CVN sent the following letter to Mayor and Council as official input on Motion B5 at the Regular Council meeting of December 4, 2018 (carried over to December 5 for speakers and discussion).
December 5, 2018
City of Vancouver Mayor & Council
Dear Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Councillors,
Re: Motion B5 – Land Value Capture in the City of Vancouver
https://council.vancouver.ca/20181204/documents/motionb5.pdf
The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods (CVN) cannot support this motion.
We agree that land value inflation due to increased density with rezoning is a concern. We also agree that a review of CACs and DCLs and how they are being applied should be considered in the context of a citywide plan. However, we do have concerns with the proposals in general. Our first issue would be that there is no mention of communities being involved in the work of putting together any of this proposed policy.
An additional major concern is this section:
“vi. Outlining next steps for the City of Vancouver to work with the Province to develop a ‘made-in-Vancouver’ land value capture. And outlining next steps for working with Translink to model a land value capture mechanism for transit infrastructure investments, including partially funding an extension of the Broadway subway to UBC.”
We continue to be troubled with the linkage between transit funding and development, since it diverts DCLs and CACs away from necessary civic services and amenities, and does nothing for affordability.
We do acknowledge the urgency to raise revenues to address the need for truly affordable housing, but would like to see community involvement in these decision-making processes, along with policy makers, researchers, and BC Assessment. We are also concerned that the motion lacks a clear definition of this tax, and look forward to a clarification.
We would appreciate the opportunity to work with Council and Planning to resolve these issues.
Sincerely,
Larry Benge, Co-Chair,
Dorothy Barkley, Co-Chair
On behalf of the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods
