Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart’s housing initiative aimed at increasing densification was approved by city council Wednesday.
The plan — called Making HOME (Home Options for Middle-income Earners) — will allow the owners of 2,000 lots currently zoned for single-detached homes or duplexes to be developed into strata units of up to six suites.
Each lot would be subject to appropriate rezoning, although the new guidelines will allow height increases and the option of units being built below grade.
The plan aims to increase affordable housing options and make it easier to find a home in the city for middle-class households or those wishing to collaborate on a group mortgage.
“Making HOME is the single biggest shift in housing policy Vancouver has seen in a generation,” Kennedy said in a statement following council’s approval. “It not only helps make homeownership a reality again for the middle-class, it also generates funds to build rental housing, fight homelessness, expand childcare, and tackle the climate emergency.”
Under the plan, builders will have the choice of paying a development fee based on square footage to the city instead of providing any affordable units, or build one or more affordable homes for households in the $80,000 or under category and have fees waived.
Any fees generated by the initiative would be devoted to building permanent affordable units in other neighbourhoods, expanding childcare services and addressing climate change goals.
“Vancouver suffers from a ‘missing middle’ when it comes to housing choices,” reads a statement on the Making HOME website. “While our downtown core is highly-densified, the vast majority of the city’s land base is reserved for legacy housing forms such as single-detached homes or duplexes which are too expensive for all but the wealthiest.”
Vancouver saw its population decrease during 2021 for the first time in 45 years, falling from 700,015 to 693,325, according to estimates by Statistics Canada. Keeping residents in the city rather than relocating to less expensive surrounding areas is one of the plan’s primary objectives.
Stewart initially launched the initiative in 2020, although his original plan — which included a pilot project involving 100 single-family homes — couldn’t garner the approval of city councillors. After making alterations to address issues raised by city council, he relaunched the initiative in October.
“In order to tackle our housing crisis, we need to build homes for all of us,” said Stewart. “That means for people who want to buy, people who want to rent, and people who simply need to get off the street.”
