ACTION PLAN Authorized by Financial Agent Arnedo Lucas (778-558-4098) Copyright 2018 YES Vancouver Party PREFACE Over the coming days and weeks, we will be announcing our policies on the many other issues facing our city. Today, we are addressing the most pressing issue: our housing crisis. There are many passionate opinions about the causes and solutions to our housing crisis. They’ve been some of the most contentious Vancouver dinner table discussions for years. However, passionate debates must now make way for compassionate ones. We must accept that there is no you vs. me and only we. We love our city, and we need to say YES to loving our neighbours. We cannot afford to play the politics of division when we have such a crisis before us. We need to stop saying “NO.” Saying “NO” to making room for people in our city has got us into this crisis. YES Vancouver will: • Legalize and build more affordable housing, • Target speculators, not homeowners • Clean up the development and permitting process, and • Build thriving, inclusive neighbourhoods for families. There was a time in my own life where, as a young person, our family lost everything and we became homeless despite working hard and doing the right things. There are many people in the same position today. Over the past ten years, we’ve witnessed a 30% increase in homelessness due to everyday Vancouverites losing their access to decent rental accommodations, and we’ve also seen 9,000 fewer children in our classrooms because families had to flee Vancouver. 3 Many seniors are being forced out of the city they’ve known all their lives because we refuse to legalize anything other than large single-family homes in the neighbourhoods where they could live closer to their children. What if the friends who took my family in when we were in need said “no” to us? What if they turned a cold shoulder? In this plan you will find a common sense, long- term approach to putting hard working Vancouver families at the centre of our planning at City Hall. We will build a city that is truly sustainable, where families, young people, seniors, people of all types of backgrounds and incomes – everyone - will be able to contribute to our future together. We will defend the character of our neighbourhoods by remembering that our character is defined by who we are, not the building form we live in. If we continue to push young people and seniors out of our neighbourhoods, it’s our character, our values, and our families that will continue to suffer. As I noted above, compassionate debate is how we fix our broken city. Because, compassion is how we act when we love. And, if we truly love Vancouver, we will take action – we will say YES to taking good ideas, bringing people together, not playing politics and getting the job done. Join us! Hector Bremner Mayoral Candidate YES Vancouver 4 CONTENTS A CRISIS 90 YEARS IN THE MAKING 6 A GROWING CRISIS - 10 YEARS UNDER VISION VANCOUVER 12 #LETSFIXHOUSING TIMELINE 15 FIXING HOUSING – OUR LONG TERM PLAN 16 LEGALIZE AND BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING 17 TAKE THE LID OFF THE CITY, WITH CITYWIDE PRE-ZONING PLAN 19 PLANNING FOR HOUSING CHOICE – THE MISSING MIDDLE 22 WORK WITH PRE-APPROVED MULTI-UNIT DESIGNS 23 3-YEAR RENTAL MARKET CORRECTION PLAN 23 PROTECT EXISTING RENTERS – ANTI-DEMOVICTION PLAN 26 IMPLEMENTING A CRISIS LEVEL RESPONSE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHERE THE MARKET ISN’T PROVIDING IT 26 SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCIES 28 TARGET SPECULATORS, NOT HOMEOWNERS 29 A VANCOUVER SPECULATION TAX 30 ENDING CORPORATE OWNERSHIP AND PREVENTING REAL ESTATE TAX FRAUD 30 AIRBNB 31 CLEAN UP THE DEVELOPMENT AND PERMITTING PROCESS 32 CONDUCT A CORE REVIEW 33 REMOVE THE POSSIBILITY OF PLAYING FAVOURITES 33 CREATE CHIEF ECONOMIST POSITION 34 COMMUNITY AMENITY CONTRIBUTIONS [CAC’S] 34 LIMIT SPOT REZONING – DEPOLITICIZE HOMEBUILDING 34 PRIORITIZING PEOPLE AND CUTTING RED TAPE 35 BUILD THRIVING, INCLUSIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS FOR FAMILIES 36 SUSTAINABILITY 37 PLANNING FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 38 REHUMANIZE NEIGHBOURHOODS 39 TAKE THE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE OFF OF LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES 39 OPPORTUNITY ZONES 39 FAMILY FRIENDLY DOWNTOWN 40 COMMUNITY AMENITIES 40 PRESERVE INDUSTRIAL LANDS 41 LEADING THE METRO REGION 41 A RESILIENT CITY 41 CONSULTATIONS THAT INCLUDE EVERYONE 42 SUMMARY 46 5 A CRISIS 90 YEARS IN THE MAKING You have to know where you’ve come from... It’s no wonder so many people from around the world have come here to make our city their home. Vancouver is one of the best places in the world to live. We have mountains, ocean, beautiful beaches, amazing green spaces and a diverse population from around the world. The entire Lower Mainland has been changing dramatically