On June 6, 1995, City Council approved the following:
THAT Council adopt CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver as a broad
vision for the city.
THAT Council and Departments use CityPlan to guide policy decisions, corporate
work priorities, budgets, and capital plans.
THAT future Council reports make reference, where appropriate, to the CityPlan
visions, directions, and next steps, noting how proposals relate to CityPlan.
THAT CityPlan provide a context for developing partnership agreements between
the City of Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Regional District with respect
to the Livable Region Strategic Plan.
City Council also approved a series of actions to begin implementing CityPlan.
These are summarized and updated in separate CityPlan handouts.
City Council 1994-1997
Mayor Philip Owen Councillors:
Don Bellamy
Nancy A. Chiavario
Jennifer Clarke
Craig Hemer
Maggie Ip
Lynne Kennedy
Jenny Wai Ching Kwan
Gordon Price
George Puil
Sam Sullivan
For more information about CityPlan please contact us by:
E-mail: cityplan@city.vancouver.bc.ca
Phone: (604) 873-7120
Fax: (604) 873-7898
Mail: City of Vancouver Planning Department, 453 West 12th Avenue,Vancouver,
B.C. , V5Y 1V4
In person: City of Vancouver Planning Department, City Hall (East Wing)
2675 Yukon Street, Vancouver, B.C.
CityPlan: An initiative of the City of Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada
What is CityPlan?
Reading CityPlan
CityPlan starts with a three page vision for Vancouver. This includes the
"CityPlan Story" which describes the public process leading to
CityPlan.
The sections that follow, detail and illustrate the vision. In each section,
quotes from the Ideas Book provide examples of people s ideas that started
the CityPlan process and have become part of the vision. A facts and figures
column provides background numbers that can be used as benchmarks for future
comparisons; this information is for early 1995, unless otherwise stated.
Each section also includes a list of next steps to describe key ways that
the Plan can begin to be implemented. Some of these can happen fairly quickly,
while others are longer term changes. The future CityPlan program will provide
updates on actions completed and underway.
Why CityPlan?
Prior to CityPlan Vancouver had many policies but no overall plan to guide
decisions. On June 2, 1992, City Council approved:
"THAT the City prepare a City Plan reflecting a shared vision for the
future of Vancouver; and
THAT the City Plan program inform citizens about the issues facing the City
and present Council policies, and create, fom their advice, a shared sense
of direction for the City and its place in the Region.
CityPlan: A Plan Prepared By Citizens
Often city plans are prepared by staff, sometimes assisted by a committee
of citizens. The plan is then distributed for public comment. CityPlan is
unique. CityPlan was developed by thousands of citizens. Over 20,000 people
actively participated by making submissions and attending events. Survey
results suggest their choices generally reflect the opinions of the broader
population.
CityPlan Makes Difficult Choices
The CityPlan process provided an opportunity for citizens to consider and
make many difficult choices. For example:
Participants considered whether Vancouver should continue to grow or
not. Ninety per cent chose to increase housing and job opportunities by
taking a share of regional growth.
Participants considered whether the City should provide funds for such
services as housing and culturalactivities or whether to leave them to market
forces. Ninety per cent chose to spend their taxes on a range of services.
The directions put forth in CityPlan reflect residents choices on a wide
range of issues facing Vancouver in the years and decades ahead.
CityPlan Sets Broad Directions
CityPlan provides a shared vision for Vancouver. It sets directions to guide
City decisions about services, development, and budgets over the next 30
years.
However, CityPlan is not a detailed map and budget for the City. The Plan
only goes as far as the three-year public process went: to create a plan
to guide future planning, development, and civic decisions. The next step
is for citizens, Council, and stff to work together to fill in the details.
CityPlan: What's New
CityPlan sets some new directions ó increasing housing variety
and job opportunities throughout the city, creating neighbourhood centres,
keeping industrial land, and finding new ways to involve communities in
developing and delivering City services; and
ïCityPlan supports and enhances some existing directions ó
maintaining neighbourhood character, improving the environment, and ensuring
financial accountability.
A Vision for Vancouver
Your Guide to the Future
Vancouver residents have created a CityPlan that will lead to a city of
neighbourhoods; a city where there is a sense of community for all ages
and cultures; a city with a healthy economy and environment; and a city
where people have a say in the decisions that affect their neighbourhoods
and their lives.
A City of Neighbourhoods
Vancouverites want a city of neighbourhoods ó think of them as villages
within the larger city, each with its own identity.
Neighbourhood Centres
Vancouverites want neighbourhoods that meet their needs as places to live,
shop, play, and feel part of a community. Neighbourhood centres, usually
developed from existing shopping streets, will provide a "heart"
for each neighbourhood. Here, people will find shops, jobs, neighbourhood-based
services, public places that are safe and inviting, and a place to meet
with neighbours and join in community life. In single-family areas the centres
will also cluster new housing for various ages and incomes. Centres will
help the environment by reducing the need to travel long distances from
home to jobs and services.
Neighbourhood Housing Variety
People will have more opportunities to live in their neighbourhood as they
pass through variousages and stages of their lives.More housing will be
available in neighbourhood centres to allow older and younger people to
remain in their familiar neighbourhood as their needs change. Residents
will have a say in how this new housing looks and how it fits into their
neighbourhoods. As the region grows, more housing opportunities will mean
less sprawl onto farm and green lands as Vancouver takes a portion of the
region s growth.
Distinctive Neighbourhood Characer
Even with growth, Vancouver will keep much of what gives its neighbourhoods
their look and feel ó trees and greenery, heritage buildings andareas,
distinctive area identities, and generally low-scale buildings outside the
central area. The major changes in building scale and character will occur
in and around the downtown and in neighbourhood centres throughout the city.
Around the centres, the existing character of the neighbourhood will be
retained or a new character will develop, depending on neighbourhood preferences.
Sense of Community
Vancouver residents want a city where people of all ages, incomes, cultures,
and abilities feel a sense of belonging, caring and safety, and have access
to the services they need.
Accessible, Community-based Services
Community services such as health and recreation programs, social programs,
and libraries will draw on the ideas of the people who use them, making
those services widely accessible and responsive to different needs. Services
will be located in neighbourhood centres where they are easy to get to.
Residents, agencies, and all levels of government, including the City, will
work together to solve problems at the neighbourhood level by tailoring
services to meet individual and community needs.
Working Together to Promote Safety
Vancouver will be a city where safety is achieved by working to prevent
crime and improve unsafe conditions. Greater emphasis will be given toaddressing
problems that can lead to crime and to feelings of being unsafe. Area residents,
social agencies, schools, police, and other safety providers will work together
to make Vancouver a safer place to live.
Addressing Housing Costs
Residents want lower and modest income families to be able to live in the
city. Vancouver will seek opportunities for more lower cost housing across
the city. The market will provide most housing. New subsidized housing will
provide homes for some low and moderate income individuals and families.
Private developers will be encouraged, or required, to provide some less
costly market housing.
Art & Culture in a Creative City
Vancouverites want art and culture to contribute more to their city s identity,
their neighbourhoods character, and their own learning and self-expression.
Vancouver will maintain a strong arts community that encourages local artists
and reflects Vancouver s diverse cultural heritage. Art and cultural activity
will increase through more co-operation between arts organizations and business,
recreation, and education partners.
