City of Vancouver to Adjust Social Housing Requirement in West End

The City of Vancouver will consider a recommendation to makes changes to the West End Rezoning Policy regarding social housing requirements.

The report indicates the following recommended changes in Areas 1 & 2 of the West End Plan (depicted below):

• Reducing the inclusionary social housing requirements 25% of the residential floor area to 20% or one-for-one replacement of the existing rental housing, whichever is greater
• Introducing a cash-in-lieu option that reflects the costs for the City to deliver such social housing offsite, including land and construction, which will be determined on a case-by case basis through the rezoning process.

The reduction to the inclusionary social housing requirement is recommended as an interim measure for two years until December 31, 2026, or until adoption of a new Inclusionary Zoning By-law that would supersede this rezoning policy.

Three projects have been approved for rezoning with the 25% social housing but have not yet started construction. These projects would require a new application to be granted the reduction.

The full report can be viewed here: https://council.vancouver.ca/20240924/documents/r1.pdf