Vancouver City Council's first 11 motions signal a strong change in direction | Daily Hive

Inauguration ceremony at the Orpheum Theatre of Mayor Pete Fry and the new Vancouver City Council on Nov. 2, 2026. (City of Vancouver)

The new makeup of Vancouver City Council is preparing to consider a broad set of proposals that would reverse several major directions of the previous ABC Vancouver party-led City Council, and implement new policies and strategies — including those promised during the election campaigns of the Green Party of Vancouver, COPE, and OneCity Vancouver.

Eleven member motions submitted by Mayor Pete Fry of the Green Party, COPE city councillor Sean Orr, and OneCity city councillor Lucy Maloney are scheduled for consideration and debate during the City Council meeting on Nov. 18, 2026.

The agenda for that meeting date originally listed 15 member motions from the new makeup of City Council, but four have since been withdrawn.

Eight of the 15 motions originally listed on the agenda — including the four since withdrawn — date back to July 2026. Further consideration was postponed until after the civic election, as City Council and City staff ran short of time ahead of their August recess and the start of the civic election campaign.

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The four withdrawn motions concerned responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) within Vancouver’s municipal government, public infrastructure supporting a circular economy, opposing the Alberta and federal government’s proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline from the Edmonton area to Tsawwassen in Metro Vancouver, and using the existing FIFA World Cup temporary hotel room tax revenue to “support hotel workers affected by the FIFA World Cup.”

It remains unclear whether the four withdrawn motions will return at future City Council meetings.

The withdrawn proposal involving Vancouver’s temporary hotel tax could also require the provincial government’s approval, as the provincial legislation allows cities to impose this additional time-limited tax to help cover the direct municipal financial costs of hosting a major event. Vancouver’s temporary tax on overnight room bookings, known as the Vancouver Major Events MRDT, took effect in 2023 and is expected to remain in place through 2030, generating more than $250 million toward covering the City’s share of the 2026 FIFA World Cup costs. Any reallocation of this hotel tax revenue could result in the municipal government having to tap into general revenues and other sources to cover its tournament costs.

Many of the remaining motions up for consideration and debate would initiate City staff reports and further policy work, while others call for existing directions to be formally reversed or previously approved work and policies to restart.

Below are the 11 member motions scheduled for consideration on Nov. 18 — the first such motions to come before Vancouver’s newly elected City Council:

Creating a tenant rights bylaw for rental housing tenants

On rental housing, Orr is seeking a standalone Universal Tenant Rights By-law, with City staff directed to report back by the end of March 2027.

His proposed measures include vacancy control, which would regulate rents when tenants change, a right for displaced tenants to return to comparable replacement homes, and temporary housing arrangements fully funded by developers.

Orr also wants proactive building inspections and repairs, legal recognition of tenant unions, and an elected or randomly selected tenant oversight body to monitor compliance with the City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy.

Other requested measures include a landlord suitability test that could prevent predatory landlords from operating in Vancouver and a public registry of offers to pay tenants to leave their homes. His motion would also direct City staff to incorporate relevant elements into the upcoming review of the existing tenant protection policy.

Although the motion’s title refers to “criminalizing predatory practices,” the decision before City Council would be to request a City staff report and proposed bylaw. It does not itself set out new penalties or enact the requested protections.

Examining tighter rules for data centres

Maloney’s motion on data centres — including facilities supporting AI — would examine tighter rules for such high-tech development uses, with greater attention to their impacts on surrounding neighbourhoods and municipal infrastructure.

She wants City staff to report on a framework requiring proponents to commission independent assessments before rezoning or permitting. These would examine water use, emissions, potential air pollution, noise, heat, mitigation measures, and employment compared with other potential industrial uses of the land.

The review would cover existing and emerging data centre uses, as well as examine noise complaints and other measurable community effects. It would also assess whether the City’s existing noise rules adequately address data centre equipment.

