{"id":490641,"date":"2026-02-21T20:34:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/490641\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T20:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:34:24","slug":"vancouvers-plan-to-die-and-what-we-can-do-to-save-this-city-delay-or-defeat-the-official-destruction-plan-cc-206-by-brian-palmquist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/490641\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver\u2019s \u2018plan to die\u2019 and what we can do to save this city: Delay or defeat the Official Destruction Plan (CC# 206, by Brian Palmquist)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brian Palmquist first published City Conversation #206 on\u00a0Substack on 20-Feb-2026<\/a>. The full title was \u201cVancouver\u2019s Plan to die and what we can do to save it\u2014#9 Delay or defeat the Vancouver Official Destruction Plan (CC# 206\u2014My remarks about the Plan at a recent community meeting)<\/p>\n

.\u201dReprinted here with permission. For a list of his City Conversations published on\u00a0CityHallWatch, please\u00a0visit this page<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As noted, this item goes to perhaps the most important Public Hearing in a generation on March 10, 2026. There are many problems with process and content of the Official Development Plan. See additional info here on our portal page on the topic. https:\/\/cityhallwatch.wordpress.com\/odp\/<\/a><\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As more and more Vancouver residents\u2014who the current Director of Planning refers to pejoratively as \u201cincumbents\u201d(note 1)\u2014 become aware and concerned about the Vancouver Official Development Plan (VODP)\u2014or what I call Vancouver\u2019s Official\u00a0Destruction\u00a0Plan, it becomes increasingly essential that residents understand in plain terms what the 249-page VODP holds in store for them. Hence this post.<\/p>\n

Some key starting points:<\/p>\n

The VODP is an interim plan until 2030, which can be amended or repealed by a simple majority of Council at any time before or after that date. (note 2)<\/p>\n

The VODP covers the\u00a0entire\u00a0city, but includes in its details all of the existing and proposed area plans such as False Creek South, Jericho, False Creek North, etc.<\/p>\n

The VODP replaces more than 70 neighbourhoood plans, design guidelines, City Plan conclusions, etc.\u2014all of the work of thousands of citizens over many years has been repealed and discarded.<\/p>\n

Every municipality in BC with more than 5,000 population is\u00a0mandated by the provincial government\u00a0to produce an Official Community Plan (OCP) this year\u2014same as the VODP. So far 16 municipalities have joined together to demand a judicial review of the legislation mandating OCPs\/VODP\u2014Vancouver has not joined this effort so far.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s out?<\/p>\n

The VODP includes virtually no references to existing neighbourhoods. Here\u2019s the number of references to a sample of neighbourhoods a simple search of the 249-page VODP reveals: (note 3)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the replacement for our 22 neighbourhoods, whose historic boundaries are not shown anywhere in the VODP? Why, seven neighbourhood \u201ctypes\u201d strewn around the city with no apparent or published logic other than spot rezonings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: The Vancouver ODP\u2019s seven neighbourhood types (note 4)<\/p>\n

These seven fuzzy-edged\u00a0Neighbourhood Types\u00a0are suitably illustrated (below) as our\u00a0Urban Structure Strategy: (note 5)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: The \u201cUrban Structure Strategy.\u201d Fuzzy edges for fuzzy thinking?<\/p>\n

Fortunately for those of us still scratching our heads, the VODP includes a description (below) of what the\u00a0Urban Structure Strategy\u00a0is: (note 6)<\/p>\n

\"\"Above: The official definition of Vancouver\u2019s proposed \u201cUrban Structure Strategy.\u201c<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s not clear enough, there are illustrations of what\u2019s in store. In each case (below), please look at the city map to the right of the illustrations\u2014the lighter coloured areas are where this form of development can occur: (note 7)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: Proposed \u201cRapid Transit Areas\u201d include the rest of Kits and West Point Grey from 1st to 16th Avenues, most of Cambie, all of 41st Ave, Hastings and most of the rest of Kingsway<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: \u201cNeighbourhood Centres\u201d includes many of the same areas as the Rapid Transit Areas with their 26 storeys. Confused?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: \u201cVillages\u201d include 27 areas mostly outside of existing, sometimes struggling neighbourhood shopping areas, as well as some overlaps with more dense areas. Villages have never been defined or explained by city staff\u2014they just magically appeared!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: \u201cMultiplexes\u201d can now be built almost anywhere in the city.<\/p>\n