New & More Diverse Public Places
Vancouverites seek new and more diverse public places ó places where
people can relax, walk, bike, socialize, celebrate, and play. There will
be: more parks for areas of the city that need them; streets that serve
pedestrians as well as cars; more extensive greenways to explore and enjoy
on foot or bike; and more welcoming public places downtown. Nature will
be protected and so will the public views to the mountains and water that
make up the city s spectacular setting.
Healthy Economy - Healthy Environment
Vancouver residents want a livable city with a wide variety of jobs
and a strong sensitivity to the environment.
Diverse Economy & Jobs Close to Home
Vancouver will be a city with a diverse economy, a variety of employment
opportunities, and jobs close to home. As the number of jobs in the city
increases, Vancouver will continue to be the "region s downtown",
with major office jobs concentrated downtown near transit. Areas for industry
will be kept so that industries and businesses that serve the city, such
as printing, repair services, and warehouses, can be close to customers
and workers. Other office, service, and retail jobs will be located in neighbourhood
centres closer to where people live and shop.
Transit, Walking, & Biking as a Priority
Vancouverites want to put transit, walking, and biking ahead of cars to
slow traffic growth in their neighbourhoods and improve the environment.
A greater range of transportation choices will be available. Neighbourhood
centres will bring more people closer to shops, services, and jobs, reducing
their need to travel long distances. Although the car will continue to play
an important transportation role, car use will be less convenient and more
costly than it is today.
Clean Air & Water
As the region grows and there is increasing pressure on our environment,
the City will give priority to actions that protect the environment óeverything
from how people travel to how they use water. To tackle air pollution, transit,
walking, and biking will become more attractive alternatives to the car.
People will pay higher user fees for services like garbage collection and
water use to encourage conservation and environmental sensitivity.
A Vibrant Central Area
Vancouver residents want a downtown that is a welcoming city centre
and a place to work, live, and visit.
Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver s central area, surrounded by Burrard Inlet and English Bay, and
encircling False Creek, will extend its activity to its waterfronts. The
central area will have two major office districts ó the region s
prestige office location n the downtown central business district and the
medical-civic "uptown" on Broadway. Surrounding the business districts,
different kinds of residential neighbourhoods will provide livable environments
for a variety of people. Speciality character and heritage areas, lively
retail streets, waterfront walkways, and diverse plazas and open spaces
will be welcoming public places for residents, employees, visitors, and
tourists.
Making CityPlan Happen
Vancouver residents want a voice in decisions affecting them and their
neighbourhoods, and they want a city which maintains sound financial management.
People Involved in Decision-making
People will be involved in decisions that shape their city and neighbourhoods,
and help determine the services they receive. CityPlan will create opportunities
for residents to participate in Council decisions. Citizens will be encouraged
to work with City staff to identify and resolve local issues. The broad
community will be involved in city-wide and neighbourhood decisions, and
new ways will be found to reach agreement between city-wide and neighbourhood
directions.
Financial Accountability
Vancouverites want to do more with the money the City spends. The City will
generally increase its revenue from property taxes in line with annual cost
of living increases and maintain a balance between taxes and user fees.
City services will be more efficiently delivered and more carefully targeted.
City spending will be re-directed towards achieving CityPlan directions.
The City will provide residents with more detailed information on how and
where money is spent.
The City in the Region
As the largest city in the region, Vancouver will continue to play a
central role in the region s economy and character.
Vancouver and the Region
CityPlan supports the broad objectives of the Greater Vancouver Regional
District s Livable Region Strategic Plan: to set limits on urban development
and protect agricultural land and natural areas;
to create more complete communities that reduce the need to travel;
to provide more transportation choices to reduce single-occupant car
travel; and
to create a compact metropolitan region to accommodate growth in already
urban areas, instead of allowing sprawl up the Fraser Valley.
City of Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhood Centres
Vancouverites want neighbourhoods that meet their needs as places to live,
shop, play, and feel part of a community. Neighbourhood centres, usually
developed from existing shopping streets, will provide a "heart"
for each neighbourhood. Here, people will find shops, jobs, neighbourhood-based
services, public places that are safe and inviting, and a place to meet
with neighbours and join in community life. In single-family areas, the
centres will also cluster new housing for various ages and incomes. Neighbourhood
centres will help the environment by reducing the need to travel long distances
from home to jobs and services.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: create neighbourhoods that provide residents
with a variety of housing, jobs, and services; create neighbourhood centres
that become the civic, public heart of each neighbourhood; and plan the
centres with local people to meet the current and emerging needs of residents
and local businesses. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
involve local people in planning their centre and neighbourhood in a
way that fits theirlocal situation;
focus change in neighbourhood centres andlimit change in the rest of
the neighbourhood;
provide shops and services for neighbourhood residents ó from
groceries and hardware to daycare and community police;
provide new and different types of housingin neighbourhoods with limited
housing variety now;
provide opportunities for new jobs and services for people who work
at home;
provide public places for strolling, window shopping, conversation,
and entertainment which link the centre with the rest of theneighbourhood;
and
link each centre to other centres and the downtown by transit and greenways.
Next Steps
To make CityPlan s vision of neighbourhood centres a reality, the City should,
as a first step, bring people from across the city together with Council
and City staff to determine how to plan for neighbourhoods and their neighbourhood
centres. Topics to consider include:
the information neighbourhoods need to startplanning;
the kind of public participation programs to best involve a large number
of neighbourhood people in the planning process;
how to define neighbourhood boundaries and centre locations; and
how to determine if neighbourhoods have a fair share of new jobs, services,
amenities, and housing.
What s New
Some Vancouver neighbourhoods already have a diversity of housing and areas
with some of the features of neighbourhood centres. The heart of Kitsilano,
Commercial Drive, and Kerrisdale each have a variety of shops, community
services, and alternatives to single-family homes. CityPlan will enhance
this type of centre with new services, jobs, and public places.
CityPlan will also create new neighbourhood centres in today s single-family
areas. These centres will make it possible for people to wrk and meet many
of their daily needs close to home. These new centres will have an increased
variety of jobs and services. They will also have a significant amount of
new housing surrounded by a neighbourhood of single-family homes.
Neighbourhood centres will not happen overnight. Over the next 30 years,
many existing shopping areas will be used more intensively and additional
housing will develop around these streets. Each neighbourhood will actively
participate in planning its centre, ensuring that each centre has a unique
character and layout.
Neighbourhood centres play a role in making other parts of CityPlan happen.
Later sections of this document describe how centres relate to housing,
jobs, transportation, safety, and services.
Challenges
Throughout the CityPlan process, Vancouverites said they want more housing
and job choices across the city, less need to use cars, and a greater sense
of community. They have supported neighbourhood centres as the way to meet
these needs. However, creating centres in single-family neighbourhoods will
mean significant change. It will be a major challenge to balance the needs
of people who are seeking new housing, jobs, and services in their neighbourhoods
with those of residents whose homes will be directly affected by centre
development.
Another challenge will be to build a process that involves neighbourhoods
in planning their centre while providing a city-wide sense of equity in
the amount of new jobs and housing accommodated in each centre. A final
challenge is to ensure new services and amenities keep pace with a growing
and changing population.
