Vancouver Provides More time for Community Planning Process

Vancouver City Council has approved changes to the community plan process, providing more time, consultation, and new forms of engagement for neighbourhoods in the midst of new community plans.

“The reason we’re undertaking these community plans is to ensure our neighbourhoods deliver more housing affordability in the years ahead,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “It’s not an easy process, as people have different opinions about how their neighbourhood should evolve over time. The adjustments we’ve made to the community plans clearly respond to the calls we’ve heard from members of the public who want more time and more opportunities for engagement.”

Council approved the following changes to the community plans:

• An extension of at least 12 months for the Grandview Woodland neighbourhood plan, including the creation of a Citizens’ Assembly to provide a new form of public engagement;
• An extension of six months for the Marpole community plan, including additional public consultation events this fall;
• The preservation of single-family neighbourhoods west of Cambie in the Marpole plan;
• Extending the Downtown Eastside Local Area Planning Process, with a report back to Council in January 2014.

“New community plans are crucial because we have a growing population and a shortage of affordable housing, especially for students, young families and seniors,” added the Mayor. “We need to plan for a future that protects our existing affordable housing and provides new options for our children and the thousands of people moving to Vancouver in the coming decades.”