Public Hearings
Public Hearings are held to consider rezoning matters and heritage designations. Generally, there are 12 to 20 per year at 7:30 pm in the Council Chamber. Delegations may choose to pre-register, or register at the door. The Vancouver Charter 
requires that Council hear from all persons who deem themselves affected by the public hearing matter. Public Hearings are publicized in community papers.
- What is a Public Hearing?
- How do I communicate my opinions to Council?
- What happens at a Public Hearing?
What is a Public Hearing?
A Public Hearing is a quasi-judicial process. It is a special meeting of City Council. The Mayor (or Deputy Mayor) is the chair of the meeting and at least six members (a quorum) of City Council must be present to proceed.
The purpose of a Public Hearing is to consider and decide on a rezoning application. Zoning by-laws are different than most City by-laws. City Council must hold a Public Hearing before Council can change a zoning by-law.
View the City's Rezoning Applications, and access a list of active applications of the Rezoning Centre, with their current status.
Members of the public can present to City Council their comments or concerns about a proposed zoning by-law change. The change is presented in the form of an application. Council may consider more than one application at a public hearing. Public comments or concerns are directed to the merits of the application. Council cannot entertain any other discussion unrelated to the specific application.
Citizens occasionally construe a Public Hearing as their opportunity to question Council members. However, Council members are not obliged to answer questions in this forum.
Many of the procedures that Council follows at a Public Hearing, and in the period before the by-law changing the zoning is enacted, are beyond the control of City Council. They are dictated by court decisions on the procedures followed by municipalities in BC and other provinces in dealing with previous zoning by-law changes.
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How do I communicate my opinions to Council?
Options to convey your opinions regarding an application on a Public Hearing item include:
By Writing:
- Email your comments to mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca.
- Mail or deliver your written comments to:
Mayor and Council
City of Vancouver
c/o City Clerk's Office
3rd Floor 453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
Council will receive all correspondence before the matter is considered.
By Appearing In Person:
You may register to speak at the Public Hearing by:
- Email: publichearing@vancouver.ca
- Phone: 604.829.4238
- Go to City Hall on the day of the Public Hearing and register to speak at the sign-up table between 7 pm and 7:30 pm
View the City's Meeting Schedule, and access all meeting agendas and minutes.
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What happens at a Public Hearing?
As with most meetings, the Chair of the Public Hearing will call speakers in the order in which they are registered. Speakers should keep their comments concise and have regard for other speakers. Council may ask the speaker questions. Council will hear all registered speakers. If there are many speakers, you may have to attend more than one meeting.
When Council has heard from all registered speakers, Council will make a decision at the same or a subsequent meeting. Council's decision can be obtained from the City Clerk's office and from the meetings web page.
Agenda package
Each application has its own agenda package consisting of:
- item number and title page (green paper);
- a summary of the proposal and the staff recommendation, including details of any conditions of approval recommended to Council (white paper);
- a draft by-law detailing the proposed changes to the existing by-law (white paper);
- a background report from City staff to Council, outlining and assessing the application (pink paper);
- a copy of the courtesy notification letter (if applicable) sent to surrounding property owners advising them of the application and Public Hearing (white paper);
- draft guidelines (if applicable) to augment administration of the by-law changes, if approved (blue paper); and
- a memo to Council providing information (if any) that arose after the background report or draft by-law were prepared (yellow paper).
Public Hearing - the steps
- The City Clerk makes copies of the agenda package available for people arriving at the Public Hearing and records the names of those who wish to address Council (speakers may choose to pre-register, or can register a half-hour before the hearing starts). People may address Council if their name is not on the list, after those on the list have concluded speaking. The list, given to the Mayor at the beginning of the meeting, provides order to the speakers and indicates how many people will speak.
- The City Clerk completes "roll call" to confirm attendance and a Council quorum, and then reads the first agenda item. The Clerk also provides a summary to Council of all written correspondence received in connection with the item/application since the date the application was referred to Public Hearing before Council.
- Planning staff explain the application and the staff recommendation before Council. The applicant is then called upon to add any further explanation or reasons why the application should be approved, and any comments on the staff recommendation.
- The Mayor proceeds with delegations from the public, in order, using the list of names provided by the City Clerk. When the last person whose name is on the list has spoken, the Mayor will call three times for any others who wish to address Council on the application. Every person wishing to speak to Council is given an opportunity to do so.
- When staff, the applicant or delegations from the public are providing comments on the application, the Mayor provides an opportunity for Council members to pose questions in order to obtain clarity on what is being said. The Mayor may also allow Council members to direct questions to staff or the applicant in response to comments made by delegations from the public. Council's role at a Public Hearing is to listen to the public. Council does not debate or challenge the comments being offered but may question what they hear in order to be clear as to what is being said. All comments presented to City Council are to be to the merits of the application before Council. Other comments are out of order.
- When the last delegation from the public has been heard, the Mayor provides the applicant with an opportunity to provide brief summary comments. The same opportunity is then provided to staff and the Public Hearing is then concluded.
After a Public Meeting
When the Public Hearing has concluded, Council frequently will proceed to immediately discussing the application and reach a decision. When this discussion occurs, it is a discussion of City Council; the Public Hearing is over and no further public delegations can be heard. (In some instances, particularly when Council members need more time to consider what they have heard, the Council simply adjourns and conducts its discussion and decision at a later date, most commonly at the next regular meeting of City Council.)
During the Council discussion, the Mayor may allow Council members to seek clarification or technical advice from staff in response to possible decisions Council may be considering.
The Council discussion usually starts with a motion from a member of Council (to refuse or approve the application, or approve it in an amended form). Some or all members of Council may comment on the application, providing reasons as to why they agree or disagree with the motion.
After all members of Council wishing to speak have done so, the Mayor calls for a vote on the motion. If it fails, other motions are often put forward and voted on. A decision is reached once a majority of Council members attending the Public Hearing vote in favour of a motion.
If Council votes to approve the application (with or without amendments), the approval commonly carries with it various conditions that the applicant has to fulfill before the by-law that will finalize the change to the zoning is presented to Council for enactment.
In the period between Council approval and enactment of the by-law, Council members attending the Public Hearing cannot discuss the application with the applicant or the public. This is to prevent Council receiving information that would otherwise be unavailable to either the applicant or the public.
If the Council decision following the Public Hearing is to refuse the application, a similar application may not be submitted for one calendar year. Council may waive this period for consideration of a new application if, in its opinion, circumstances have sufficiently changed to warrant earlier consideration.
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