Possible measures include a dedicated business licence requiring annual public reporting of water consumption, electricity use, and noise levels, as well as fees or contributions to secure public benefits.

Maloney is asking for key parts of that work to return as soon as possible, with the aim of having new requirements in place before further development permits are approved or rezoning applications considered.

Potential AI data centre developments have faced increased scrutiny since the May 2026 announcement of Westbank and Telus’ proposals for two Vancouver sites. The partnership between the developer and telecommunications giant plans to construct a new building containing a large AI data centre at 150 West Georgia St. (on Beatty Street next to BC Place Stadium) in Downtown Vancouver, and repurpose the existing M3 office building at 111 East 5th Ave. in the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area for AI data centre operations.

Both proposals have sparked significant controversy, prompting protests and rallies. In July 2026, the previous makeup of City Council returned the 111 East 5th Ave. proposal back to City staff, and delayed the application’s decision until sometime after the civic election.

Reversing building, transportation, and delivery robot decisions

Maloney is also proposing a wider series of changes through a separate motion that would halt work on aligning Vancouver’s Building By-law with the provincial government’s B.C. Building Code — preserving the City’s ability to set its own requirements for building performance and emissions.

Her proposal would also stop consideration of a two-way bike lane on the north side of West 10th Avenue, citing the existing separated cycling infrastructure, and end work on the robotic food delivery pilot project. Maloney raises concerns about sidewalk accessibility, the use of public space, and effects on local jobs.

The same motion would direct City staff to implement the full set of near-term measures originally recommended for the Vision Zero Safe Mobility Plan in June 2026, including beginning to reduce speed limits on major streets to 30 km/h or 40 km/h.

Maloney also wants City staff to report on restoring the Community Benefits Agreement Policy, which sets requirements for local hiring and purchasing associated with major developments, and on reinstating requirements for new developments to plan for travel by multiple modes of transportation to help reduce private car use. The latter report would be due by the end of March 2027.

Another part of her motion would restart work on a program using business licence fees to encourage gas stations and large commercial parking lots to install electric vehicle chargers.

Maintaining school meal funding

Mayor Fry’s school food motion would ask City staff to identify the resources needed to continue supporting Vancouver School Board’s meal programs at the previous annual level of $325,000 for the 2026/2027 school year.

The City had planned to end its contribution after the 2024/2025 school year, anticipating increased support from the provincial government. However, Fry’s motion says the funding expected by the school district fell short, prompting City Council to approve another $325,000 for 2025/2026.

Fry wants an update on the School Board’s efforts to obtain other funding and how meal program money is being spent, alongside continued advocacy for reliable funding from the provincial government.

Preventing moisture and mould in rental housing

Fry’s separate rental housing motion focuses on preventing mould by dealing with the moisture that allows it to develop.

He wants City staff to examine changes to bylaws that would establish measurable criteria for excessive dampness and water intrusion, give City inspectors options to require testing, and require property owners to investigate and fix the underlying source of moisture.

The report would consider tools such as moisture meters and thermal imaging, along with tenant information, enforcement options, costs, and any necessary legislative changes.

Reviewing tax breaks for vacant development sites

Maloney’s separate motion on undeveloped development sites aims to address another housing-related concern: owners reducing their property taxes by turning vacant development land into temporary years-long community gardens or dog parks.

Her motion says changes from the business property class to the parks and gardens class have shifted approximately $3.6 million in general purpose taxes onto other taxpayers since 2019. It cites 10 properties reclassified in 2026, with an associated municipal tax reduction of $913,000.

The motion acknowledges that the City cannot prevent those property classifications, which operate under provincial rules. Instead, Maloney wants recommendations by the second quarter of 2027 on changes to the municipal government’s guidelines and permits for temporary parks and gardens.

The aim would be to reduce incentives to postpone housing construction and ensure temporary uses deliver meaningful public benefits or compensate for the impact on other taxpayers.

