Major 25-year development plan for west side site draws mixed reviews from the public

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Good morning, 

Nate back with you today. Civic policy can be complicated stuff, made more difficult to follow when official debate stretches on for hours with numerous amendments (and amendments to amendments). These deliberations are an important part of the democratic process, but can be challenging for the public, and sometimes even for reporters, to follow – especially in real time.  

On Wednesday morning, we reported that on Monday, the park board had asked for further study before introducing a new paid parking plan at some high-use facilities. However, news readers who came across coverage of the same issue from several larger publications on Tuesday would have gotten the impression that the program had been approved, which wasn’t the case.  

The stories were corrected after the park board put out a clarification on the board’s decision. No shade; mistakes happen – especially when you’re on a deadline – and we’re certainly not immune to them either. But it’s a good reminder of why putting in the time to watch these meetings and double-check sources to ensure we’re getting it right is a crucial part of the service we’re trying to provide here at the Lookout. 

With that, let’s get to some news and updates from city council this week!

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout 

Editor’s note: A heads up for readers, we won’t be publishing a newsletter next Monday due to the long weekend coming up.

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

If you have a tip, lead, or story idea, reach out to Nate at [email protected]

WEATHER

Friday: 16 🌡️ 6 | ☁️

Saturday: 11 🌡️ 6 | 🌤️

Sunday: 9 🌡️ 4 | 🌧️

Monday: 9 🌡️ 4 | 🌤️

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

📈 $3.16 billion: The City of Vancouver’s revenue in 2024, about $550 million more than the city made in 2023. [COV pg. 62]

🚓 $2.3 billion: The city’s expenses in 2024, giving them an $860 million surplus for the year. [COV]

🤔 9: The number of times a gaudy West Vancouver mansion has been listed without finding a buyer. It was built in 2020. [Urbanized] 

CITY HALL

Major 25-year development plan for west side site draws mixed reviews from the public

What happened: The Jericho Lands – a 25-year plan to develop a 90-acre plot of land in northeastern West Point Grey – is at the next stage in its approval process at City Hall. 

A staff report recommends that, following the public hearing, city council approve the project’s official development plan (ODP), which would regulate future land use and development on the site through a new bylaw. 

Background: The project, owned and led by a partnership of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (MST), proposes building about 13,000 new homes, plus commercial space, a community centre, parks, a library, and an elementary school (paid for by the Province).  

• MST and Canada Lands Company (CLC), a federal Crown corporation, acquired the Jericho parcel between 2014 and 2016. CLC has agreed to sell their portion of the land to MST over the next five years, according to Storeys.

Unlike the Sen̓áḵw project in Kitsilano, the Jericho site isn’t on reserve land and is therefore within the city’s jurisdiction.  

Public hearing: On Tuesday, over 50 people spoke to council about the plan, with a majority (32) speaking in opposition. Many of them referenced being either involved in or having attended meetings hosted by the Jericho Coalition, a neighbourhood group organizing against the project. Tower heights, density, and environmental impacts were some of the biggest concerns for speakers. 

There were also a significant number of speakers (21) who supported the proposed plan, with some pointing out the currently inaccessible housing market in West Point Grey. 

There were also over 500 messages of correspondence – roughly split between support and opposition – submitted to council ahead of the hearing.    

• A representative for West Point Grey Academy, one of the area’s current tenants, said they are in full support of the project and are seeking a partnership with MST to have their school included in the project. MST said they intend to have them as a commercial tenant, while WPGA wants to be considered as a community amenity.  

One speaker described how councillors “listened intently and asked good questions” regarding the developer’s presentation, “but I have watched you sit the rest of the time through the public presentation scrolling through your telephones and laptops. I really do implore you, please pay attention to the members of the public who come to speak here,” they said. 

• The public speaker portion of the meeting took about four hours on Tuesday evening.   

The area: The development project would dramatically change the neighbourhood, bringing around 24,000 new residents to West Point Grey – which is currently overwhelmingly comprised of multi-million dollar single-family homes, with one struggling business area along West 10th Avenue. 

• Staff said the neighbourhood’s population did not change between 1996 and 2021, while overall the city’s population grew by 28%, or about 148,000 people, over the same period.

The project is also located adjacent to Jericho Beach Park, a wetland with a relatively long history of disturbance due to urban development. According to the Jericho Stewardship Group, the park suffers from invasive species and changes in water levels due to climate change.    

• One of the objections made by the Jericho Coalition is that development could reduce groundwater flow to the park. 

The Jericho Lands water plan points out that previous development in the area has led to historic streams that fed the wetland being diverted into stormwater pipes. They’re suggesting the park board work with them to restore some of that rainwater flow from the site back into park.       

