TEAM URGES COUNCIL TO REJECT PLAN ALLOWING 20-STOREY SOCIAL HOUSING TOWERS IN VAST AREAS OF VANCOUVER

Social housing belongs throughout the city, but it should be at scale, and residents must be consulted

VANCOUVER (Dec. 2, 2025) --TEAM for a Livable Vancouver thinks there’s a better way of planning for social housing than cutting out residents’ voices in half the city’s residential land area.

City Hall should be collaborating with neighbourhoods to ensure social housing of the suitable form and scale is built, says TEAM.

Instead, the new Social Housing Initiative would allow 20-storey towers on 32% of Vancouver’s residential land area – 35,157 lots -- and six-storey buildings on 17% of the land area – 17,592 lots. That means social housing can be built on 49% of residential land, bypassing the public hearing process.

“This would allow new towers randomly jackhammered into quiet, low-scale residential streets at 10 times the existing height and density. With no public hearings,” said former TEAM councillor Colleen Hardwick. “And many of the areas expected to accommodate new families if this passes don’t have space for their kids in local schools. What kind of planning is that?”

Like many speakers at a Nov. 27 public hearing, Hardwick noted that only 30% of so-called social housing must be below-market. “This is an example of ‘shiny keys’ marketing of development,” she said. “Look at the shiny social housing keys and ignore the other 70% market development that is inflating land values.”

TEAM also questions why such vast areas of the city are included in the plan, since staff said only about 10 social-housing buildings go up every year. The plan is not expected to increase that number.

As retired architect, planner and property developer Michael Geller told Council: “This is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

TEAM urges Council to reject the plan when it comes up for a vote on Dec. 9.