Neighbourhood Housing Variety
People will have more opportunities to live in their neighbourhoods as they
pass through various ages and stages of their lives. More housing will be
available in neighbourhood centres to allow older and younger people to
remain in their familiar neighbourhoods as their needs change. Residents
will have a say in how this new housing looks and how it fits into their
neighbourhoods. As the region grows, more housing opportunities will mean
less sprawl onto farm and green lands as Vancouver takes a portion of the
region s growth.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: increase neighbourhood housing variety throughout
the city, especially in neighbourhood centres; and give people the opportunity
to stay in their neighbourhood as their housing needs change and, by doing
so, take a share of regional growth. To achieve this Vancouver will: continue
to provide new housing near downtown jobs and ensure this housing is suitable
for different ages and incomes;
add more housing to single-family neighbourhoods ó in new forms
ó to provide housing for neighbourhood residents at different stages
in their lives, and locate this new housing in neighbourhood centres;
retain single-family homes outside the neighbourhood centres or allow
infill housing if local residents want it;
involve both the City and neighbourhoods in planning the types, appearance,
and location of new housing best suited to each neighbourhood; and
develop new forms of housing that appeal to people looking for features
traditionally only available in single-family housing.
Next Steps
To provide for more housing variety throughout the city, Vancouver should:
involve residents in defining the features people want in alternatives to
single-family housing in their neighbourhoods;
build demonstration projects for new types of housing that offer the
features of single-family housing at higher densities;
establish the demand for various types of housing in the city;
look for opportunities to increase the range of housing types in existing
multi-family areas for units suitable for families with children; and
plan housing as part of neighbourhood centres.
What s New
Over the past 20 years most new housing capacity in Vancouver has been created
on abandoned industrial lands and in commercial areas. Housing choice within
individual neighbourhoods is generally limited. Apartment areas are primarily
in or near the downtown, separate from single-family areas in the rest of
the city.
In many city neighbourhoods, people do not have the opportunity to live
in rowhouses, garden apartments, or mews ó housing that is suitable
for young couples, families, and many people approaching retirement. The
changing needs of existing residents ó children who become adults,
and adults who, over time, seek other housing ó creates a demand
for different types of housing, a demand not currently being met.
CityPlan will help meet these needs. It calls for more housing than would
be allowed under current zoning. More importantly, it will increase housing
choice within each neighbourhood rather than in separate parts of the city
by encouraging new types of housing in neighbourhood centres. In existing
apartment areas CityPlan encourages units that have many of the features
of ground-oriented housing.
New housing in neighbourhood centres best meets the changing needs of current
residents while preserving most of the city s single-family neighbourhoods.
It also supports other parts of CityPlan that call for retaining the city
s industrial areas and reducing the need to use a car for daily trips.
Challenges
To meet the needs of current residents who would otherwise move into suburban
communities, new housing in Vancouver will need to provide some of the features
traditionally associated with single-family homes. These features include:
an are to garden, play, or enjoy the outdoors; larger units; and locations
in family-oriented neighbourhoods. It will be a design challenge to provide
these features in medium density housing in a city where land prices are
high.
New housing in neighbourhood centres will require the redevelopment of some
single-family housing in many city neighbourhoods. This change will require
a difficult balance between the need for more housing variety and the desire
to preserve traditional single-family neighbourhoods in their entirety.
Distinctive Neighbourhood Character
Even with growth, Vancouver will keep much of what gives its neighbourhoods
their look and feel ó trees and greenery, heritage buildings and
areas, distinctive area identities, and generally low-scale buildings outside
the central area. The major changes in building scale and character will
occur in and around the downtown and in neighbourhood centres throughout
the city. Around the centres, the existing character of the neighbourhood
will be retained or a new character will develop, depending on neighbourhood
preferences.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: support the creation of a distinctive look
and feel for each neighbourhood; and use guidelines based on this character,
to determine the design of new development. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
f
ocus new development in locations in and around the downtown and in
new neighbourhood centres;
ensure neighbourhood centres are as compatible as possible with their
surrounding neighbourhoods;
continue to require compatible new development in areas with existing
character guidelines (downtown and most two-family and multi-family zones),
and help residents in other areas establish the desired character of their
neighbourhood;
place more emphasis on landscaping on private sites, including planting
new trees and protecting established ones; and
extend City measures to protect heritage buildings and areas.
Next Steps
To maintain and encourage distinctive neighbourhood character, Vancouver
should:
create tools neighbourhoods can use to record and assess the character
and heritage of their area;
create an accessible collection of case studies and images of existing
neighbourhood centres (from Vancouver and elsewhere) for use in neighbourhood
planning;
develop bylaws and guidelines to help neighbourhoods create the character
they want; and
expand current regulations to protect heritage buildings and to protect
trees considered significant because of their habitat, cultural, or heritage
value.
What s New
Over the past 10 years the City has controlled development in some areas
to make sure new buildings are in character with existing buildings ó
Kitsilano, Mt. Pleasant, Strathcona, and Shaughnessy. CityPlan allows each
neighbourhood to choose its own character for future development. More neighbourhoods
may wish to retain their traditional character, while some may wish to develop
a contemporary character. Others may want a mix.
Even when neighbourhoods determine the character of new development, change
will continue to occur. More high-rise development in and around the downtown,
and more four-storey buildings along major streets outside downtown will
be built. In addition, the creation of neighbourhood centres throughout
the city will result in significant physical change, even though their character
will be customized to suit neighbourhoods.
There are some current regulations for trees and greenery on private sites.
CityPlan places even more emphasis on landscaping, particularly on protecting
existing trees. Finally, measures to protect heritage structures would be
expanded, perhaps to include financial incentives and relaxing building
bylaws.
The Challenges
Many neighbourhoods in the city are already experiencing change and want
actions to maintain their character right away. However, it will not be
possible to plan all areas at once. A big challenge will be to decide where
to start and how fast we can proceed.
In many areas of the city, development character is controversial. There
can be strong differences of opinion within a community about what constitutes
an appropriate scale and development character. It will be a challenge to
find ways to resolve differences.
New measures to control development character, protect trees, and retain
heritage involve more regulation "red tape" and costs. At the
same time, many people want less costly government. Balancing these views
will be a challenge.
Sense of Community
Accessible, Community-based Services
Community services such as health and recreation programs, social programs,
and libraries will draw on the ideas of the people who use them, making
those services widely accessible and responsive to different needs. Services
will be located in neighbourhood centres where they are easy to get to.
Residents, agencies, and all levels of government, including the City, will
work together to solve problems at the neighbourhood level by tailoring
services to meet individual and community needs.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: provide better access to City services for
people who most need them and for people who currently have difficulty getting
the services they require; and increasingly deliver services locally and
in consultation with users. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
target services to those mst in need;
increase opportunities for users to participate in service planning
and delivery;
provide easier access for people who currently feel excluded due to
age, language, income, or abilities;
find opportunities to co-ordinate staff at the neighbourhood level and
to share City facilities;
develop innovative funding and partnerships and support non-profit organizations
that deliver services; and
watch for, and respond to, changing needs.
Next Steps
To ensure the City provides more accessible, community-based services, Vancouver
should: review service priorities and recommend how to target services to
make sure those most in need are the ones who receive support;
reflect the needs of the city s children and youth in City policies;
work with new regionalized health services to ensure both city-wide
and neighbourhood needs are addressed;
give residents easier access to City services;
bring City staff and residents together to solve local issues by implementing
Council s recent approval of Integrated Community Service Teams; and
distribute information more effectively by using local media and community
organizations to reach the city s diverse communities.
