Affordable housing top priority as Council approves new Grandview-Woodland Community Plan
City of Vancouver
News Release
July 28, 2016
Affordable housing top priority as Council approves new Grandview-Woodland Community Plan
Plan focuses on protection for renters; adding new homes for families
The Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood has a new community plan after Vancouver City Council today approved a framework that will add family and non-market housing, protect and increase rental homes, improve community amenities, and preserve the unique vibe of Commercial Drive.
The Plan is a result of four years of community engagement, including 85 open houses, workshops, meetings and walking tours, 2,500 survey responses, and Vancouver’s first Citizens’ Assembly.
“The Grandview Woodland Community Plan puts affordable housing front and centre by protecting existing and creating new rental housing, and adding thousands of new family homes at a time the city is growing and young families are struggling to find affordable places to live,” says Mayor Gregor Robertson. “With the input of Canada’s first Citizens’ Assembly for neighbourhood planning, the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan will grow one of Vancouver’s most diverse neighbourhoods and invest in community services, while protecting the heritage and character that makes Grandview-Woodland unique.”
The plan seeks to reverse the current trends in the neighbourhood that have seen a population decline of 2,000 people over the past three census periods, including a 35 per cent decline in children aged 0-9 years old. The new plan prioritizes the protection and creation of affordable housing, given that two-thirds of households are renters and the neighbourhood has the highest proportion of households in the city spending more than 30 per cent of their income on shelter.
Key goals and benefits in the plan include:
- Delivering 1,400 new secured market rental homes, 1,400 new non-market homes (social, supportive and co-op housing) and 4,350 units of more affordable ownership options, while preserving the community’s existing stocks of affordable market rentals and non-market housing.
- A new “pace of change” policy to protect existing rental housing while balancing the need to add new rental homes.
- Maintaining a mix of housing types and adding more housing suitable for families including townhouses, duplexes, and incentives to protect heritage homes by adding new infill homes.
- Retaining the unique identity and feel of Commercial Drive, by preserving the majority of existing zoning to reduce speculation and protect independent businesses.
- Adding 430 new childcare spaces.
- Improving nine parks and creating up to five new or improved public plazas.
- Renewing and expanding the Britannia Community Complex, Aboriginal and social facilities, Firehall #9 and the community policing office.
- Adding new job space and housing around the Broadway-Commerical transit station through a mix new building forms that will give more people easy access to the city’s busiest transit interchange.
The plan’s strategy balances future change and development in Grandview-Woodland with opportunities to deliver amenities to benefit the community. Existing facilities and infrastructure will be renewed to address current gaps or community needs resulting from population and job growth. The Grandview-Woodland plan’s Public Benefits Strategy is valued at approximately $800 million in investments over the life of the plan.
More details on the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan are available at vancouver.ca/gw
-30-
Media contact:
Corporate Communications
604-871-6336