After 4 days of scheduled Public Hearings, several presentations and hundreds of speakers, the speaker’s list is now closed for the Broadway Plan. Yesterday’s meeting finished with Planning Staff’s closing remarks (link below):
https://council.vancouver.ca/20220518/documents/pspc1staffclosingremarks.pdf
The closing remarks sought to dispel many of the public’s misconceptions about the Plan and it’s process. Despite what many speakers expressed, the level of engagement with the public during the whole planning process was unparalleled in its scope, breadth and reach (perhaps the most engagement with the public to date). Tenant protections laid out in the Broadway Plan are the strongest in the City’s history and could even be the strongest in Canada. Adding the same number of rental units is not feasible or economically viable through low rise, wood frame development. High rise concrete construction is an effective means of reducing Green House Gas emissions (compared to urban sprawl and increased daily commuting) and today’s technology can help further reduced emissions by 90% compared to similar buildings in 2007.
The next meeting is scheduled for June 9th at 3:00pm where Council will have the opportunity for a 3rd round of questions to Planning Staff and perhaps the time to make a decision on the long awaited Broadway Plan.