VANCOUVER—Burnaby mayoral candidate Mike Hurley says if he is elected, no new real estate development will go forward unless developers have a plan in place to re-house existing tenants at the same rent rates they pay now.

Hurley, a retired firefighter, is challenging current mayor Derek Corrigan, who has held the office for 16 years. Corrigan has faced criticism over the demolition of hundreds of affordable rental apartments as older buildings in the Metrotown neighbourhood are replaced by condo towers.

The promise of a development moratorium only applies to projects that have not yet been approved, and is meant to provide peace of mind to the many residents who know their building has been sold and know they will be evicted in the next few years, Hurley said.

“This is not just Metrotown, it’s all through Metrotown,” Hurley said. “There are many stock of buildings that are ready for replacement and we need to come up with a plan with how we’re going to do that the right way — and we’re going to be aggressive about how we do that.”

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Burnaby has already lost over 700 rental units over the past seven years, a rapid rate of loss that outstrips any other Metro Vancouver municipality. Hurley acknowledged the development restriction won’t do anything to help those who have already been evicted.

“Hopefully we can encourage them to come back to the area once we have the right buildings in place,” he said.

Hurley is also promising to immediately strike a housing task force that would report back to city council on recommendations for a long-term housing plan. But he said he’s interested in looking into a city-owned land authority, increasing the number of housing co-ops and allowing infill options like laneway homes in neighbourhoods zoned for single family homes.

Corrigan officially announced on Sept. 12 that he will run for mayor again, but his party, the Burnaby Citizens Association, has yet to release its platform.

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