Abundant Housing Vancouver

Vancouver's Official Development Plan - The Very Quick Summary - Abundant Housing Vancouver On the evening of Tuesday March 10th, City Council will consider approval of Vancouver's first (interim) Official Development Plan. You can submit written comments or request to speak here. We recommend supporting the ODP, with several criticisms. This ODP is a long nothing-burger just meant to fulfill the provincial requirement to have an ODP by June 2026. It is, intentionally, just a summary of existing policies in one plan. All of these policies have already been consulted on and debated at length. The functional advantage of approving the plan is that Council will no longer need to hold public hearings for individual buildings, as long as they are consistent with the plan. This does not mean that any zoning is changing, just that rezonings will be decided on at regular council meetings instead of public hearings. Any proposal that is not consistent with the ODP will require an ODP amendment and trigger the need for a public hearing.

Vancouver's long overdue first Official Development Plan will be considered at a public hearing, starting Tuesday, March 10th, at 6pm. This post describes the plan and how to send your support, and critiques!

Wealthy buyers in Manhattan are merging 2-3 townhouses into one mansion. It's just the tip of the iceberg, and a dramatic example of how not building housing makes existing housing less affordable.
www.bloomberg.com/gr...

On "growth should pay for growth": homeowners are all too happy to accept higher property values (created by growth in population, jobs, and public infrastructure), but refuse to pay for the costs that make growth possible. Is that fair?

Douglas Todd: Jarring 18-storey tower on leafy Vancouver street a sign of the out-of-scale times About 10 steel-and-glass highrises, much like the one proposed for Yukon and 14th, are set to arise among character homes within the Broadway plan zone. https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-18-storey-tower-vancouver-out-scale-times

Douglas Todd: Hundreds of quiet east Vancouver side streets upzoned for six-storey apartment blocks Some residents in the vast Rupert and Renfrew area did not know their pleasant side streets had been upzoned for six- to eight-storey apartment blocks. It calls into question the city of Vancouver's murky "engagement strategy." https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-hundreds-of-quiet-east-vancouver-side-streets-upzoned-for-six-storey-apartment-blocks

'Monstrosities' or the evolution of housing? Multi-unit buildings on single-family lots gain traction in B.C. cities The number of multi-unit developments on single-family lots is increasing in B.C. neighbourhoods dominated by single-detached houses. Opinions vary over what these changes will mean for communities. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/multiplex-feature

Anakin/Padme meme I oppose this building because it's too tall It's just this building, not all new housing? You are not against all new housing, right?

A storey in four acts as captured by local news media:

18 storeys is too high, we’d be fine with 4-6 storeys

6 storeys are too big, we'd be fine with multiplexes

Multiplexes are monstrosities, we are fine with existing post-Second World War bungalows

...

Funded inclusionary zoning is great.

Unfunded inclusionary mandates are a tax on new housing.

Trying something to help visualize land usage per household (which I think is one of the most useful ways to think about cities)

Opinion: Why Vancouver's hotel shortage is driving our housing crisis | Urbanized Vancouver's hotel shortage and the resulting demand for short-term rentals is driving our housing crisis, especially in downtown areas.

Hotels are a much more efficient way to accommodate temporary visitors than full-year whole home rentals. Building them helps address the housing crisis and benefits both visitors & residents.

Edmonton stays with 8 homes per lot!

Vancouver will get there some day!

valentine's day isn't just for couples, it's also a day to celebrate love. for instance, i would love it if housing prices came down.

Are public hearings a cornerstone of democracy or mostly theatre? We dive into the pros, cons, and pitfalls of this public forum, exploring how we can better involve the public in decision-making and share Canada’s first-of-it’s kind alternative to Public Hearings, the Residents Assembly model tied The Problem with Public Hearings

ICYMI: The Problem with Public Hearings

From the people that brought you "Where are the schools for all these new homes?"

Coming soon to a public hearing near you
"We should build less school"

Our monthly happy hour is tomorrow, Thursday February 12! Starting at 5 pm at Rogue in Waterfront Station.

Whether you're a regular or a first-timer, this is a great way to meet some pro-housing friends and neighbours. Hope to see you there!

Housing is a Housing Problem Co-authored by Jens von Bergmann and cross-posted at MountainMath. The main housing problem in Canada is that there is not enough of it. We can see this by looking at prices and rents, but also by …

Are "pre-rebuttals" a thing, like "pre-zonings"?

If so, here's a pre-rebuttal from @jensvb.bsky.social and I to the latest argument that supply doesn't matter (from CCPA, sigh).

The Key: Doubling up is the demographic indicator demonstrating our shortage. homefreesociology.com/2025/07/06/h...

Feb. 26 in Squamish: Prominent local journalists Justin McElroy, Tyler Olsen & Jennifer Thuncher will discuss what works covering local elections.

A lot has changed in 4 years, but in our experience, people still want to hear about why rent is too high.

You can see the computer age everywhere but in the construction industry Making less with more

"the biggest problem is likely increasingly strict land use regulation in the West. Peng estimates that this has gobbled up almost all meagre technological gains, and accounts for about 40 per cent of the productivity dearth."

