TEAM on housing types: co-ops, multiplexes and an end to the MIRPP rental program
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it would plan a broad mix of housing that fits each neighbourhood, withdraw the Moderate Income Rental Pilot Program and the Secured Rental Policy, protect older rental buildings, use city land for affordable homes and ask Ottawa for funding tied to immigration.
HOUSING AND PLANNING
More Housing Type Options: what the Our Positions says
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says supply alone will not make housing affordable. Its planning page states that the city has tripled its housing units since the 1970s, more than any other centre city in North America, and still has the most expensive housing. From that claim, the party argues for a mix of housing types sized to each street, with priority on affordability.
The list of housing TEAM would plan for is long: co-ops, co-housing, secondary suites, conversions of houses into several units, infill, laneway homes, duplexes, multiplexes, townhouses and apartments. It would plan homes for families, youth, seniors, frontline service workers and people with disabilities, and says true affordability means more than below-market rents or average rents measured by CMHC, the federal housing agency.
TEAM would also withdraw two city rental programs, the Moderate Income Rental Pilot Program and the Secured Rental Policy. It says they do not create real affordability, produce buildings out of scale with their streets, and raise nearby land values. Instead it would protect older rental buildings, give landlords reasons to maintain them, and use city-owned land for affordable homes. It would avoid excessive new housing in areas where local schools are full.
Council decides zoning, city rental policies and the use of city land, so most of this would be Council's work. Social and supportive housing depends on provincial and federal agencies, and federal funding tied to immigration would have to come from Ottawa, so on those items the city can only ask.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Growth in Vancouver's housing units since the 1970s, as the party states it
The party's figure13 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
A broad mix of housing that fits the neighbourhood
TEAM would provide a broad mix of housing, including co-ops, co-housing, secondary suites, multiple conversion dwellings, infill, laneways, duplexes, multiplexes, townhouses and apartments, that fits within the local built form scale and context.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets zoning, which decides what kinds of homes can be built where.
Plan affordable options for many household types
The party would plan for a range of affordable housing that respects the neighbourhood context, including social, supportive and co-op housing and homes for families, youth, seniors, frontline service workers, people with disabilities and other household types.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls land use, while most funding for social and supportive housing comes from the provincial and federal governments.
True affordability and larger family units
TEAM would aim for true housing affordability, beyond below-market rentals or average rents measured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), with a focus on larger units for families.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the affordability terms it asks for when it approves rental buildings.
Withdraw the MIRPP and the Secured Rental Policy
The party would withdraw rental programs it says do not create meaningful affordability, produce buildings out of scale with the neighbourhood and inflate nearby land values, naming the Moderate Income Rental Pilot Program (MIRPP) and the Secured Rental Policy.
- Who has the power
- City Council These are city programs, so Council can end them.
Balance new buildings with keeping older ones
TEAM would support buildings of many types and ages by balancing new development with the retention and repair of older buildings, which it says supports affordability and sustainability across the city.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council's zoning and permit rules decide whether keeping an older building is practical.
Reverse policies that target older rental buildings
The party would protect the existing stock of affordable rental buildings by reversing current policies that it says target older, more affordable rental buildings for redevelopment.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the zoning that decides which rental sites can be redeveloped.
Incentives for landlords to maintain rentals
TEAM would give landlords incentives to maintain rental properties in place of upzoning them for demolition.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can offer city incentives and decides on upzoning.
Press senior governments for non-market and supportive housing
The party would work with provincial and federal housing and service agencies so they provide the non-market, supportive and social housing and services the city needs, within the local neighbourhood built form, to house residents who are lower income, housing insecure or homeless.
- Who has the power
- Province Provincial and federal agencies fund and run most social and supportive housing, so the city can only work with them and ask.
Ask for federal funding tied to immigration
TEAM would ask the federal government for funding to support the population growth caused by its immigration policies. The party says that even with immigration reduced, high costs are still passed down to the City and the Province.
- Who has the power
- Federal government Immigration levels and the money tied to them are federal decisions.
Avoid policies that hurt low-income residents
The party would avoid policies that unfairly hurt low-income residents and their ability to afford housing.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council weighs the effect on low-income residents when it adopts city policies.
Use city-owned land for affordable housing
TEAM would use City-owned lands for more affordable housing. It says Vancouver has a past record of working with communities and funding agencies to build livable affordable housing that fits its neighbourhood.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides how city-owned land is used.
Transparent affordable housing incentives
The party would give affordable housing incentives only on the basis of open project details, including financing and operating agreements, for projects that fit the scale, context and zoning of each neighbourhood, offer a mix of incomes and unit sizes with needed services and amenities, and involve ongoing consultation and good neighbour agreements for how they operate.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the terms for any city incentive to a housing project.
No excessive new housing where schools are full
TEAM would avoid excessive new housing development in areas where local schools are full and students would have to travel to other schools.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls where housing is zoned, while the School Board and the Province decide school capacity.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about more housing type options
What kinds of housing does TEAM for a Livable Vancouver support?
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it supports co-ops, co-housing, secondary suites, conversions, infill, laneway homes, duplexes, multiplexes, townhouses and apartments, as long as they fit the local scale and context of each neighbourhood (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Would TEAM end the Moderate Income Rental Pilot Program?
Yes. TEAM says it would withdraw the Moderate Income Rental Pilot Program (MIRPP) and the Secured Rental Policy. The party says these programs do not create meaningful affordability, produce buildings out of scale with their streets and inflate land values (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Does TEAM think more supply will fix Vancouver housing costs?
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says supply alone will not fix housing. Its planning page states that the city has tripled its housing units since the 1970s, more than any other centre city in North America, and still has the most expensive housing (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
What would TEAM do with city-owned land?
TEAM says it would use city-owned land for more affordable housing, pointing to what it describes as Vancouver's past success working with communities and funding agencies to build affordable homes that fit their neighbourhoods (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Would TEAM ask Ottawa to pay for housing growth in Vancouver?
Yes. TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it would ask the federal government for funding to support population growth caused by federal immigration policy, which the party says passes high costs down to the City and the Province (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Who would have to act on TEAM's housing type promises?
Council controls zoning, city rental programs and city land, so it could act on most of these items. Social, supportive and non-market housing is funded mainly by the provincial and federal governments, so on those the city can only press other governments (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
ON THE BALLOT
The TEAM for a Livable 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.
- TEAM planning for livability and affordability, learn more SAYS SO ITSELFTEAM for a Livable Vancouver · checked