TEAM on planning: repeal the Official Development Plan and rethink Broadway and Jericho
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it would repeal the Official Development Plan, including the Broadway, Jericho, Rupert and Renfrew, and Villages plans, and replace it with a Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan. It would protect view cones, rethink the UBC SkyTrain extension and tie growth to infrastructure.
HOUSING AND PLANNING
Participatory Planning within the Context of Every Neighbourhood: what the Our Positions says
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver builds its housing platform on one complaint: that the city plans growth from the top down and ignores the people who live with the results. Its planning page says the current approach uses "arbitrary circles and corridors" around transit to decide where towers go. TEAM wants each neighbourhood to plan its own growth with residents and local businesses, placing more homes near transit and local shopping areas while keeping to the scale and character of the street.
The central promise is to repeal the Official Development Plan, a city-wide plan that, according to the party, lets rezonings that match it go ahead without a public hearing. TEAM's summary page says it would replace it with its own "Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan". The party would also rethink the Broadway Plan, the Vancouver Plan, station area plans such as Rupert and Renfrew, and the Jericho Lands plan, which it wants built with lower buildings and more homes at ground level.
Infrastructure is a theme across the list. TEAM says planning should count the limits and costs of sewers, water, power, schools, parks and transit before approving growth, and would run a public review of those needs. It would publish city data on growth, zoning, vacancies and pre-sale condo sales, and reconsider how new infrastructure is paid for. Other items protect public view cones, which are protected views across the city, and make it easier to keep heritage and character buildings.
Zoning, area plans and rezonings are decided by City Council, so most of this sits with Council. The UBC SkyTrain extension is planned with TransLink, the regional transit body the city does not control. TEAM says it would use the city's seat on TransLink's Mayors' Council to press for a business case that includes all the facts.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Business Improvement Associations in Vancouver, by the party's count
The party's figure16 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
A meaningful voice for local residents and businesses
TEAM would give local residents and businesses a meaningful voice in any planning process that affects their community.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets how the city consults on plans and rezonings.
Make public consultation count in every neighbourhood
The party would work with residents in all neighbourhoods to restore trust between citizens and City Hall by making public consultation meaningful and building it into planning outcomes.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides how consultation results are used in its planning decisions.
Neighbourhood-based plans for higher density near transit
TEAM would restore neighbourhood-based participatory planning that creates chances for higher density, especially near transit and neighbourhood centres, while working within the local character and context of each neighbourhood. The party says this would replace generic policies based on what it calls "arbitrary circles and corridors".
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves area plans and zoning.
Protect and reinstate public view cones
The party would protect all public view cone corridors, which are protected views across the city, and reinstate the view cones that were amended or eliminated over the last term.
- Who has the power
- City Council View protection is part of the city's own planning policy, which Council sets.
Repeal the Official Development Plan and adopt a Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan
TEAM would repeal the Official Development Plan (ODP), including the related plans for Broadway, Jericho, Rupert and Renfrew, and Villages, to allow neighbourhood-based community planning. Its summary page says the ODP would be replaced with TEAM's Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan. The party says the Villages rezoning was not approved before the election but remains part of the ODP, so the ODP must be repealed to stop it returning.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can repeal or replace a city plan, within the limits of provincial housing law.
Planning based on verifiable data that is made public
The party would base all City planning decisions on a transparent process using real, verifiable data, in place of what it calls arbitrarily inflated growth targets, and would publish information on growth, zoning, housing and land stock, vacancies and pre-sale condo market data.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council directs what data city staff collect and publish.
Rethink the Broadway Plan, station area plans and the Vancouver Plan
TEAM would rethink the Broadway Plan, station area plans such as Rupert/Renfrew, and the Vancouver Plan, which it says are being carried out through area-wide prezoning and the Official Development Plan without meaningful public input.
- Who has the power
- City Council These are city plans, so Council can amend them.
Rethink the Jericho Lands plan
The party would rethink the Jericho Lands development plan around more ground-oriented and low- to mid-rise buildings.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves plans and rezonings for sites such as the Jericho Lands.
Reconsider support for the UBC SkyTrain extension
TEAM would reconsider the City's support for the UBC SkyTrain extension (UBCx) and the development planning tied to it, with informed input from the public. Through the City's influence on TransLink's Mayors' Council, it would make sure the business case for UBCx and its alternatives includes all the facts.