Building more TransLink bus shelters with seating

For the benefit of public transit riders, Orr is proposing a plan to provide a bus shelter with seating at every TransLink bus stop in Vancouver, where it can be physically accommodated — such as sufficient space on a sidewalk between the curb and a private property line. Construction would be targeted for completion by December 2029.

City staff would report back by April 2027 on suitable locations, designs, timelines, and funding. The review would also consider changes to the existing public-private partnership model, advertising revenue, and potentially shifting funding from other approved projects in the City’s 2027-2030 capital plan.

Currently, under a long-term contract, Astral/JCDecaux is the City’s long-term supplier under contract for street furniture, including installing, operating, and maintaining bus shelters. In exchange, the company receives revenue from using the structures for advertising.

Under Orr’s motion, bus stops currently without a shelter with more than 50 weekday boardings would receive priority for installation. The motion also requests examining shelter structures with lighting powered by solar panels, garbage bins, and other safety features.

As well, his motion would direct City staff to allocate funding in the 2027 budget, ahead of that report, to build shelters at the 100 most-used bus stops without a bus shelter by September 2027. Orr’s motion estimates that only about half of Vancouver’s bus stops currently have covered seating.

The provision and maintenance of in-street bus shelters in Metro Vancouver are generally the responsibility of municipal governments, not TransLink.

Examining City staffing cuts and service changes through an audit

Orr is also proposing what he calls the “People’s Audit” — a public report examining City staffing and service changes made to meet the previous ABC-led City Council’s budget targets since January 2024.

The report, requested for the first quarter of 2027, would identify eliminated positions, layoffs, unfilled vacancies, reduced hours, cancelled or suspended programs, and work transferred to outside contractors.

It would show which departments were affected, when changes were directed, and their consequences for employees and services. Orr also wants disclosure of related costs, including severance, training, contracting, and automation, as well as estimates of what it would cost to restore lost positions or programs.

His motion would seek options to improve the information available to city councillors and public participation in future budget decisions.

Restoring the City’s living wage employer certification

Another Orr motion would affirm support for restoring the municipal government’s certification as a living wage employer and ask City staff to outline the steps needed to implement that change through the 2027 budget.

The City held that certification from 2017 to 2023, before switching to a different fair wage policy. Living wage calculations estimate the earnings needed to cover basic expenses after accounting for taxes and government supports, and certification includes requirements for direct and contracted workers.

Reviewing the supportive housing funding pause

In another motion, Orr wants the City to examine the effects of its temporary pause on contributing City-owned land or funding for net new supportive housing projects.

The February 2025 direction by the previous ABC-led City Council implemented a temporary pause on net new supportive housing in order to better prioritize replacing existing old and dilapidated SROs and supportive housing and temporary modular housing, and encourage a more even distribution of supportive housing across Metro Vancouver.

Orr is requesting reports on what the pause has accomplished and what could happen if it were lifted. City staff would examine regional housing supply, the progress in replacing SROs and aging supportive housing, and possible connections with changes in homelessness.

The review would also consider pending developments and opportunities to obtain provincial and federal funding.

During the civic election campaign, COPE promised to repeal ABC’s temporary pause on net new supportive housing. However, Orr’s motion would begin that with an assessment; it does not directly repeal the pause.

Formally ending the push to abolish the Vancouver Park Board

Among the proposed reversals is Fry’s motion to formally withdraw the City’s request for provincial legislation eliminating the elected body of Vancouver Park Board commissioners and transferring its governance responsibilities to the mayor and City Council, and the day-to-day operations to City departments.

The motion would rescind the ABC-led City Council direction from December 2023 and formally inform the provincial government that the City no longer wants the legislative changes needed to abolish the Park Board. That previous process came to a sudden end in October 2025, when the municipal and provincial governments reached a political impasse.

Fry’s motion acknowledges that former mayor Ken Sim announced in July 2026 that ABC had abandoned its push to dissolve the Park Board, with the party instead running Park Board candidates in the October 2026 civic election. However, the associated City work technically remained on the books, although it had been paused.

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