There are huge differences in the data around just how many more folks the VODP wants the citizens of Vancouver to host over the next 30 years. The most conservative number I\u2019ve found is 250,000 (note 8)\u00a0more folks by 2050 than the 700,000+ we already have\u2014too bad the current onslaught of development proposals will get to those additional 250,000 folks by 2034.<\/p>\n

Where will those extra 250,000 or more folks recreate? (note 9) See \u201cParks\u201d below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: The VODP shows 22 new parks, or slightly less than one per 1,000 new residents. Unfortunately these new parks are mostly tiny and, ironically, distributed to the areas already deemed park rich. The red boxes above show concentrations of \u201cnew\u201d parks: Jericho Lands; Riverview district; False Creek; Marpole\/Langara.<\/p>\n

Of greater significance is the miniscule area of these parks. <\/p>\n

When False Creek South and North and Coal Harbour were developed, they offered the city 2.75 acres of new park per 1,000 population\u2014their legacy is enjoyed by all citizens. If we assume these parks have absorbed all of the city\u2019s growth for the past 40 years or so, and we need to provide new parks at the same ratio, then we need ten Langara golf courses to accommodate the conservative numbers for growth\u2014not 22 micro dots.<\/p>\n

What about community facilities?<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the next 30 years, community facilities will need to respond to a growing, diverse, and changing population. Upgrades and investments are necessary to keep pace with population growth and to ensure equitable access. At the same time, we need to ensure our network of community infrastructure is financially sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above quote: Pages 142-143 of the VODP \u201caddress\u201d community facilities. The paragraph is notable for what it excludes: any spatial or budgetary provisions for community facilities.<\/p>\n

What about schools?<\/p>\n

As we enter the election period, we need to remember what Vancouver\u2019s School Board proposes for its existing schools:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: Screenshot from VSB report showing redacted list of sites deemed to be \u201csurplus.\u201d The report that proposes to sell off up to 40 schools or parts has been removed from the school board website, but the plan itself remains in place, redactions and all.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

What you can do about Vancouver\u2019s Official\u00a0Destruction\u00a0Plan?<\/p>\n

Write the Mayor + Councillors<\/p>\n

Save the ODP Public Hearing date: March 10<\/p>\n

Speak at it!<\/p>\n

Follow CityHallWatch<\/a> for the details<\/p>\n

Follow City Conversations<\/a> for more information<\/p>\n

Vote for the folks who are clearly against the current proposed ODP<\/p>\n

What you can do before the next election?<\/p>\n

In the lead up to next October\u2019s civic elections, let\u2019s keep it simple. Every time you meet a candidate for Council or Mayor, you need only ask one question:<\/p>\n

Ask politicians + candidates:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf elected, will you repeal or pause implementation of the ODP pending comprehensive community consultation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then vote according to the clarity of their answers\u2014yes\u00a0or\u00a0no\u00a0are clear enough. You cannot assume that any incumbents will act in your interests. After all,\u00a0every\u00a0Councillor, representing ABC, COPE, OneCity and the Greens voted in favour of Vancouver\u2019s Official\u00a0Destruction\u00a0Plan. None of these parties, nor the newly created Vancouver Liberals, have indicated any interest in revisiting the VODP.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

NOTES<\/p>\n

This in contrast to those who might someday like to live in the city but are not here yet\u2026if they even exist.<\/p>\n

Vancouver Charter clause 562.02 <\/p>\n

One need only download the 80+ megabyte document, then search the words.<\/p>\n

City of Vancouver Official Development Plan \u2013 RTS 18341, page 9<\/p>\n

City of Vancouver Official Development Plan \u2013 RTS 18341, page 61<\/p>\n

City of Vancouver Official Development Plan \u2013 RTS 18341, page 53<\/p>\n

City of Vancouver Official Development Plan \u2013 RTS 18341, pages 66-73<\/p>\n

250,000 is the share Metro Vancouver\u2019s regional growth strategy assigns to Vancouver. The city\u2019s own guesstimates are up to 925,000\u2014quite a range.<\/p>\n

City of Vancouver Official Development Plan \u2013 RTS 18341, page 159, annotated by me to try to find the hollow dot parks and indicate what\u2019s really needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brian Palmquist first published City Conversation #206 on\u00a0Substack on 20-Feb-2026. The full title was \u201cVancouver\u2019s Plan to die…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-490641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}