PROVINCE KILLING LOCAL DEMOCRACY WITH BILLS 13 AND 15, SAYS TEAM FOR A LIVABLE VANCOUVER

NEW RULES EXCLUDE THE PUBLIC AND GIVE THE PROVINCE CONTROL OVER VIRTUALLY ALL DEVELOPMENT IN VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER, May 12, 2025 – The provincial government is killing local democracy, says TEAM for a Livable Vancouver.

TEAM strongly opposes blatantly anti-democratic Bills 13 and 15, which will silence residents and give the province control over virtually all local development -- even down to the details of landscaping. Negotiation has been replaced by command.

“Removing control over land use change from local government and transferring it to the provincial government is the latest step in undermining our democracy,” says former TEAM City Councillor Colleen Hardwick. “This increasingly top-down, centralized, autocratic control removes all accountability to residents.”

Bill 13 gives the province power over zoning, building permits, affordable housing and sign bylaws. It guts the Vancouver Charter, so any local rule “has no effect” if it doesn’t align with provincial rules.

Bill 15 gives Victoria control over “provincially significant” infrastructure projects, including transit-oriented developments (TODs), which cover much of Vancouver.  This means the province has virtually complete control of the zoning process.

These bills are an unprecedented power grab by a provincial government which, like Ken Sim’s ABC, has drunk the pro-developer, supply-side Kool-Aid.

TEAM for a Livable Vancouver urges Vancouver residents to tell their MLAs and the members of City Council that enough is enough: we need to preserve the city’s autonomy under the Vancouver Charter. Local democracy is worth fighting for. 

City Council, meanwhile, will hold a public hearing on May 15 regarding the proposed rezoning of 1780 E. Broadway – the Broadway and Commercial Safeway site. TEAM supports local residents who are opposed to a plan to build massive megatowers there.

“These megatowers are being proposed in a community that has a proven track-record as being very open and welcoming to increased density, but what Commercial Drive locals like myself are taking issue with is the affordability of the new housing,” says Theodore Abbott, who ran for TEAM in the recent civic by-election.

“Council needs to consider the cultural and community context of the Broadway and Commercial site, they need to think about what the average income is for folks in this neighbourhood, and then, they need to ask staff to come up with a plan for this project to include real affordable housing,” says Abbott.