What s New
City services were traditionally developed in City Hall and delivered in
the same way across the city. That is starting to change. For example, health
services are now more neighbourhood- based. CityPlan participants strongly
supported tailoring services to meet community and individual needs by encouraging
local approaches.
In September 1994, Council approved a new way of developing and delivering
City services, Integrated Service Delivery (ISD). The approach is to create
up to 24 locally-based staff teams with representatives from Fire, Police,
Parks, Library, Health, and other City departments. Each team will base
its operation in a neighbourhood and will deal, in an integrated fashion,
with community issues. The teams will link with the community and seek to
resolve local concerns. Residents will be encouraged to volunteer to help
support community services and facilities. The first teams are expected
to be in place by mid-1995. CityPlan supports this direction.
Challenges
The federal government is currently reviewing social programs. The provincial
government is changing the way health services are delivered. These programs
have a major impact on the quality of life for many city residents. It will
be a continuing challenge to effectively integrate social services provided
by different levels of government and ensure the needs of Vancouver residents
are addressed.
Currently, over 3,000 City staff work outside City Hall in some 90 facilities.
Bringing them together so that each neighbourhood has easy access to a full
range of services in convenient locations will be a long-term project that
requires extended commitment.
Another challenge is creating more accessible, community-based services
that are cost effective. To do this we need to establish service priorities
and reallocate resources. When service priorities shift, some people may
benefit and some may have to go without services they had in the past. Establishing
these priorities will require city-wide community input.
Working Together to Promote Safety
Vancouver will be a city where safety is achieved by working to prevent
crime and improve unsafe conditions. Greater emphasis will be given to addressing
problems that can lead to crime and to eelings of being unsafe. Area residents,
social agencies, schools, police, and other safety providers will work together
to make Vancouver a safer place to live.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: improve community safety by emphasizing the
prevention of crime and reducing unsafe conditions. To achieve this, Vancouver
will:
improve co-ordination between the police, fire, environmental health,
emergency planning departments, other agencies, and the community to provide
for a safer city;
provide more personal contact between the police and the public through
community-based policing;
place greater emphasis on social programs for groups in need and at
risk and on safety and crime prevention programs that involve the community;
and
design streets, buildings, and public places to make communities safer.
Next Steps
To ensure the city works together to promote safety, Vancouver should: continue
to implement community-based policing;
promote community involvement in crime prevention by extending Block
Watch and Block Parent programs, and encouraging local residents to work
more closely in setting safety priorities and allocating resources in their
neighbourhoods;
identify ways to enhance programs designed for groups in need and at
risk to prevent problems before They lead to crime; and
improve safety in buildings and public places by applying "Crime
Prevention Through Environmental Design" principles.
What s New
Community-based policing means changing current law enforcement practices
to include more contact with local community groups and established community
organizations, working together to address community problems. Neighbourhood
police offices support this process.
In 1993, the City s Safer City Task Force recommended improving safety through
community policing. CityPlan participants supported this direction. In October
1994, Council considered a model for community-based policing. At present,
the police are in partnership with 10 Community and Crime Prevention Offices,
with more planned.
Community-based policing also takes a more proactive approach to safety
by addressing social stresses that often lead to crime. This involves City
departments co-ordinating their efforts with social agencies and the community
through Integrated Service Delivery Teams to take a preventative approach
to problems. This prevention effort provides family counselling, youth support,
and recreation programming.
CityPlan calls for more attention to safety in the design and maintenance
of public places. This includes better street lighting at transit stops,
safer streets through better traffic controls, and other fire and emergency
measures to improve building and community safety.
Challenges
Community-based policing and the goals of increased crime prevention through
improved social programs are broadly supported. These programs should lead
to savings over the long term, but the benefits may not be immediately visible.
It will be a challenge to provide the resources required to implement these
approaches in a climate of fiscal restraint.
In seeking to make Vancouver a safer city through the design of buildings
and public places, the challenge will be to balance the need for improved
safety with other concerns such as construction costs and the look and feel
of new development.
Some of the challenge of making Vancouver a safer city rests on the actions
of individuals, through participating in Block Watch and Block Parent programs,
preparing for emergencies, and minimizing unsafe conditions around their
home, work, and community.
Addressing Housing Costs
Residents want lower and modest income families to be able to live in the
city. Vancouver will seek opportunities for more lower cost housing across
the city. The market will provide most housing. Subsidized housing will
provide homes for some low and moderate income individuals and families.
Private developers will be encouraged, or required, to provide some less
costly market housing.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: increase the supply of subsidized and lower
cost market housing throughout the city through the use of senior government
programs, private sector incentives, and City regulations and subsidies.
To achieve this, Vancouver will: maintain or increase the ratio of subsidized
housing to market housing as the city grows;
continue current City initiatives supporting subsidized housing and
explore new funding sources for this housing;
use incentives to encourage the private sector to provide lower cost
housing, or require a percentage of new units to be more affordable;
maintain a stock of rental housing;
ensure City regulations do not unduly increase housing costs; and
support actions to increase the housing supply, helping to minimize
price increases due to scarcity.
Next Steps
To ensure there is lower cost housing in the city, Vancouver should:
monitor the need for subsidized housing among city residents to determine
priorities and direct funds;
explore ways of raising additional funds for subsidized housing including
developing proposals for Capital plans;
develop and implement incentives and regulations that provide lower
cost market housing in Vancouver; and
identify regulations that add to housing costs and establish a staff/industry/public
process to review these regulations and recommend revisions.
What s New
Currently the City helps provide housing for low and moderate income households
by:
maximizing the effectiveness of senior government funding for subsidized
housing by requiring subsidized housing in major projects, leasing City
land, and collecting levies on market units in some areas to fund subsidized
housing;
regulating demolitions and strata conversion to preserve some rental
housing; and
allowing secondary suites to provide more affordable homes in some areas.
CityPlan supports the City continuing these initiatives.
But CityPlan also takes a new, broader view of housing cost. Vancouverites
want the City to take an active role in influencing the cost of market housing.
Although the market will set the cost of most housing, new regulations and
incentives could lead to more lower cost market housing than would otherwise
be available. Many of these new initiatives will apply across the city.
Some could require lower cost housing as a condition of new development,
particularly in neighbourhood centres, as a means of providing housing for
a range of incomes.
Challenges
Addressing housing costs, especially for those most in need, takes money.
In the past, the federal government funded two-thirds of new subsidized
housing in the city. If recent senior government cuts are permanent, maintaining
a constant proportion of subsidized housing will be a difficult challenge.
It could require redirecting funds from other City services, imposing new
taxes, or requiring development charges.
Subsidized housing can only help some of the people most in need. Most residents
will still live in market housing. The city is fortunate in having a large
stock of relatively affordable housing ó apartments and secondary
suites. This housing will only be available to lower income households if
there are alternatives for those who can afford to pay more. It will be
a challenge to preserve and protect existing lower cost housing and at the
same time provid some new moderate cost market units.
In the broader context, Vancouver is part of a regional housing market,
and there is only so much the City can do to ensure that "affordable"
housing is available. It will be a challenge for Vancouver and the neighbouring
municipalities to work together to address regional housing costs as efficiently
and fairly as possible.
