Vancouver council has rejected the villages plan, a proposal from city planners to add residential and commercial density to 17 areas around the city, after strong public backlash.

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The plan evolved over several years under two Vancouver councils, after public engagement found strong support for adding medium-density housing as well as more shops and services spread throughout residential neighbourhoods.

Real estate: Vancouver council rejects controversial ‘villages’ plan, citing public backlash Back to video

But when the detailed plan was released this year, it generated significant backlash.

At a meeting Tuesday, councillors from the majority ABC Vancouver party said their decision was guided by the public response to the villages plan, which they variously described as a “tsunami,” “landslide” and “storm” of opposition.

All ABC council members voted in opposition, as did councillors from three other parties: Vote Vancouver Coun. Rebecca Bligh, Green Coun. Pete Fry and COPE Coun. Sean Orr.

Tuesday’s decision followed a marathon, multi-day public hearing where hundreds of people appeared at city hall and phoned in to address council about the plan. People spoke passionately both in favour and opposition, with opponents outnumbering supporters. Many objected to allowing apartment buildings of up to six storeys in neighbourhoods spread across Vancouver’s east and west sides, citing concerns about neighbourhood character, parking and loss of tree canopy.

OneCity Coun. Lucy Maloney was the only councillor to vote in favour of the plan on Tuesday.

“With regard to my colleagues’ speeches saying this is a one-size-fits-all approach, our current zoning is a one-size-fits-all approach. But it doesn’t actually fit all people, it fits people who can afford to buy incredibly expensive homes, and it doesn’t fit everyone else,” Maloney said.

“We can’t just ignore the fact that there are fewer and fewer people able to afford housing in our city. And this plan wasn’t perfect, but it would have provided more affordable, accessible housing choices in more neighbourhoods.”

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After the meeting, Maloney said she was frustrated the ABC-majority council rejected her attempts at compromise. Maloney had suggested referring the villages plan back to staff to conduct more “deep consultation” with the public. After that was rejected, she proposed a pilot program limiting the zoning changes to five “pilot villages,” instead of all 17 locations. That, too, was rejected.

“I tried to give the majority on council every possible opportunity to compromise, to address the concerns that were raised by public speakers,” Maloney said. “I think it’s very sad that we’ve thrown this work in the bin.”

The villages plan stemmed from the citywide planning process under Vancouver’s previous council. Public consultation for that process found strong support for adding more residential density and commercial space in lower-density neighbourhoods.

In 2023, while in his first year in office, Mayor Ken Sim directed city staff to speed up work on the villages plan. Sim introduced a council motion as “urgent new business” directing city staff to take a number of actions to speed up housing delivery, the first of which was to “accelerate” a plan to allow townhouses and mixed-use buildings of up to six storeys in 26 village areas (later reduced to 17 villages).

Sim’s 2023 motion kicked off the 18 months of public engagement and planning that produced the villages plan before council this week.

But, after weeks of hearing residents’ concerns about pace of change, neighbourhood fit and infrastructure, Sim said Tuesday it had become clear the plan “did not strike the right balance.”

“We can’t build more housing in this city while ignoring the residents who already make our neighbourhoods the vibrant neighbourhoods that they are,” Sim said.

In his closing remarks before voting Tuesday, Sim repeatedly thanked “our incredible team at the City of Vancouver” for their work on the villages plan.

“It’s not lost on us how much work has been put in, and you guys have worked incredibly hard. So for that, we’re incredibly thankful,” Sim said.

The tone was decidedly less appreciative of city staff in an email blast from Sim’s party, ABC. In an email sent out minutes after Tuesday’s council vote, ABC Vancouver said city staff had “overreached,” and the villages plan presented to council “disrespected Vancouverites.”

“We’re going to continue listening and making decisions based on what Vancouver residents tell us, not staff,” said the email, above a link urging supporters to donate to ABC now “to help protect Vancouver’s future.”

Council did, however, approve one change Tuesday stemming from the villages planning process. Council supported an amendment, introduced by ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung, that will allow smaller apartment buildings with a single stairway in certain areas, a change designed to enable more space-efficient designs.

dfumano@postmedia.com

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