By Carol Volkart
Vancouver city council has unanimously approved the new citywide Official Development Plan after two sessions of a public hearing on March 10 and 11.
Speakers at the hearing were sharply divided on the merits of the plan, which will guide the city’s growth and change over the next 30 years.
However, correspondence to council about the ODP was heavily opposed, with 294 responses against and 51 in favour.
Proponents largely argued that the ODP is needed to increase housing supply. Opponents said it is being imposed without proper consultation, will erase neighbourhoods, and will harm democracy by banning public hearings for many developments.
Many arguing against the plan cited a letter to council from 30 experts in planning and urban design who said the ODP relies on the “flawed principles of primarily promoting more supply entitlements that inflate land values, and displace thousands of residents, without addressing the fundamental lack of affordable housing. This is doing more harm than good for the public interest.”
(More on the debate later.)
Final vote results for Official Development Plan. Councillors of all parties approved it.
Correspondence on the ODP proposal was heavily opposed.
Totally amazing how council, who is supposedly representing the citizens who voted for them, could vote for the ODP that most citizens oppose!
Hope the citizens remember when it comes to the next election.
If “correspondence to council about the ODP was heavily opposed, with 294 responses against and 51 in favour,” then how could it be approved?