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The City recognizes that rezoning areas and increasing permitted densities can act as a catalyst by increasing the value of land. In order to limit land value speculation prior to the adoption of an approved plan, we’re adopting a new approach that evaluates the land value prior to the launch of new planning programs that reflects the development potential under existing zoning. We can set future land-use policies and public benefit strategies based on that evaluation. The city will put in place clear policies that require land value increases to be recaptured in the form of affordable housing and other public amenities.

While the city can take the kinds of actions outlined above, many of the tools for addressing speculation and investor demand rest with senior levels of government. Through Housing Vancouver, we have identified the need to work more closely with governments in Victoria and Ottawa to look at how the taxation and financial regulation systems can be brought to bear to limit the impacts of speculative investment on our communities. We want to collaborate with senior governments to explore how measures like flipping taxes and new approaches to property taxation could work. We also see opportunities to monitor and learn from approaches in other cities around the world, such as recent actions taken in New Zealand to limit foreign access to ownership.

While these actions will address the demand side of the equation, we also know that there needs to be more affordable housing. The actions in Housing Vancouver will facilitate a major shift toward delivering what we are calling “the right supply” — homes for people who live and work in the city — including substantial increases in rental, social and co-operative housing. We also know that we need more diverse and affordable options for families, such as townhouses and infill development. To achieve this shift, Housing Vancouver sets aggressive housing supply targets. About 72,000 new homes are projected as part of the new targets, with nearly half of these aimed at households with incomes less than $80,000 per year, and 40 per cent appropriate for families with children. Approximately two-thirds of new homes will be rental housing.

There is no silver bullet that will solve Vancouver’s housing crisis. Concerted effort on many fronts is required. The City is making sustained commitment over the long-term to create a healthy housing market that provides homes rather than investments, and we call on all levels of government and community partners to do the same.

Dan Garrison is assistant director of housing policy and Gil Kelley is general manager for planning, urban design, and sustainability, both with the City of Vancouver.