Art & Culture in a Creative City
Vancouverites want art and culture to contribute more to their city s identity,
their neighbourhoods character, and their own learning and self-expression.
Vancouver will maintain a strong arts community that encourages local artists
and reflects Vancouver s diverse cultural heritage. Art and cultural activity
will increase through more co-operation between arts organizations and business,
recreation, and education partners.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: make Vancouver a city where creativity is
valued and contributes to our cultural, social, and economic development;
and expand partnerships between arts organizations, civic institutions,
and the private sector that reflect neighbourhood needs, cultural diversity,
and the artist s role. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
broaden art and culture activity at the neighbourhood level to provide
opportunities for resident participation;
respect our diverse cultural heritage while recognizing our shared responsibility
for creating Vancouver s collective identity;
plan arts programs jointly among civic departments, the School Board,
Park Board, and Library Board;
help keep not-for-profit arts organizations strong; and
maintain the downtown as the cultural and entertainment centre of the
region and seek broader support for regional-scale arts institutions.
Next Steps
To encourage a local arts and cultural community that reflects the city,
Vancouver should: implement the recommendations of the 1993 Vancouver Arts
Initiative, including increasing access to the arts for children and youth
and recognizing the contributions of individual artists;
co-ordinate Vancouver Public Library, School Board, and Park Board cultural
programs to better serve individual and neighbourhood needs;
create needed new arts facilities through partnerships between the private
sector, non-profit organizations, and the City;
continue to implement the Park Board Art Policy including the artist-in-residence
programs and community cultural development projects; and
include public art as part of major private and public developments
and along the city s greenways.
What s New
Historically, City funding for art and culture focused on major civic facilities
and the arts organizations that used them, such as the Symphony at the Orpheum
Theatre, the Opera at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and the Playhouse Theatre
Company at the Playhouse Theatre. Along with the Art Gallery and the Library,
these institutions helped form a major cultural and entertainment centre
in the downtown.
Over time the City has helped cultural activity spread beyond the downtown,
including the Arts Club on Granville Island, the Firehall Theatre, the Vancouver
East Cultural Centre, as well as major festivals in several parks. Art activity
has also begun to reflect the increasing diversity of the city s population.
CityPlan supports these recent directions.
CityPlan shows Vancouverites are not willing to leave funding of art and
cultural activity to the private market. CityPlan calls for:
an expanded range of art and cultural activities;
increased neighbourhood participation in art and culture; and
more individual learning and expression.
Overall, Vancouverites will experience the arts more in their everyday lives
because more activities and facilities ill be available in their neighbourhoods.
Challenges
CityPlan sees more opportunities for citizens to be involved in arts activities.
However, since City resources are limited, the challenge will be to pool
resources among civic agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private
sector, and to find new sources of donations, sponsorships, and revenue.
The City funds major arts organizations and cultural facilities which also
benefit residents living outside the city. It will continue to be a challenge
to increase regional support for Vancouver-based arts organizations serving
the Lower Mainland.
New & More Diverse Public Places
Vancouverites seek new and more diverse public places ó places where
people can relax, walk, bike, socialize, celebrate, and play. There will
be more parks for areas of the city which need them; streets that serve
pedestrians as well as cars; more extensive greenways to explore and enjoy
on foot or bike; and more welcoming public places downtown. Nature will
be protected and so will the public views to the mountains and water that
make up the city s spectacular setting.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: ensure that the number and quality of the
city s public places matches the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse
population; and encourage neighbourhoods and businesses to participate in
enhancing the city s public places. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
acquire new park space in growing areas and areas where there is a shortage
of park space now;
create a greater variety of park sizes, shapes, and uses;
encourage more intensive, shared use of public space ó paks,
streets, schools, and hospital grounds;
increase the number and variety of trees on public streets;
promote lively neighbourhood shopping streets where it is comfortable
to buy, sell, stroll, relax, and perform;
encourage the city s major thoroughfares to develop their own look and
feel;
encourage friendlier residential streets by calming traffic;
build city-wide and neighbourhood greenways that make moving through
the city on foot or bike a more pleasant, interesting experience, including
increased access to the waterfront;
promote more attractive, usable downtown plazas and parks; and
continue to protect public views of water and mountains.
Next Steps
To ensure the development of new and more diverse public places, Vancouver
should: develop new planning and funding strategies to keep up with parks
and open space needs as the city grows;
pursue the City s greenways initiatives;
provide user-friendly information that shows people how to pursue traffic
calming, make commercial streets more attractive, and initiate events or
activities in streets and parks;
develop public place proposals for future capital plans such as a design
competition to transform the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or Art Gallery plazas,
park development projects that increase the diversity and intensity of park
use, and building a system of greenways;
produce a document for the public and development industry that shows
protected views; and
develop public places strategies that include better cooperation among
City departments and boards, to help achieve these Directions and Next Steps.
What s New
In the past, the City has considered parks, plazas, streets, and scenic
views as important but largely separate. CityPlan s new thrust is to increase
the links between them in future planning and development of public places.
Vancouver has a tradition of a strong park system with both neighbourhood
and city-wide parks. Continuing this tradition as the city grows and the
population diversifies is becoming more difficult. CityPlan reflects a desire
to keep pace with change and improve our park system. It also directs us
to be more flexible and creative about how we use our parks.
Streets and lanes form 30 per cent of Vancouver s land area. In the past
we have beautified about a dozen neighbourhood retail areas. However, most
streets have been used to move traffic, not as public places. CityPlan supports
using streets in other ways ó greenways are one major direction ó
to allow pedestrians and cyclists to move more easily, sometimes at the
expense of car movement.
Challenges
Keeping up with park needs as the city grows will mean finding ways to buy,
develop, and maintain new parks. However, some approaches such as raising
taxes and/or extending development cost levies over the entire city, are
likely to be controversial.
A number of CityPlan s proposals will mean that existing users of public
space will have to accommodate new users. Examples could include more community
use of school grounds, or more pedestrian and bike use of streets. This
will raise issues of liability and competing demands for space.
Healthy Economy - Healthy Environment
Diverse Economy & Jobs Close to Home
Vancouver will be a city with a diverse economy, a variety of employment
opportunities, and jobs close to home. As the number of jobs in the city
increases, Vancouver will continue to be the "region s downtown",
with major office jobs concentrated downtown near transit. Areas for industry
will be kept, so that industries and businesses that serve the city, such
as printing, repair services, and warehouses, can be close to customers
and workers. Other office, service, and retail jobs will be located in neighbourhood
centres closer to where people live and shop.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: increase the number and choice of jobs in
the city; and concentrate major job growth in the downtown, maintain industrial
areas, and focus other job growth in neighbourhood centres. To achieve this,
Vancouver will:
encourage continued job growth at a rate that helps balance the number
of jobs in the city with the number of workers who live here;
concentrate headquarters, financial, and related offices in the "downtown",
and focus medical, civic, and related offices in the Broadway/Cambie "uptown";
use existing industrial land for port uses and industries that employ
city residents or serve city businesses;
not support large scale casinos in the city;
encourage jobs that serve city residents to locate in neighbourhood
centres;
make sure decisions about increasing retail space in the city support
the creation of neighbourhood centres, strengthen the downtown, and protect
industrial land; and
support Regional Town Centres to slow the growth in commuting from the
region into Vancouver.