The transit piece: The project vision is highly reliant on the new Broadway Subway line being extended out to UBC. In 2022, city council and TransLink endorsed a plan for one future station to be built in Jericho Lands, with another station very close by at Broadway and Alma. The ODP says the line is integral for the development to be a “car-light community centred on rapid transit,” as planned.  

• However, the province and federal governments have not yet committed to funding the SkyTrain extension, though advancing the project was prioritized in Premier David Eby’s recent mandate letter to his Minister of Transportation.     

The Jericho Lands ODP says the plan would need to be reviewed and adjusted if the SkyTrain line were significantly delayed or cancelled to ensure the project wouldn’t overburden the area’s existing roads and bus lines. 

What’s next: Final debate amongst councillors and decision on the plan was deferred until April 22. 

• If the project moves forward, the first phase of development wouldn’t begin until around 2028, according to MST. 

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THE AGENDA

👮 Vancouver police are under investigation for their responses to the deaths of two young Indigenous women and an Indigenous girl. Their bodies were all discovered in different locations in Vancouver and Richmond in the spring of 2022. Only one of the cases has officially been deemed suspicious, but a former VPD detective and whistleblower – who worked on and wrote a book about the botched investigation of Robert Pickton – said police discretion to investigate the cases is failing these victims. The full story contains disturbing details, so read with caution. [CBC]

🛫 Operations have returned to normal at YVR after a turbulent week at the airport. More than 80 flights were delayed earlier this week due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. [Global] 

⛴️ More travel troubles could be on the horizon for the long weekend, with BC Ferries warning there will be “very limited” availability for passengers without reservations, particularly for people travelling between Nanaimo, the Sunshine Coast, and Horseshoe Bay. [Global] 

🚬 This weekend’s 420 celebrations don’t have a formal venue, with sanctioned festivities at Sunset Beach not taking place this year. The park board says they are aware of an unpermitted event planned to take place at Sunset Beach on Sunday and will be closing the parking lot there from Saturday night until Monday morning. In addition, streets across from Sunset, and other popular 420 locations like the Vancouver Art Gallery and Thornton Park in front of Pacific Central Station, will have a no parking and no stopping restriction in place for the day.    

📊 Justin McElroy, chart master and world traveller, is back on the municipal beat just in time to break the city’s annual financial report in six handy charts. [CBC]

Sports 

🎉 Vancouver is set to get its own professional women’s hockey team in the PWHL, Patrick Johnston of Postmedia is reporting. The expansion news has yet to be officially announced, but a “major press conference related to a historic announcement in sport for Vancouver and British Columbia,” has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Johnston’s report also said the team will likely play at the PNE’s Pacific Coliseum. Over 19,000 fans showed up for the PHWL’s one-game Takeover Tour in Vancouver earlier this year. [Vancouver Sun, Vancity Lookout]

⚽ Vancouver Rise’s star midfielder Quinn scored the first and only goal to lead Vancouver to a 1-0 win at BC Place against the Calgary Wild. It was a history-making goal in what was Canada's first-ever professional women's soccer league game. The Northern Super League is made up of six teams, with the other four all based in eastern Canada. [CBC] 

🥾 Get ready to question your choices because the Grouse Grind reopens to the public today. The loved/hated trail is rated difficult, with 800 metres of elevation gain over its 2.5 km, so be prepared to suffer, unless you’re one of those wild North Shore residents who does it as a morning workout. The trail is open from 7 am to 6 pm daily. [Metro Van]

CITY HALL

Four things that happened at City Hall this week you might’ve missed

What happened: It was a busy week at City Hall, with lots more action than what we were able to cover in this week’s main stories. To help you keep up to speed, here are a few other notable happenings, particularly around tenant rights and priorities, from this week. 

Green Councillor Pete Fry, as a liaison to the Renters Advisory Committee (RAC), introduced several motions on RAC’s behalf for council consideration. 

• RAC members come from a broad spectrum of professions and backgrounds, including people from the development industry, tenant relocation workers, renters, families, and pet owners, Fry said. 

Expanding tenant protections: Fry, on behalf of RAC, introduced a very significant motion to have staff consider a city-wide expansion of the significant renter protections included in the Broadway Plan. 

The motion was defeated 5-4, with ABC councillors and Mayor Ken Sim voting against getting more information from staff on tenant protections. 

• Coun. Mike Klassen quoted from a BC landlord advocate who said tenant protections would hurt their ability to build new housing, while Coun. Lenny Zhou argued the city is already doing enough for renters. 

Staff are already working on a general report about the effectiveness of the city’s tenancy protections, to be delivered to council next year. 

