BC government welcomes Broadway Plan update for more density

BC government welcomes forthcoming Broadway Plan policy changes enabling even more housing density

Example of a 2024 amendment to the Broadway Plan policy for an area where the 2022-approved policy permits up to a six-storey building (left) and the 2024 amendments enable up to 20 storeys (right). (City of Vancouver)

Expect even more density within the Broadway Plan area, as the City of Vancouver is set to revise the two-year-old area plan to ensure the municipal government follows mandatory requirements outlined by the Government of British Columbia’s transit-oriented development legislation.

Earlier today, Daily Hive Urbanized reported on the municipal government’s proposed various changes to the Broadway Plan’s prescriptions and stipulations. In effect, many of the 500 city blocks located within the area plan will see changes, especially blocks within an 800-metre radius — the legislation’s designated transit-oriented areas — of existing and future SkyTrain stations on the Canada Line and Millennium Line’s Broadway Extension.

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When asked to react to the forthcoming policy changes now up for public consultation, BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon asserts the amendments are a step in the right direction.

“We welcome actions being taken by local governments to remove barriers to creating the homes our communities need,” Kahlon told Daily Hive Urbanized today.

“The Broadway Corridor is important for the city, the region, and the province. Building more homes near transit is good for people, communities, and helps people access more transit, infrastructure, and services.”

For sites with zoning that enable residential uses, and depending on the precise proximity to a station within the radius, City staff are looking to abolish the policy regulating the number of towers that can be built on each block. In many instances, this existing policy permits one or two additional towers on a block, and it accounts for any towers that already exist.

2024 amendments: Impact of the Broadway Plan’s removal of the number of tower limits per block. (City of Vancouver)

As well, there would be significant building height and density increases for select sites closest to the stations, such as new minimum height allowances of up to 20 storeys for portions of the retail strips along Main Street and Granville Street — an increase from the Broadway Plan’s existing maximum height of six storeys for such areas. This aligns with the legislation’s minimum of 20 storeys.

Even greater heights of up to 30 storeys are now planned for the area between Broadway-City Hall Station and Olympic Village Station, which incorporates both the legislation’s residential uses and the existing area plan’s intent of generating significant job space (office, hotel, retail/restaurant, and service uses).

Some areas that will see further density are not required by legislation, but are now being proactively pursued by City staff. This includes doubling the maximum tower heights to 20 storeys along Burrard Street north of West 8th Avenue, and providing up to five additional floors across much of the area plan on a case-to-case project basis to enable design flexibility and more landscaped open spaces at ground level.

“Outdated zoning in BC is a significant barrier to building more homes for people and to creating the diversity of housing options needed to address the housing crisis. By building more homes near transit, we are creating more complete, amenity-rich, communities that allow more people to live and work within a short walk from transit,” said Kahlon.

2024 amendments: Area of the Broadway Plan where the number of towers limit policy will be removed. (City of Vancouver)

2024 amendments: Broadway Plan map showing areas with increased building height and density changes, with potential changes of building uses, and/or changes to the number of towers per block limit policy. (City of Vancouver)

The amendments will not only enable more density under policy for potentially thousands of additional homes, but the changes could also catalyze many more financially viable projects.

As of the end of March 2024, there were already 150 proposals in various stages of the application/development pipeline, containing over 22,000 homes — the vast majority being rental housing units — and millions of sq ft of job space.

The Broadway Plan’s existing policy of limiting the number of towers per block created a race between developers to “reserve” their spot on the block, as they would otherwise be left with a low-rise building height potential for their development site.

“The maximum towers per block policy has probably been the single largest source of uncertainty developers were facing when looking at sites in the Broadway Corridor,” Ian Brackett, a senior broker for Goodman Commercial, told Daily Hive Urbanized today.

“Removing this limit will allow developers to acquire sites without the risk that they will be scooped by another project sneaking in ahead of them. Developers will be able to move forward with confidence, and focus on creating the best project rather than simply being first.”

Brackett says some clients have already informed him that they may now be able to pursue the “highest and best use of their property,” after being “previously frozen out of any redevelopment opportunity because of this policy.”

“This will absolutely free up more properties close to transit stations to move ahead with redevelopment and add much needed new rental supply to the market,” continued Brackett.

“Based on the maps we have seen, there remain significant areas of the Broadway Plan where the number of towers will still be arbitrarily limited, however, this is a big step in the right direction to creating more affordable rental housing.”

Vancouver City Council will consider City staff’s recommended policy changes in November 2024.

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