Despite hearing from speakers across the spectrum who predicted it wouldn’t solve the twin scourges of poverty and homelessness, Vancouver City Council rubber-stamped the 30-year Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan on March 15.
The plan hopes for investment of $220 million from city taxpayers, $300 million through developers and $530 million from other levels of government and non-profit agencies by 2043.
The targets include not only 4,400 new social housing units and 2,200 upgraded single room occupancy units, but also 8,850 middle-income condominiums and 3,000 market rental units. The area around Oppenheimer Park would have a 60 per cent social housing, 40 per cent market rental split and new units as small as 250 square feet.
The plan’s passage at a rare Saturday afternoon council meeting marked the end of an ambitious six days that included another contentious three-day public hearing: the Oakridge Centre redevelopment.
Critics said the plan would accelerate DTES gentrification and displacement. More than a third of its 18,477 residents are on social assistance and the median income is less than a third of the citywide $47,299.
“Of the 4,400 social housing units the plan is proposing for the next 30 years, which is way too long, only 1,467 would be at welfare rates,” said anti-poverty activist Jean Swanson. “The [2005] housing plan said [DTES] would be a predominantly low income area, and after 30 years of this plan it will be a predominantly middle income area.”
Ann Livingston, who has campaigned for addicts to be treated medically, said the plan “omits issues” and ignores the needs of the estimated 5,000 drug-dependent residents.
Said Livingston: “The [Local Area Plan Process] discusses everything from heights to food to childcare to composting to view corridors to climate change, but the LAPP does not reflect the realities of the [DTES] neighbourhood.”
Strathcona Business Improvement Area executive director Joji Kumagai said the plan lacks resources for economic development, while Andrew Scott of the Vancouver Board of Trade’s community affairs committee called it a good first step, but the approval was “premature.”
Scott thought the proposed conversion of East Hastings from Heatley Avenue to Clark Drive to a residential/commercial corridor was “thoughtful.” However, he said the Board of Trade is worried about the number of older, earthquake-vulnerable buildings, the plans to build residences near railyards that handle hazardous goods, and the dwindling supply of industrial lands.
Scott said the plan relies too heavily on towers to achieve density, which, he said, “will quickly impact property assessments resulting in higher property taxes [and] higher taxes will negatively impact the residents of the many not-for-profits and small businesses that employ the residents.”
Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer successfully proposed a package of amendments at the end of the hearing, including support for the concept of an aboriginal health and wellness centre and expansion of the definition of social housing, based on B.C. Housing income limits criteria. NPA Coun. George Affleck called the eleventh hour amendments “frustrating,” but eventually joined fellow NPA Coun. Elizabeth Ball in voting for the plan with Mayor Gregor Robertson, Reimer and the other four Vision Vancouver councillors who were present (Kerry Jang and Tim Stevenson were absent).
Green Coun. Adriane Carr cast the lone dissenting vote on seven of the 14 staff recommendations. “We will not reach a goal that is adequate enough to supply enough social housing to meet the needs of the people who live in the Downtown Eastside,” Carr said.
Reimer, the plan’s main booster, fought back tears as she told council how she had been accused by developers of being a “hostage” of the low-income community and vice versa.
“It’s my turn to tell you what I am a hostage of,” Reimer said, “and that’s a very strong, very deep overriding belief that people have an absolute right to plan a community plan for their own safe, healthy, affordable future regardless of their life circumstances, regardless of their income, regardless of where they live in the city.”
Story courtesy Vancouver Courier.