- Who has the power
- Regional body TransLink, a regional body the city does not control, plans and runs SkyTrain, so Vancouver has only its own voice at the Mayors' Council.
Public review of infrastructure and amenity needs
The party would carry out, as part of the Official Development Plan process, a publicly transparent, system-wide review of current and future infrastructure and amenity needs and capacities.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can direct staff to carry out and publish this review.
Plan growth within infrastructure limits
TEAM would consider the capacity limits of city infrastructure and the cost of expanding it, so growth is not concentrated beyond what the area can support. It names storm and sanitary sewers, water, electrical, data and gas utilities, and also social benefits, schools, parks, amenities, transit and services.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls city sewers, water and zoning, but schools, power, gas and transit are run by other bodies.
Rethink how infrastructure and amenities are funded
The party would reconsider how infrastructure and amenities are funded, in a way it says is viable for both the public and the building industry.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the city's development charges and capital plan, within provincial law.
Make it easier to keep heritage and character buildings
TEAM would make retention of heritage and character buildings easier through (a) a more flexible development and permit process without a bias toward new construction, (b) zoning with incentives for keeping buildings and disincentives for demolition, since it says the greenest building is the one that already exists, and (c) incentives that allow several secondary suites through the Secondary Suite Program or infill homes.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council controls zoning, permits and the city's heritage incentives.
Tax and fee incentives for heritage retention
The party would support new incentives, including tax and fee exemptions, for keeping and conserving Vancouver's heritage resources and character buildings, and give them more priority so heritage retention becomes a desirable development option.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets city fees and decides on city heritage incentives.
Listen to small businesses and the 22 Business Improvement Associations
TEAM would listen to local small businesses and the City's 22 Business Improvement Associations, which are local groups of businesses in a shopping area, to understand their issues, and put in place policies and services for the long-term health of local business districts.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves Business Improvement Associations and sets policy for commercial areas.
Plan affordable spaces for artists
The party would plan for the arts and culture sector so there are affordable spaces for artists to work and perform, by protecting the more affordable industrial lands, theatres, community centres and publicly owned buildings.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls zoning of industrial land and city buildings, while community centres are run by the Park Board.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about participatory planning within the context of every neighbourhood
Does TEAM for a Livable Vancouver want to repeal the Broadway Plan?
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it would repeal the Official Development Plan, including the related plans for Broadway, Jericho, Rupert and Renfrew, and Villages, and would rethink the Broadway Plan and the Vancouver Plan with public input. Its summary page says a Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan would replace the ODP (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
What is TEAM's Respect for Neighbourhoods Plan?
It is the name TEAM gives to the plan it would use to replace Vancouver's Official Development Plan. The party says the new plan would put residents and neighbourhoods first and address their concerns about the Broadway, Jericho, Rupert and Renfrew, and Villages plans (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
What would TEAM do about the Jericho Lands?
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says it would rethink the Jericho Lands development plan, basing it on more ground-oriented and low- to mid-rise buildings. It also lists the Jericho plan among those it would remove by repealing the Official Development Plan (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Does TEAM support the SkyTrain extension to UBC?
TEAM says it would reconsider the City's support for the UBC SkyTrain extension and the development planning tied to it, with public input. It would use the City's influence at TransLink's Mayors' Council to make sure the business case includes all the facts. TransLink, which the city does not control, makes the decision (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
How would TEAM link new housing to infrastructure in Vancouver?
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says planning should count the capacity limits and expansion costs of sewers, water, power, data and gas, as well as schools, parks, transit and services, so growth is not concentrated beyond what an area can support. It would also run a public review of infrastructure needs (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Would TEAM protect Vancouver's view cones?
Yes. TEAM says it would protect all public view cone corridors, which are protected views across the city, and reinstate the view cones that were amended or eliminated over the last council term (TEAM Planning for Livability and Affordability page).
Could a TEAM council repeal the Official Development Plan?
Council adopts and changes city plans and zoning, so a Council majority could act on most of this chapter. Provincial housing laws set some limits on what a city can undo, and the UBC SkyTrain extension is a TransLink decision (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