Villages Plan update: the hearing opens, and Council nears a decision
One of the largest rezonings in Vancouver's history reached its public hearing this week — drawing hundreds of speakers and nearly 2,000 written submissions. Here's where things stand.
After an 18-month planning process, Vancouver's Villages Plan finally reached City Council for a public hearing beginning Tuesday, July 14, 2026. It is, by almost any measure, one of the biggest single planning decisions the city has ever taken — and the room reflected it.
A hearing at full volume
More than 200 people registered to speak, and the city received over 1,900 written submissions — the majority of them opposed. That level of engagement is unusual even for a contentious rezoning, and it underscores how much is riding on the outcome. Supporters frame the plan as a badly needed, predictable path to more housing along established high streets; opponents question the scale, the speed, and the impact on existing renters and neighbourhood character.
What's on the table
The proposal would upzone roughly 13,700 parcels — about 14% of all lots in Vancouver, spread across 17 areas and some 577 city blocks. It would allow low-rise housing generally up to six storeys (with eight possible in provincially designated Transit-Oriented Areas or for certain below-market and social housing projects), small mixed-use buildings, and — per the plan — on the order of a million square feet of new neighbourhood retail.
The most consequential feature remains the pre-zoning mechanism: because the plan amends the city's overarching land-use plan, once it's approved, individual projects that fit the new rules would no longer need their own public hearings. That's precisely why this single vote carries so much weight — it sets the rules for thousands of future projects at once.
The politics
The governing ABC Vancouver majority has signalled support, which makes approval — potentially with amendments — the widely expected outcome. But the process itself has become a flashpoint: opposition councillors this week accused ABC of playing politics after the party used its majority to cancel the last scheduled committee meeting before the summer break. Expect the manner of approval, and any conditions attached, to draw as much attention as the vote itself.
What happens next
If Council approves and enacts the changes this month, the new rules are slated to take effect in October 2026, giving staff a few months to prepare. Privately initiated, project-based rezonings under the plan could begin to be processed as soon as it's approved. The three things worth watching: whether the plan passes as written or with amendments, which specific boundaries and zoning designations are finalized, and how quickly the market responds once the rules are certain.
Bottom line: the decision that's been 18 months in the making is now down to a Council vote — and whichever way it goes, it will shape what gets built across a large part of Vancouver for years. We'll update this post with the result as soon as it's confirmed.