Big plans for affordable housing in Vancouver

Mayor Gregor Robertson and the Vision Vancouver majority on City Council are proposing construction of 1,100 units of affordable housing over three years, The Vancouver Sun reports.  This would nearly double the number of units in the city’s stock of subsidized housing.

The paper in British Columbia's largest city says:

In the past, the city has provided city-owned land to non-profit housing operators, who build the units with funding from the provincial government. The city usually acquires land through density and development swaps with developers. But this plan calls for the city to invest $42 million over the next three years in land acquisition and grants of its own to build housing. The program would nearly double the number of units in city-owned facilities. 

Councillor Suzanne Anton, the Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate, opposes the plan, saying, “The city already pulls well above its weight in providing something that is rightfully the responsibility of the provincial and federal government. I would not be carrying through with this under my administration. I will take the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars this council is spending on rental housing and put it into genuine public benefits.” She identified community centers, rinks, swimming pools, and senior centers as needing some of the money that Robertson would spend to build housing.

The issue is being discussed about two months before Vancouver's next election.