Next Steps
To help maintain a diverse economy and create more jobs closer to where
people live, Vancouver should:
continue to implement the City s Central Area Plan which focuses office
growth into a compact downtown and along Broadway between Cambie and Oak;
implement policies in the City s Industrial Lands Strategy to keep industrial
land;
involve local businesses and residents in planning neighbourhood centres
that offer a range of jobs and services close to home; and
establish an overall job target for the city and consider how to attract
jobs to neighbourhood centres.
What s New
In 1991, Council adopted the Central Area Plan. The Plan calls
for Vancouver s downtown business district to grow and continue as the major
centre in the region. The downtown and Broadway near Cambie are the areas
of the city designated for major office growth. CityPlan supports the directions
established by the Central Area Plan.
CityPlan includes three new directions for the city s economy.
First, CityPlan supports a mixed economy with a wide range of jobs to help
provide work for Vancouver s diverse population. Many blue collar workers
still live in the city and CityPlan seeks to maintain a range of employment
opportunities for all workers.
Second, over the past 20 years industrial land has gradually been converted
to housing and large scale retail uses. CityPlan ends this policy, echoing
the findings of the City s recent Industrial Lands Strategy. This new direction
keeps most existing industrial land for industry, port uses, and other activities
which do not easily fit downtown or in neighbourhood centres.
The third new direction is to locate more jobs closer to home. No specific
policy currently exists for office and retail activity outside the downtown.
CityPlan suggests that new shops and offices, which up until now might have
spread out along commercial streets, be encouraged to locate in neighbourhood
centres where they can be served by transit and reached easily by surrounding
residents.
Challenges
The City already has the zoning capacity to accommodate job growth in the
years ahead, but it cannot guarantee that the private sector will provide
the desired jobs. It may be a challenge to maintain the many other factors
needed for a vibrant economy: a positive business climate, an attractive
and safe city, and adequate transportation to serve workers and move goods.
One of the challenges in planning for future jobs is anticipating the impacts
of new technology. For example, new technology and the changing nature of
work has enabled many more people to work at home. How many people will
decide to work at home in the future is hard to predict, but neighbourhood
centres can provide support services for those who do.
Transit, Walking, & Biking as a Priority
Vancouverites want to put transit, walking, and bikin ahead of cars to slow
traffic growth in their neighbourhoods and improve the environment. A greater
range of transportation choices will be available. Neighbourhood centres
will bring more people closer to shops, services, and jobs, reducing their
need to travel long distances. Although the car will continue to play an
important transportation role, car use will be less convenient and more
costly than it is today.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: enhance the transportation system to provide
a greater emphasis on transit, walking, and biking within and between neighbourhood
centres and the downtown; and make better use of the existing street system
for moving people and goods. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
increase transit use into and within the city by improving existing
transit service, using smaller buses, and implementing new rapid transit
lines;
promote walking and cycling by providing better pedestrian and bicycle
connections to neighbourhood centres, planning centres for pedestrians,
and providing more facilities for bicycles;
discourage car use by charging car users a larger share of their costs
through bridge tolls, gas taxes, and increased parking rates;
make better use of existing streets for bikes, buses, goods movement,
and carpools; and
encourage land use that reduces the demand for travel by creating neighbourhood
centres, focusing more jobs in these centres, and continuing to develop
new residential neighbourhoods planned for downtown.
Next Steps
To ensure a shift in transportation priorities, Vancouver should:
develop a transportation plan for the city that reflects CityPlan directions
and responds to the needs of resdents, businesses, and goods movement;
support the development of rapid transit links to the downtown and between
neighbourhood centres;
work with BC Transit to improve the transit system by providing a range
of transit choices;
implement High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and other measures to provide
priority for transit users; and
develop a city-wide greenway system and new bike routes.
What s New
Vancouver rejected inner-city freeways in the 1960s. Since then the emphasis
has been on squeezing the most auto capacity out of the existing street
system, increasing transit use by restricting downtown parking, and reducing
transportation demand by approving new housing close to downtown jobs. In
the last few years biking facilities have improved.
CityPlan shows Vancouverites are concerned about the impact of increased
car use on the environment and the growing impact of traffic on neighbourhood
livability. CityPlan reflects people s desire to go further in developing
more convenient alternatives to the car.
New directions include:
neighbourhood centres to help reduce auto trips by putting more people
close to shops, services, and jobs;
rapid transit links serving regional and city centres;
bus service improvements to better respond to increased demand and a
wider range of needs;
pedestrian and bike route improvements to serve centres; and
discouraging car use through increasing the cost of gas and parking,
introducing tolls on bridges to the city, and reallocating road space.
Challenges
Because CityPlan suggests change, it will face opposition from people satisfied
with the status quo. For example, it will be a challenge to implement user
pay systems on car drivers. Without higher costs, other deterrents, and
safer, more convenient alternatives, many people will be reluctant to give
up the privacy and convenience of their cars.
Transit decisions are currently made by the Province, not the City. Providing
more frequent and convenient transit will require major capital investments
and significant ongoing operating funds. During a period of fiscal restraint,
it will be difficult to convince the Province to respond to City transit
priorities in light of other demands for public funds.
Over 80 per cent ofCityPlan participants chose to discourage car use and
improve transit. If major new transit lines or roads are needed, it will
be a challenge to ensure that residents and businesses next to new routes
are not required to unfairly suffer the impacts of new facilities that provide
broad city and regional benefits.
Clean Air & Water
As the region grows and there is increasing pressure on our environment,
the City will give priority to actions that protect the environment, everything
from how people travel to how they use water. To tackle air pollution, transit,
walking, and biking will become more attractive alternatives to the car.
People will pay higher user fees for services like garbage collection and
water use to encourage conservation and environmental sensitivity.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: make improving the environment a priority
in decision-making with particular attention to air and water quality; and
to involve individuals and businesses directly in actions that protect and
improve the environment. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
consider environmental impacts when making decisions on land use, transportation,
and City services;
make land use decisions that put people close to jobs, shops, and services
to reduce travel; and
use incentives, education, promotion, fees, and regulations to encourage
individuals and businesses to help improve the environment and conserve
resources.
Next Steps
To ensure the environment is a priority in municipal decisions, Vancouver
should:
establish spending priorities for City and regional sewer, water, and
transportation improvements;
make environmental improvements a key objective of the City s transportation
planning;
reduce combined sewage overflows by continuing to separate storm runoff
and sewage systems;
expand waste reduction and water conservation programs;
develop user-pay programs to reduce environmentally harmful actions;
educate and involve the public in environmental decisions; and
use the city s regular State of the Environment Reports to monitor environmental
change and progress towards City objectives.
What s New
CityPlan participants consistently noted maintaining the quality of the
environment as one of the most important actions the City can take to keep
Vancouver livable. Many actions to improve the environment are already underway.
As such, CityPlan continues and enhances existing City approaches rather
than setting an entirely new environmental direction.
Some current initiatives supported by CityPlan are:
recycling to reduce waste going to landfills;
separating storm and sanitary sewers to reduce overflows into the Fraser
River and the harbour;
City participation in regional programs to improve drinking water quality,
sewage treatment, and air quality; and
legislation to protect trees.
CityPlan supports key directions from the City s 1990 task force report,
Clouds of Change, including reducing car use and reducing travel. Through
CityPlan s endorsement, these directions can be more strongly pursued as
part of an overall vision for the city.
