Vancouver Council Rejects Plan for 4,000 City-Owned Rental Homes

Vancouver City Council has voted against a proposal to establish an arms-length city development corporation aimed at building approximately 4,000 market rental homes and community centers on city-owned land. The motion, championed by Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver party, failed to secure the necessary two-thirds supermajority vote, with a 7-4 split.

The initiative, which would have created a "Government Business Enterprise" (GBE) to develop six city-owned sites, was opposed by councillors from the Green Party, OneCity, COPE, and Vision Vancouver. Peter Meiszner, a local political observer, expressed disappointment on social media, stating, "Just one of several projects officially killed yesterday at council in shortsighted decision by OneCity, Greens, COPE & VV, who voted against the motion to set up arms-length city dev corp. to build these new rental homes and community centres at no risk to taxpayers."

The proposed corporation intended to leverage city land to generate non-tax revenue, estimated at up to $250 million annually after 30 years, while addressing Vancouver's housing shortage. Mayor Sim argued the project represented a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to seriously address affordability," providing housing for middle-income residents and funding for city infrastructure. He lamented the outcome, stating, "It is disappointing that this incredible project is being politicized now."

Opposition councillors, however, raised concerns about the plan's details and mandate. Green Party Coun. Pete Fry contended the proposal was not "fully fleshed out" and lacked a clear focus on affordability, suggesting the "real imperative is political." Councillor Sean Orr (COPE) emphasized that "public land should be used for public good," questioning the strategy of using city-owned land to "extract maximum allowable rents" instead of prioritizing shelter-rate, affordable, and co-operative housing.

The rejection leaves the future of thousands of potential rental units uncertain, though the city's housing development office stated it would continue pre-development work on the sites. The outcome underscores ongoing political divisions within Vancouver's council regarding housing strategy and the use of public assets.