The motion also sought to close other loopholes in the current Broadway Plan protections, one of which Fry explained to Vancity Lookout in this article from last month.

Building health standards: Did you know Vancouver’s bylaw governing health, safety, and maintenance standards for occupied buildings doesn’t specifically address or enforce issues around mould, air quality, and water damage? 

Fry successfully moved a motion to have staff report back on ways to include standards and remedies for those types of building issues in city bylaws. 

• Last week, Vancity Lookout reported on a building in the West End where tenants have been enduring significant water leaks and mould. Fry highlighted the case of another building in the West End where tenants were suffering from bad air quality, as reported by the Vancouver Sun.    

No ‘no-pets’ rentals: Another successful motion introduced by Fry was a series of measures to eliminate no-pet requirements in rental buildings and enhance protection for renters with pets. 

• That included creating a formal request that the province (which has jurisdiction over the Tenancy Act) eliminate no-pet clauses, have city staff look at expanding rental protections for tenants with pets, and for city council to encourage new rental buildings to be pet-friendly. 

Fry’s motion points out that no-pets clauses are already banned in Ontario. Council already voted to end no-pets clauses in 2020 but can’t enforce that without changes to provincial law. 

• A lack of affordable pet-friendly housing is the primary reason people surrender their animals, according to the SPCA.

SRO conversion: In one more renter-related story, city council approved the conversion of a Granville Street single-room occupancy (SRO) hotel. The building’s been vacant since 2015 and was deemed uninhabitable. Council approved a new 67-room commercial hotel for the site.

• Turning an uninhabitable building in a struggling downtown commercial area into a new hotel sounds like a win, right?

But the rub, at least for Fry, comes at the price tag, specifically the cost that’s supposed to disincentivize building owners from buying a derelict SRO building, or letting a building fall into disrepair, and then redeveloping it. 

Under a city bylaw intended to protect SRO stock from being redeveloped – as SRO’s are often the cheapest housing of last resort for people at risk of homelessness – the city could have charged the developer as much as $22.2 million. 

• However, in this case council approved a $1.1 million payout instead after staff concluded the project wouldn’t be feasible if the bylaw cost were higher.  

“We could start seeing people buying up SROs with the intention to cut a sweet deal with the City of Vancouver, and that our current bylaws really don’t mean much of anything,” Fry said, according to City News. 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A gorgeous encapsulation of springtime in East Van.

EVENT GUIDE

The Rock Orchestra By Candlelight | Orpheum Theatre, 884 Granville Street | Apr. 18, 8:00 pm | Classical twist on iconic rock and metal songs | Tickets $30+

Verses Festival of Words | Various locations | Now until Apr. 19, various times | Spoken word, poetry slams, and storytelling | Tickets and passes available online

The Fabergé Ball | Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway | Apr. 18, 8:00 pm | Drag, burlesque, comedy, and cabaret collide | Tickets $30-$35

Easter at Grouse Mountain | Grouse Mountain | Apr. 18-21, various times | Crafts, egg hunts, Easter Bunny photos and skiing | Tickets $10 for kids

Big Easter Run | Jericho Beach Park, 3941 Point Grey Road | Apr. 19, 12:00 pm | Family fun run supporting KidSport BC | Registration required

Art Incognito at The Beaumont | Lulu Island Winery, 16880 Westminster Highway | Apr. 19-20, 11:00 am | Art, music, mystery creators, games and more | Tickets $20

Easter Scavenger Hunt at the Museum | Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street | Apr. 20-21 | Explore exhibits, solve clues, win prizes | Tickets $22

On The Periphery Art Show | The Polygon Gallery, 101 Carrie Cates Court | Apr. 23 at 6:00 pm | Tickets $40

Riley Park Farmers’ Market | 50 East 30th Avenue and Ontario Street | Saturdays, Apr. 5–Oct. 25, 10:00 am | Produce, food trucks, and local vendors | Free

Art Vancouver 2025 | Vancouver Convention Centre East, 999 Canada Place | Apr. 24 at 6 pm - Apr. 27 at 5 pm | Tickets from $30

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Congrats to these three Vancouver bars that were named in the top 100 of the best bars in the world. We reviewed one of them here! [Straight]

• A no-fuss, big-taste Chinese restaurant has you covered for any weeknight meal, in our latest restaurant review. 

• Okay, this is a pretty incredible LEGO replica model of the SeaBus. [North Shore News]

• There’s a new snack bar that just opened on South Granville. [Straight]

• Richmond Night Market is getting a 600-foot zipline this summer. [Vancouver is Awesome]

GAME TIME

Today’s wordle is a highly popular form of transportation these days. Can you work out what it is?