The housing crisis has spread throughout Canada, and multiple ways have been deployed to address this problem. In this blog, we’ll be covering the efforts made by the BC provincial government as a solution to the middle housing crisis, as well as Vancouver's newly approved Jericho Land Project, which is a master plan that supports not only Vancouver's long-term plan but also the Transit-Oriented System and Environmental Sustainability of the City. Let’s get started!
BC’s New housing plan
BC provincial government introduced a new initiative that will cater to people with middle income, and for this to work, the government financed $2 billion with a $950 million investment from the province. So what is the plan for this initiative?
Well, the primary objective of this initiative will be made by the BCBuilds, a program that provides a range of affordable rental housing and rental subsidy programs that serve low-, moderate-, and middle-income households. Through BC Builds, this program will ensure that people with middle-income households don't need to spend more than 30% of their incomes on rent.
BC Builds has already established 20 sites through partnerships with different organizations such as governments, First Nations, and nonprofit organizations. With this in mind, it is anticipated that this project will have a minimum of 8,000 to 10,000 homes built for middle incomes, and this shall be built within the first five years of the program.
To be able to be part of this program, the household should be making at least $87,780 a year. For people who make less than that, there’s another rental program which caters to low-income people.
With the changes in the zoning bylaw that will be implemented by June 30, 2024, it's very much possible to build a lot of units that can cater to people with middle income and also provide faster delivery of permit approval and construction.
BC build
Since 2017, BC Build housing has provided nearly 78,000 homes that have been delivered throughout BC, including nearly 8,000 homes in Vancouver.
Vancouver Approves Jericho Land Development
In addition to the housing crisis, Vancouver has also set a master plan to address this problem. Recently, on January 24, 2024, the Vancouver council approved the Jericho Land Development. So what is Jericho Land Development?
Jericho Land development is a master plan with an estimated cost of $1.3 billion aimed to provide approximately 13,000 new homes for around 24,000 residents, 3,000 new jobs, community amenities with 30 acres of new parks and open spaces with respect to other city plans which are the "Vancouver Plan" and "Transport 2050 and Ubx".
jericho land boundaries and ownership
The Jericho Lands are a 36-hectare (90 acre) area in Vancouver’s West Point Grey neighborhood bounded by W 4th Ave, Highbury St, W 8th Ave, and Discovery St. The site is within the unceded traditional territories of the MST and owned by the MST Nations and CLC.
overview:
Affordable Housing
To achieve this goal, social housing built on this area shall have a minimum of 20% residential floor area for social housing and a minimum of 10% for secured market and below-market rental housing.
Develop TRP or tenant relocation plan. This is to help the existing rental housing tenants to relocate into a new housing opportunity.
For a more affordable home, this area will have a leasehold ownership rather than freehold ownership.
There shall be a minimum of 750,000 sf for commercial/job spaces to support the businesses and also the residents within the area.
Amenities will be provided such as childcare facilities to have a more livable environment.
Transportation
This master plan supports the Transit-Oriented Plan where areas nearby the transit station will have high-rise buildings and eventually go to mid-rise depending on the radius of the building height of the transit station.
The area will have fewer parking slots for private vehicles since people will rely more on the SkyTrain and bus as a means of transportation.
Produce safer street intersections for the safety of pedestrians and also bicycle users.
Building HEIGHT
As stated above, building heights will vary depending on the distance of the building to the station. It's expected that the plan will enable buildings to rise from 4 stories to 49 stories high.
SUSTAINABILITY
This master plan will be designed as well to cater to the city's goal of reducing 50% by 2030 and being carbon neutral before 2050.
summary
The council provides this simplified table to ensure that people can easily grasp the plan
public opinion
Despite a low percentage of people agreeing to this development, the plan still got approved and proceeded. Those respondents who are against this plan spoke their minds during the council meeting and said that these master plans don’t benefit middle-income people but only the investors and developers and also have a negative impact on the environment. There are also respondents who like the plan and are excited and love the idea where buildings are now taller to accommodate more housing units. There are also some who want the council to reconsider the plan and make it more environmentally friendly
Having discussed all the recent news updates from the BC provincial government and Vancouver's Jericho Land Development, I'm curious to see how this will turn out in the future and hope that this will be one of the successful efforts of the governments that will help lessen the cost of housing here in BC. Tune in for more updates regarding the latest city and provincial news, and we'll see you in the next one!