Dear Neighbours and Supporters,

On February 8th, City staff released the Broadway Plan Phase 3 Engagement Summary, containing the feedback received during the flaccid public consultation at the end of 2021. You can read the Summary here (click here). 

"Well-being starts with livability, human scale development, resident support for major changes, new parks, new schools and new community centres."

- Survey Response

The Summary responses make it clear that City staff have not listened to concerns about the massive changes proposed, and the lack of planning for parks, schools, amenities and sustainability.  The FSGAC performed a thorough critique of the Phase 3 Plan in the fall and discovered a litany of serious problems, inconsistencies, gaps and irregularities (click here). We have reviewed the Summary and noticed the following:  

• The Summary continues staff’s usual strategy of saying a lot without saying anything of consequence or specificity.  This is what happens when you fill surveys with vague, broadly-worded questions and create plans that aren’t based on facts or verified data.  

• The feedback emphasizes the public's dislike of the proposed building heights, the desire for more affordable housing, and the preference for smaller buildings that encourage community building.

• The feedback reflects ongoing, serious concerns about the lack of plans for new schools, community centres, parks and amenities. 

• The Summary reports public support for the Refined Directions but also reports concerns about the proposed heights and densities, the impact on livability and the lack of parks, schools, community centres and amenities.  How can the data support the Refined Directions but also report concerns about such fundamental aspects of the Refined Directions? Does this inconsistency betray a survey designed to elicit positive responses?    

• The demographic data presented on Slide 24 is deceptively incomplete:  

  • The "Distribution of responses" implies that most of the respondents live in the scope area, however, the slide doesn't explicitly state this. How many of these responses are from people who "work, play and visit", but don't live in the scope area?  Moreover, the slide doesn't report the number of responses which came from people who don't live in Vancouver, as we’ve seen in the other Broadway Plan updates.  Are staff misreporting the response data?

  • The slide also provides an age-based analysis of the survey respondents. Why is staff presenting only an age-based analysis?  Where are the analyses based on income, gender, household size, etc.?  Moreover, how was this demographic data verified?

The City of Vancouver owes residents a clear, detailed, fulsome Broadway Plan based on facts, verified data and resident input, as well as the opportunity for the public to review and critique this Plan, well in advance of the Public Hearing. Once the Plan is delivered to Council, residents' opportunity for discussion and input is all but eliminated.  Furthermore, Councillors should demand that staff provide the full survey results to them – each and every question, together with a breakdown of the responses, number of respondents, and residency of those respondents. 

We're entering the home stretch, and its clear that City staff are keen to ram this Plan through before the election.  The Draft Plan engagement begins at the end of February and goes until the middle of March, during which we will have additional opportunities to provide feedback.  Please stay-tuned - you can sign-up for updates on the project website (click here). 

We appreciate your ongoing interest and support,  

Fairview/South Granville Action Committee