CityPlan encourages people to pay the environmental costs associated with
the goods and services they use. For example, the City could charge more
"green taxes" like those paid when batteries and tires are purchased,
garbage fees based on the number of cans collected, and residential water
metering. This "polluter pay" approach is consistent with increasing
public sentiment for more personal environmental accountability.
Challenges
Improving the environment requires actions at all levels ó global,
national, provincial, regional, city, and individual. As such, the City
and its residents are only a part of environmental solutions.
It is difficult to pursue all environmental improvements at once. That means
setting priorities. Even by stressing clean air and water, financial constraints
mean we must strike a balance between environmental needs and other factors
influencing Vancouver s livability.
Governments cannot solve our environment problems alone. Environmental quality
also depends on the actions of individuals and businesses to reduce, reuse,
recycle, compost, conserve water, reduce auto trips, and buy environmentally
sound products. Since many of these actions are inconvenient, we all face
the personal challenge of balancing lifestyle preferences against broader
environmental concerns.
A Vibrant Central Area
Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver s central area, surrounded by Burrard Inlet and English Bay, and
encircling False Creek, will extend its activity to its waterfronts. The
central area will have two major office districts ó the region s
prestige office location in the downtown central business district and the
medical-civic "uptown" on Broadway. Surrounding the business districts,
different kinds of residential neighbourhoods will provide livable environments
for a variety of people. Speciality character and heritage areas, lively
retail streets, waterfront walkways, and diverse plazas and open spaces
will be welcoming public places for residents, employees, visitors, and
tourists.
Direction
This section of CityPlan brings together directions specifically related
to the central area from other parts of this Plan, in recognition of the
central area s key and distinct role in the city and region. The CityPlan
directions will:
concentrate headquarters, financial, and related offices in the downtown
peninsula s central busines district; and focus medical, civic, and related
offices in the Broadway-Cambie "uptown";
encourage city job growth at a rate that helps balance the number of
jobs in the city with the number of workers who live here;
maintain existing industrial lands in the city, to help protect pportunities
for activities that serve downtown businesses;
create livable residential neighbourhoods close to central area jobs,
for diverse household types and income levels;
extend measures to protect heritage buildings and areas;
make sure decisions about increasing retail space in the city strengthen
the downtown (as well as support the creation of neighbourhood centres throughout
the city and protect the city s industrial land);
maintain the downtown as the cultural and entertainment centre of the
region;
promote more attractive, usable downtown plazas and parks; encourage
major thoroughfares to develop their own look and feel; create greenways;
and increase access to the waterfronts; and
enhance transportation systems to provide a greater emphasis on transit,
walking, and biking within and between neighbourhood centres and the downtown.
Next Steps
Next steps listed throughout this plan are generally applicable to the central
area; below are steps that are of specific interest:
continue to implement the City s Central Area Plan land use policy,
and develop more detailed policies for other aspects of the central area,
such as the public realm, transportation, skyline, people, and social issues;
develop a concept for public places in the central area and specific
proposals for future capital plans, such as a design competition to transform
the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or Art Gallery plazas;
develop a transportation plan for the city that reflects CityPlan directions
and addresses transportation needs and impacts of the central area; and
support the development of rapid transit links to the downtown and between
neighbourhood centres.
What s New
In 1991 Council adopted the "Central Area Plan Goals and Land Use Policy."
CityPlan directions are consistent with this land use policy. CityPlan also
emphasizes the importance of public places, transportation, and social issues
ó all of which are intended as future sections of the Central Area
Plan.
Challenges
Key challenges for the central area continue to be its transportation impacts
and its social needs.
As the region s largest concentration of jobs, the central area is a source
of considerable traffic, both in the central area itself and in the rest
of the city. The Central Area Plan is designed to have positive transportation
benefits. It encourages housing close to jobs; puts offices close to transit;
and has reduced the amount of office space that can be built, to be more
in line with what the transportation system can serve. The up-coming city
transportation plan can help address, in more detail, the role of the downtown
in transportation terms.
To address social issues of the downtown also means balancing its prosperity
and growth with its impacts on close-by neighbourhoods that are home to
low-income people and families. Social needs include basic housing needs,
livable neighbourhoods, accessible social services, health programs, and
jobs. Through planning programs in the Downtown South and Victory Square,
as well as work throughout the easterly downtown, the City continues to
actively explore ways to help maintain low-cost housing and to provide supporting
neighbourhood services. This is a continuing challenge.
Making CityPlan Happen
People Involved in Decision-making
People will be involved in decisions that shape their city and neighbourhoods,
and help determine the services they receive. CityPlan will create opportunities
for residents to participate in Council decisions. Citizens will be encouraged
to work with City staff to identify and resolve local issues. The broad
community will be involved in city-wide and neighbourhood decisions, and
new ways will be found to reach agreement between city-wide and neighbourhood
directions.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: provide opportunities for meaningful participation
in a broad range of Council decisions; bring citizens and City staff together
to resolve community issues; and ensure a broad constituency takes part
in city-wide decisions and neighbourhood planning. To achieve this, Vancouver
should:
increase the opportunity for people to participate in resolving city-wide
issues;
create better processes to involve residents in addressing major cange
in their neighbourhoods;
improve the ability of neighbourhood-based staff to work with residents
on decisions about local issues;
use CityPlan directions as a context for city-wide and neighbourhood
planning;
create better two-way communication about City policies and programs
so that more people can be aware of and involved in decision-making processes;
and
make information about issues Council is addressing easily accessible.
Next Steps
To provide more opportunities for residents to participate in decisions,
Vancouver should:
establish processes that allow a diversity of interests and communities
to participate in city-wide issues and decisions such as the City s upcoming
transportation plan;
develop a new neighbourhood process to be used in the planning of each
centre and its surrounding community which promotes problem solving and
resolving differences (see Next Steps in Neighbourhood Centres, page 10);
set up Integrated Service Teams in each neighbourhood to work with the
community to resolve local issues and provide a link with City Hall (see
Accessible, Community-based Services, page 18);
use the ethnic media, electronic links, local City offices, and other
means to provide a diverse public with convenient access to information
on policies, services, and issues being considered by Council;
offer a variety of convenient ways for people to communicate their views
on current issues to Council and staff; and
involve the public in the regular monitoring and reporting on the implementation
of CityPlan.
What s New
Vancouver has a strong tradition of community participation in the review
of major projects, and the preparation of local area plans. The CityPlan
process extended this participation into the development of a city-wide
plan.
In the past, participation in City decisions has not been consistent across
the city or around different issues. A central theme in other sections of
CityPlan is increased citizen participation. Although Council will remain
the final decision-making authority, CityPlan provides for broad citizen
involvement in guiding:
major neighbourhood change (neighbourhood centres, housing variety,
and jobs);
neighbourhood character;
community safety;
the delivery of City services; and
financial decisions.
The experience of CityPlan also sets a precedent for broad public participation
in future city-wide initiatives. And, for the first time, an adopted CtyPlan
will provide a context that will need to be reflected in all new neighbourhood
plans. A key step in implementing CityPlan will be to establish new processes
for conducting city-wide and neighbourhood planning.
Challenges
Through the CityPlan process people said decisions must work at all levels
ó for the city as a whole, for neighbourhoods, and for individuals.
The challenge is to create neighbourhood processes that balance the needs
of individuals with those of their neighbours and the interests of the broad
city.
