Proposal to create city-owned housing developer ends in frustration

A proposal to create a city-owned development company failed this week after city councillors failed to effectively negotiate the particulars of an idea they all generally supported. The plan would have created a government business enterprise (GBE), which would have received $8 million in start-up funding and six vacant city-owned sites to develop 4,000+ homes and generate revenue for the city. 

ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner characterized the breakdown as a “fundamental disagreement” between members of the ABC party and other city councillors about the purpose of the initiative, he said in a conversation with Vancity Lookout. However, during the council meeting, the key disagreements were over specifics like what the revenue would be spent on, and a lack of specifics about the proposed company. 

The plan was supported by Mayor Ken Sim and ABC, the majority party at City Hall that has consistently forwarded the idea of leveraging city-owned land to develop market rental housing and generate revenue for the city. ABC’s policies and directives, like the 2023 request for staff to come up with ideas to use city-owned land to “unlock the delivery of new middle-income housing,” led staff to come back with the concept of a city-owned development company.

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