023 targets are impossible to meet because construction starts have slowed and migration has changed, and that they are failing to deliver amenities such as promised schools (platform, page 4).
Would Vancouver's Greens bring back public hearings on rezonings?
The Green Party of Vancouver would change the city's procedure bylaw so Council can hear speakers on extraordinary zoning amendments. The platform says it would do this while respecting the 2023 provincial legislation that prohibits formal public hearings (platform, page 5).
How would the Green Party of Vancouver fight land speculation?
The platform lists pace of change measures to protect tenants and existing affordable housing, bylaw enforcement and tax levies against empty buildings, and a time limit between a rezoning's approval and the start of construction. It would also require permits and fees for vacant land that owners use as informal parks to lower their taxes (platform, page 5).
What are community benefit agreements in the Vancouver Green platform?
The Green Party of Vancouver says it would restore community benefit agreements that it says Ken Sim and ABC removed. Under them, major developments would have to support the local economy, buy Canadian and provide jobs (platform, page 5).
What is the Office of Strong Communities proposed by the Vancouver Greens?
The Greens propose an Office of Strong Communities at City Hall to act as a neighbourhood engagement hub. The party says it would work with residents, community groups, business improvement areas and neighbourhood groups to name local priorities and bring them into city planning (platform, page 5).
Who has the power to carry out the Green Party of Vancouver's planning ideas?
Most of the chapter is in City Council's hands, because Council sets zoning, approves rezonings and writes its own meeting rules. The housing targets are the exception: the platform says the Province imposed them, so the Greens can only ask the Province to change them (platform, pages 4 to 5).
ON THE BALLOT
The Green Party of Vancouver candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Platform 2026, Green Party of Vancouver (72-page PDF, last updated September 29, 2026) SAYS SO ITSELFGreen Party of Vancouver · pages 4 to 5 · published · checked
- Vacancy Tax By-law No. 11674 City of Vancouver · checked