Community Amenity Contribution to accelerate project

Summary#

Vancouver City Council adopted a change to the conditions for a rezoning approved in principle for 4339–4387 Cambie Street and 506 West 27th Avenue. The change revises the Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) calculation and adds tenant-support requirements; it does not enact the rezoning by-law. The stated goal is to support the project’s viability and timely delivery of housing.

  • If the rezoning by-law is enacted within 24 months of this decision, and the applicant has met all conditions, the CAC will be $1.95 million. If not, it rises in steps to a maximum of $4 million.
  • The applicant must provide a Tenant Relocation Plan with additional help for eligible tenants in four existing secondary-rental units to find new housing.
  • The project approved in principle is a nine-storey mixed-use building with 148 strata homes, ground-floor commercial space, a height of 28.7 metres and density of 3.6 FSR (floor space ratio).
  • The change does not alter the development cost levies or public-art contribution already secured. It does not itself enact the rezoning or give the applicant a legal right to have it enacted.

What it means for you#

  • Eligible tenants: The applicant must provide added help to find housing, based on tenants’ stated needs. For tenants who meet income eligibility, proposed housing must have rent no more than 20% below city-wide average rents. Low-income tenants and tenants facing other barriers, including seniors, must be assisted in securing a permanent affordable, accessible or otherwise appropriate option, as applicable under the City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy.
  • Tenants seeking a home in the new building: The project is for strata housing, not rental housing. The report says tenants will not be offered a right to return to the new building.
  • Applicant and City: The applicant’s CAC depends on when the City enacts the rezoning by-law. Council’s decision does not require the City to enact it, and costs incurred by the owner remain at the owner’s risk.
  • Other residents: The decision does not change the approved-in-principle building’s size or housing type.

Money#

The City’s cost estimate is not provided; the applicant’s CAC may be lower than the previously approved $4 million.

  • CAC is $1.95 million if all enactment conditions are met and the by-law is enacted within 24 months of the decision. If enactment takes longer, the amount rises by $250,000 every three months, to a maximum of $4 million at about 48 months.
  • Development cost levies and the public-art contribution are unchanged.
  • The CAC will support delivery of the Cambie Corridor Plan Benefits Strategy, as before.

What is unclear#

  • The adopted motion refers to Appendix A for the exact revised conditions, but that appendix is not included in the supplied material. The full wording of the binding conditions could not be verified.
  • The material does not explain how tenant income eligibility will be assessed, how housing options will be judged appropriate, or what happens if suitable housing cannot be secured.
  • The actual CAC amount depends on whether and when the City enacts the rezoning by-law; the decision does not set an enactment date.
  • No publicly available information is provided about the City’s administrative costs or the value of the unchanged development cost levies and public-art contribution.

Case for#

  • City staff say the lower CAC could help the project proceed in current market conditions and support timely delivery of the 148 approved-in-principle homes.
  • The stepped CAC gives the applicant a financial incentive to complete the rezoning conditions and seek enactment sooner, while allowing the amount to rise toward $4 million if enactment takes longer.
  • The added tenant supports address the fact that the strata project will not provide rental homes for existing tenants to return to.

Case against#

  • The City could receive $1.95 million rather than the previously secured $4 million CAC if the project meets the conditions and is enacted within 24 months.
  • The new homes are strata, so tenants in the existing rental units will not have a right to return to the development. The decision relies on assistance finding other housing instead.
  • The supplied material does not show how the added tenant-support requirements will be enforced or what remedy applies if appropriate housing is not secured.