Leger: support for four- and six-storey buildings in the city of Vancouver Vancouver & Surrey Polling. Leger, December 2025.

ANOTHER poll, same result: Vancouverites want more housing options!

https://council.vancouver.ca/20260203/documents/rr1.pdf#page=194

Based on realistic scenarios given the current development pipeline, Rennie, in a report for the City of Vancouver's ODP, projects Vancouver will have around 875,000 residents by 2034.

council.vancouver.ca...

A screenshot of a Facebook Marketplace-style listing for a rental property. The main photo shows a modern, two-story duplex or townhouse with a dark metal upper siding, light brick lower level, and two separate front entrances with concrete steps. Title: 3 Beds 2.5 Baths - Townhouse Price: $1,650 / Month Location: 12772 114 Street NW – Calder, Edmonton Key Details: Described as a "BRAND NEW" main floor suite in a multi-family building. Available February 1, with an incentive offering up to 1 week early move-in for free.

A table titled "Row Housing / Duplex Housing / Semi-detached Housing / Single Detached Housing (excluding heat and water)". The table compares two rental metrics for different unit types: AMRR (Average Market Residential Rent) for 2024 and MARR (Maximum Allowable Residential Rent) for 2025, the latter being calculated at 80% of the AMRR. Bachelor: AMRR $1,051 | MARR $841 One-Bedroom: AMRR $1,187 | MARR $950 Two-Bedroom: AMRR $1,423 | MARR $1,138 Three-Bedroom: AMRR $1,681 | MARR $1,345 Four-Bedroom: AMRR $1,967 | MARR $1,573 Five-Bedroom: AMRR $2,301 | MARR $1,841 Six-Bedroom: AMRR $2,692 | MARR $2,154

This brand new 3 bedroom home in an 8-unit townhouse is going for less than average market rent at $1,650.

That's rezoning for housing choice in action!

Toronto may cancel new community centres, libraries if development funding dries up - Toronto | Globalnews.ca The city's chief financial officer reiterated that roughly $300 million had been deferred as revenue from development charges dries up, adding that some projects may be cancelled.

The $113-million mess of a community centre I wrote about this week is 100% funded from “development charges.” It is going in a neighbourhood with zero population growth.

In part, these charges are a tax on newcomers to subsidize existing wealthy homeowners.

globalnews.ca/news/1163476...

How ‘single exit stairway’ buildings could make cities better and safer Several Canadian jurisdictions are re-examining their rules to allow ‘single egress’ buildings

ICYMI (gift link for the first few clickers):
How ‘single exit stairway’ buildings could make cities better and safer

Lessons from YIMBYism: Taking “Abundance” Back to Its Fundamentals Lessons from YIMBYism examines how supply-side reforms, public investment, and state capacity can make progressive social policy work as intended.

New from me: A brief for @rooseveltinstitute.org on the logic of YIMBY policymaking and its applicability to other domains. What principles underlying the YIMBY agenda are transferrable to thinking about energy, healthcare, and other areas? Short 🧵 to follow. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Metro Vancouver's population now exceeds 3 million, according to StatsCan - CBC News

Likely, they do not want to give away any land value, but this prevents the market from building enough to lower prices, acting as a guaranteed floor on new condo prices as Vancouver keeps growing.

Some good closing statements too: youtu.be/oaxpdez3gAo...
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The discussion around demand is confused. Staff are setting the densities such that new condos cannot be built more cheaply than current prices (which, as they say, are currently not selling well). They are pretending to be price takers while acting as price makers,..
8/9

even more confusing. 6 storeys are allowed but density @ 2 FSR is more efficient at 4 storeys. The City could allow the same density as rental and use fees to "level the playing" field instead, which would prevent reducing total housing to achieve the desired unit mix.
7/9

3.1.1.3 In the R3‑1 district, if the form of tenure for any of the residential floor area is any tenure other than residential rental tenure, the maximum floor space ratio is set out in the following table: Maximum Floor Space Ratio by Minimum Site Area 1,470 m 2 920 m 2 613 m 2 460 m 2 (a) on a site that does not exceed 33.5 m in depth 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.45 (b) on a corner site with a minimum site frontage of 40.2 m 2.00 1.75 1.75 1.45 (c) all other sites 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.45

As noted, the "bonus" for the 20% inclusionary zoning (below market) option @ 3 FSR is worth LESS than the smaller market-only options, so requiring it will just reduce the housing produced by 10%+ while delivering ~0 below-market units. The strata (condo) discussion is...
6/9

Public hearings Public hearings are held to consider and decide on rezoning applications (for zoning bylaw changes) and heritage designations. Council must hold a public hearing before deciding to change a zoning bylaw, according to the Vancouver Charter. Open to the public Tuesdays and Thursda Public Hearing - January 13, 2026

Peter Dowdy does a great job describing the apparent viability problems at the hearing. Austin Au follows up describing why so many people need a viable plan so that they can live where they want to.
youtu.be/oaxpdez3gAo...
5/9

https://council.vancouver.ca/20260113/documents/phea2rr.pdf#page=55

on a corner (not mid-block) can be located & purchased together. It is possible that some of the smaller options requiring less assembly may be viable, but previous similar analyses & the results of the Secured Rental Policy suggest they are not.
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