over the past decade as more people who immigrate to Canada want to move and invest here, and Vancouver has been feeling the greatest strain ever on its housing market. Our housing crisis is one of the biggest in the world. One of the biggest complaints everyone hears about is the fact that, unless you bought into the market years ago, it is impossible to afford to buy a new home, and just as difficult to rent one affordably. This crisis has its roots in another era. 6 The 1920s were a formative decade for the before amalgamation. Many poorer immigrants still young city. At the start of the decade, the and those from non-British backgrounds settled modern City of Vancouver was three independent in East Vancouver. By the end of the decade Point municipalities: the City of Vancouver, which only Grey and South Vancouver would be amalgamated extended as far south as 16th Avenue; Point Grey, with the City of Vancouver and the first plan for the western portion of the peninsula, west of the amalgamated city would be created. Alma (North of 16th), extending as far east as Cambie farther south, and South Vancouver. The Vancouver’s first city plan was commissioned by East and West side roughly follows the shapes of the city in 1927 and was prepared by American these amalgamated municipalities. Point Grey is segregationist, Harland Bartholomew. The where many of the wealthier residents settled. interim plan was adopted in 1928 and finalized Point Grey was the first municipality in British in the early 1930s. The plan encoded all of the Columbia to take part in the North American ideas and prejudices of the time. Bartholomew trend of creating a city plan. This plan was explicitly created his plan to prevent the spread created to stop the spread of urban problems, of “undesirable” elements, non-caucasians and raise property values and keep out apartments, people of low socioeconomic status. This was which were erroneously equated with slums. done by elevating the single family home to a The pattern of economic disparity between the privileged status and requiring the purchase of east and the west side of Vancouver got its start at least 4200 square feet of land making them 1927 2018 7 out of reach to those Bartholomew and many influential Vancouverites considered undeserving. Successive civic governments tweaked the plan over the years as Vancouver grew but the foundations have remained unchanged. Its impact is still being felt today. The plan designated over 70% of the residential land mass for single family homes. If you couldn’t afford one, you would live either downtown or move away from the city. It doesn’t have to be that way. As World War Two raged the federal government intervened, over city government objections, to ease restrictions in order to house war time industrial workers. They issued Order No. 200, which effectively legalized secondary suites and multi- The retention of Vancouver unit conversions of detached housing. Much of conversion of mansions in Shaughnessy to multiple housing units date as a city of single family to this period. The city fought against these measures, homes has always been doing everything in its power to limit the scope of housing liberalization. Once the order was rescinded in the 1950s, the close to the heart of those city moved to undo it. engaging in this plan The Vancouver Charter was introduced in 1953. This provincial statute grants the city a number of different powers than Arthur G. Smith those under BC’s Municipalities Act. Chairman of the Vancouver Town Starting in 1956, with the adoption of a revised zoning bylaw, Planning Commission, 1928 the City began removing illegal secondary suites. Then, as now, secondary suites provided significant housing for the student population. Students pressured the city to keep the suites open, due to a persistent shortage of student housing in the city. The students’ efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. The secondary suite issue did not go away. Despite the city’s efforts to enforce the ban, suites were common. Secondary suites were a political football for decades, from the 1980s until finally legalized in 2004. The 1960’s were a period of growth, especially with the transformation of the West End. Vancouver needed accommodations for renters, and it was decided that this was the place to build them. Towers like that were certainly not allowed elsewhere. In 1967, as part of a controversial 8 project of urban renewal, the city also began levelling Hogan’s Alley neighbourhood, the heart of Vancouver’s black community, and parts of Chinatown. The neighbourhood and nearby Strathcona were also home to several other immigrant groups who were unable to live elsewhere in the city due to housing discrimination. The city has recently taken steps to address the historical injustices committed against these communities, but more needs to be done.