Article content continued

Developers are still worried, though, that the province’s February budget may contain policies that could dampen their outlook.

But, said McAllister, there is hope that “the NDP is more moderate and learned from its (Liberal) predecessors (who brought in a foreign buyers tax). … We hope and pray they don’t get silly. … We hope they are responsible.”

It’s expected there will be taxes aimed at property speculators and a registry for tracking condo pre-sale contracts and assignment of those contracts, said McAllister. But, he added, there will likely be more money for building subsidized housing units.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

Time is money and Todd Yuen, who heads the industrial development arm of Beedie Development Group, called on municipalities to invest in attracting more staff, including “the best and brightest,” to more quickly and better process development applications.

An informal poll of those at the luncheon showed 54 per cent believe no one party will win a majority in the next Vancouver election. Around 35 per cent picked the NPA to win with only eight per cent predicting a victory for Vision.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

“There might be more volatility in council with members crossing back and forth as opposed to them voting following the party line,” said Jon Stovell, president of Reliance Properties, who moderated the discussion.

Beedie’s Yuen said the developers must be far more careful about public scrutiny.

Developers rallied around his company’s residential arm, Beedie Living, in criticizing city staff after Vancouver’s development permit board rejected an application to build a controversial condo project at a site in Chinatown.