Street in the Downtown Eastside with cars

City advances new actions to strengthen the Downtown Eastside

November 6 2025 –

Yesterday, Vancouver City Council approved, with amendments, a coordinated set of actions to strengthen the Downtown Eastside (DTES), including new programs, policies and tools that support housing, local business, community wellbeing and public safety.  
  
The actions align with the 2014 Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan (LAP) and bring together over a decade of Council-directed work through a new cross-departmental approach focused on four key areas:

  • Healthy homes for all: Council approved new investments to stabilize and improve Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing, including allocating $2 million for SRO upgrading grants for urgent life-safety repairs. These actions are part of the broader SRO Revitalization Framework, which coordinates efforts across all levels of government. While the City’s long-term goal is to replace aging SROs with safe, self-contained social housing, in the interim, SROs remain a critical part of the housing continuum and must be maintained to prevent room loss.
  • Vibrant and inclusive local economy: To revitalize the DTES economy, Council endorsed a coordinated approach that lowers barriers for entrepreneurs and supports inclusive growth. This includes the Temporary Occupancy Permit Pilot (TOPP), which enables six common business types to activate vacant storefronts through a streamlined permitting process.
  • Improved wellbeing for all: The City continues to invest in expanded mental health and substance use services in the DTES. Council directed staff to advocate for sustained provincial funding for two daytime drop-in spaces, ensuring continued access to washrooms, storage, and safe indoor space for community members.
  • Safe, accessible public realm: Council requested federal bail and sentencing reform to ensure that high-risk, repeat violent offenders are not released into the community while awaiting trial, and encouraged the expanded use of diversion courts for appropriate low-risk, non-violent offenders so that the Crown and the Courts can focus their limited capacity on high-risk, repeat violent offenders.

Council also referred to public hearing the DTES Housing Implementation Report (16.2 MB), which proposes amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law and related policies and guidelines in order to advance DTES Plan goals to revitalize the neighbourhood without displacing existing residents. The public hearing is currently scheduled for December 9, 2025.

The City will continue working with the federal and provincial governments and community partners to deliver on these actions and will report back annually on progress and outcomes. 

Read the full DTES Directions and Initiatives: Actions Update Council report (984 KB).

Review the final motion as amended (128 KB)