Vancouver Heritage Foundation voices concerns over city’s new housing policy

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation says the city’s proposed “missing middle” housing policy could put historic sites at risk of demolition.

Foundation spokesperson Alison McNeil says, as developers look to build more multiplexes, they could purchase the heritage buildings and tear them down.

“They won’t want to save them if they can make a better return on their investment by tearing them down – which is the case now,” she said.

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Vancouver city council’s missing middle housing plan is considering to add buildings up to six units on a single lot in low density neighbourhoods. The policy change would mean more low-rises, townhouses, and other multiplexes in residential zones. As of now, zoning laws allow limited housing options in residential areas, this includes mostly houses, laneway houses and duplexes.

“There’s something called floor space ratio in planner speak, and this is about how much density you can put on the lot,” McNeil explained. “If you retain the home, the heritage home, the city will give you less density than if you bulldoze and put in a new multiplex.”

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation sent a letter to the mayor and council on Tuesday expressing their concerns — saying, as of November 2022, there were over 2200 houses on the city’s heritage register, and only about 30 per cent have official legal protection. McNeil says there are even fewer heritage homes protected by law in threatened residential zones.

Meanwhile, University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business associate professor Thomas Davidoff tells CityNews creating new housing is a need, but saving the heritage homes is a want.

“It’s probably worth protecting some older buildings because we do have some beautiful old buildings in Vancouver, but it’s not a reason to derail missing middle,” he said.

“I think heritage preservation is great for seriously significant architectural buildings, I think it should be a high bar for that preservation, but generally retaining a structure and allowing extra density for not tearing down a perfectly good building makes good environmental sense.”

McNeil says there is a way to find some common ground by preserving the past, rather than starting development from scratch.

“I believe there are many projects that demonstrate you can put multi-family and retain that heritage home all on the same lot. So it can be a win-win for the city. We don’t have to lose our heritage homes and it’s a greener solution too,” she said.

The city is now in phase four of the its missing middle housing plan. The heritage foundation says it plans to voice its concerns to council Thursday, as it says there’s a way to tweak the policy to retain heritage homes while also creating more spaces for people to live.