Financial Accountability
Vancouverites want to do more with the money the City spends. The City will
generally increase its revenue from property taxes in line with annual cost
of living increases and maintain a balance between taxes and user fees.
City services will be more efficiently delivered and more carefully targeted.
City spending will be re-directed towards achieving CityPlan directions.
The City will provide residents with more detailed information on how and
where money is spent.
Direction
The CityPlan direction is to: continue to take a cautious approach towards
increasing City spending; use CityPlan directions to re-direct the allocation
of the City s budget; and provide more public information on the nature
and location of City spending. To achieve this, Vancouver will:
match any increases in services with reductions in other areas or with
new sources of funds, such as development cost charges;
encourage voluntary conservation and consider more user harges for environmental
services such as solid waste removal, water, and sewers;
fund regional road and transit improvements through increased charges
for auto use; and
provide opportunities for citizens to participate in setting City budget
priorities and selecting projects for Capital Plan consideration.
Next Steps
To improve the City s financial accountability, Vancouver should:
develop a strategy to provide funding for amenities and local services
to support the development of neighbourhood centres;
demonstrate that spending by City departments is consistent with initiatives
approved by Council, especially CityPlan;
increase neighbourhood involvement in the budget process by including
a list of Capital Plan projects by neighbourhoods and making information
on spending by project, program, or service available to the public on a
neighbourhood and city-wide basis;
involve citizens in identifying ways to reduce the need for additional
City services through conservation and other initiatives; and
complete the review of taxation policies currently underway.
What s New
During the last 20 years, Vancouver s population has grown and changed,
creating demands for different City services. At the same time senior governments
are "down-loading" costs to local government. Successive City
Councils have acted to keep City property tax increases at inflation levels
and to offset new costs for staff or services with reduced spending elsewhere.
CityPlan continues these policies.
Very few CityPlan participants wanted to see City services cut. Forty per
cent were prepared to generally support more City services. A slightly higher
share, but not quite a majority, wanted to keep services at current levels.
Other sections of CityPlan show that, even when it was clear the choice
would require increased funding from city residents, people supported:
subsidized housing;
parks and open space that keep pace with a growing population;
working together to reduce crime; and
improved transit.
The directions from other sections of CityPlan, combined with the financing
choices, indicate a willingness to consider:
fees to encourage conservation;
charges to new developments to provide new parks and amenities;
increased auto registration charges, gas taxes, and tolls on bridges
into the city to help fund transit;
more efficient use of public spaces, such as using road space to create
greeways;
increased co-ordination and efficiency in the delivery of a range of
City services; and
redirecting City spending to match the directions established in CityPlan.
There was also strong support for increasing the level of information available
about the City s capital and service spending. This includes clearly identifying
areas of the city where money is spent and involving communities in reviewing
spending proposals.
Challenges
Financial accountability will involve several challenges. First, it will
be difficult to re-direct spending in the face of opposition from those
who will not be as well served as they have been in the past. Second, charging
user fees for services which have been provided out of general City revenues
will be unpopular. Finally, it will be a challenge to maintain a sense of
equity in the delivery of City services and amenities in the face of growing
and changing demands.
The City in the Region
Vancouver and the Region
Vancouverites have developed a CityPlan which supports the broad objectives
of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's (GVRD) Livable Region Strategic
Plan. CityPlan springs from the needs of Vancouver residents but its directions
to improve air and water quality, provide more jobs and housing opportunities
in the City, and encourage walking, biking, and transit will all contribute
to the larger region s livability.
The Regional Plan
In December 1994, the GVRD approved the Livable Region Strategic Plan in
principle. The plan has four objectives: 1) Creating a green zone to protect
agricultural land and natural areas while setting the limits of urban development.
2) Creating more complete communities to closer match employment and resident
workers in each part of the region to reduce the need to travel. 3) Creating
more transportation choices to encourage transit use, reduce single-occupant
car travel, and use transportation facilities to help shape regional growth.
4) Creating a compact metropolitan region to accommodae much of the growth
(which would otherwise sprawl up the Fraser Valley), in the already urbanized
area to make better use of transit and community services.
Direction
The following CityPlan directions generally support the Livable Region Strategic
Plan:
Housing Variety/Neighbourhood Centres: accommodates housing growth which
meets the needs of city residents and helps achieve the regional objective
of reducing sprawl.
Diverse Economy: encourages city employment growth to a level which
provides jobs for city residents, and also allows for a better balance of
jobs and workers in the rest of the region.
Walking, Biking, and Transit: supports rapid transit which encourages
transit use in the broader region, and supports centres which helps reduce
car dependence.
Clean Air and Water: makes the environment a priority which supports
regional initiatives to improve air and water quality, increase sewage treatment,
and reduce solid waste through reducing, recycling, and reusing.
In 1993 Council included major parks and the Southlands agricultural
land reserve in the region s inventory of green zone lands.
Next Steps
On July 6, 1995, Vancouver City Council endorsed the Livable Region Strategic
Plan objectives and supported specific policies, subject to further implementation
of CityPlan directions and development of partnership agreements between
the City and Region.
The Reasons for a Regional Plan
Over the last four years the GVRD has done extensive analysis of regional
land use and transportation trends. It has also undertaken a public process
to look at the impacts of trend growth and to consider options to modify
those trends.
The process concluded that the trend to continue to spread low density sprawl
throughout the Fraser Valley was unacceptable. The trend would increase
development pressure on farmland and other natural areas, cost too much
for public services and utilities, increase the distance between jobs and
housing, and worsen air pollution due to increased car use. The alternative
is the Livable Region Strategic Plan.
The Regional Plan and Vancouver
Overall, the regional plan offers Vancouver slower growth in auto commuting
through the city s neighbourhoods, reduced air pollution from autos, and
retention of nearby greenlands in Richmond/South Delta and the North Shore.
The Livable Region Stategic Plan also asks for change within Vancouver.
First, it proposes two new transit lines linking the downtown to the region.
This direction is generally supported in CityPlan.
Second, it recommends substantial employment growth within the city. CityPlan
supports the proposed growth in the central area, industrial areas, and
neighbourhood centres. However, CityPlan does not accommodate all the job
growth the region suggests. Redirecting some employment to other municipalities
helps them become more complete communities.
The regional plan also proposes population growth in Vancouver. The draft
population target put forward by the GVRD has been used throughout the CityPlan
process to compare the amount of change required under each housing choice.
CityPlan participants generally supported the region s direction, and chose
to cluster new housing in neighbourhood centres, a direction which will
provide some rowhouses and other new forms of housing in each neighbourhood.
The centres will reduce housing demand elsewhere in the region by allowing
some existing residents to stay in their neighbourhood as their housing
needs change. The GVRD emphasizes the need for ground-oriented housing;
CityPlan suggests that the features people desire can be provided in more
clustered forms, so that less single-family areas are redeveloped and change
is more contained.
CityPlan generally supports the regional plan but in a way that clearly
responds to the needs and desires of Vancouverites.
Challenges
Implementing the GVRD plan depends on partnerships between the GVRD, municipalities,
and the Province. Although many CityPlan participants expressed concern
about regional issues like sprawl, auto dependence, and air pollution, it
will be a challenge for the GVRD and the City to achieve directions which
will help preserve the region s and the city s livability in the face of
rapid growth.
Return to CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver
