Jericho Lands mystery ODP puzzle pieces finally coming together...badly
CC # 153: City answers to public questions make clear the undemocratic way forward to a final public hearing in two months or less.
The applicant’s illustrative view looking north1
“Illustrative Site Plan” from the draft Jericho ODP2 showing building heights….NOT!
In less than two months Vancouver City Council will be considering for adoption the Jericho Lands Official Development Plan (ODP). Yet after a six-year development program, albeit challenged by COVID, the grey site plan above is what’s on offer to illustrate the form of development of this 90-acre site, less than half the size of False Creek North (FCN), whose ODP was developed with continuous public input in just 18 months.3
The current draft ODP was published this month (February 2025) with an expectation of adoption in April 2025. Why this acceleration of schedule and lack of detail? Hard to say, but it’s all generated a significant number of questions to city staff managing the city side of the process.
To clarify as much as possible what’s been going on this past year, I’ve analyzed some4 of the public’s questions (in bold) about the Jericho Lands ODP and more importantly, the city’s answers in italics5. I found it necessary to divide the questions into the four categories below6:
Timing & Process
Will there be public hearings for each rezoning after the ODP is approved? Will there be public consultation at Council for the ODP itself?
We expect that City Council will consider the ODP at a public hearing in April 2025. Members of the public will have the opportunity to share their views with Council in-person and/or by written submission.
Following Council adoption of the ODP, the Jericho Lands development will progress through phased rezoning applications, which will be guided by the Policy Statement and ODP. Rezonings generally consider land uses, building heights and densities, form of development, and public benefits. Each rezoning application will include notification and public engagement.
If a rezoning application is ODP compliant and includes 50% or more of floor area as residential uses, recent Provincial legislation (Bill 18) amended the Vancouver Charter to prohibit the requirement for a public hearing and the application would be considered at a Council meeting. If an application does not meet those requirements, it would be considered at a public hearing.
The last paragraph is important as it confirms that once the ODP is approved, there will be no more public hearings unless the applicant asks for more than the ODP allows. Since the ODP does not indicate heights or floor areas of individual buildings, that effectively means no public hearings.
Will the entire Jericho Lands site be rezoned with the ODP? Are there any more opportunities for public engagement?
No, the ODP does not rezone the site. Following Council adoption of the ODP, the Payalmaxw/lyalmexw/Jericho Lands development will progress through phased rezoning applications, which will be guided by the Policy Statement and in compliance with the ODP. Rezonings generally consider land uses, building heights and densities, form of development, and public benefits.
Each rezoning application will include notification and public engagement and be subject to Council approval. Following a rezoning approval by Council, development permit (DP) applications will be submitted for approval of the detailed design.7
Note the use of the phrase “notification and public engagement.” This is not a Public Hearing. Historically, notification involves a few block radius around the site. Public engagement is through the city’s ShapeYourCity portal. Period.
It’s been a year since Vancouver City Council approved the Jericho Lands [policy statement]. What are the key steps and timelines we can expect in the years ahead? At this rate, when should the community expect demolition/construction to begin?
The next step in the process would be for the landowners to submit a rezoning application for the first phase of development. The rezoning process can take 12-15+ months for a large, complex development. Subject to Council approval of the rezoning, the landowners would then have to submit applications for development permits and building permits for individual buildings.
The landowners are currently advancing significant work to submit the first rezoning application for Jericho Lands by late 2025 or early 2026. This is expected to be for the Watchmens’ Hill sub-area in the western portion of the site (see p. 19 in the draft ODP).
Density, Height & Form of Development
How has the building square footage been calculated for each phase? What building heights? What average floor plates?
The ODP, mirroring the Policy Statement, sets the maximum total floor area for new development across the site, as well as the approximate floor area for each rezoning phase/sub-area.
The Policy Statement provides detailed built form and site design guidance in Chapter 8. Please review the generalized Building Heights Diagram and policy 8.3.6.5 for tower floorplates on page 125 for those specific details.
But the Policy Statement is not the ODP—the ODP governs. The Policy statement is window dressing.
I just looked at the ODP, and I don’t see any reference to the height of the towers. Please advise as this is the most concerning aspect of the plan.
See below.
What are the tower heights for each building in each phase? I recognize some might change based on several factors, but there must have been height calculations made to arrive at the FSRs. What are they?
Thanks for the question. The Policy Statement provides guidance on building heights and other built form and site design requirements. Mirroring the Policy Statement, the ODP sets the permitted floors for new development overall and by sub-area/phase. The specific heights of individual buildings will be determined at each rezoning stage.
Note that the Policy Statement is not the ODP. However, as noted in the diagram below, the one referenced in the city’s response, there are some clues:
The density diagram from Page 125 of the Policy Statement8
Note that there are now at least 66 high-rise development sites, compared with the 64 I identified 3-1/2 years ago. And the tallest “sentinels” have grown from 38 to 49 storeys.
When will the form of development be approved for each building, and by whom?
The general form of development for buildings will be determined at each CD-1 rezoning phase of development. A rezoning application requires Council approval, with the form of development reviewed and approved by the Director of Planning as delegated by City Council. The detailed building designs will be reviewed and approved at the development permit (DP) application stage by either the Director of Planning or the DP Board, with the latter typically reviewing larger and more complex DP applications, as would be the case for Jericho Lands.
Note the absence of the words public hearing. As noted elsewhere, there will be none of these for any of the 80+ development parcels.
Re building heights, when the False Creek North and Coal Harbour ODPs were considered, building heights were an integral part of submissions. The fact that financing does not require height determinations is not a reason to omit this information. Can the applicant not provide this information at this time?'
You may have seen a response to another question about heights in the Q+A. But we’ll reiterate it here, the Council approved Jericho Lands Policy Statement provides specific direction on building heights for the site in the Built Form and Site Design Chapter. The Policy Statement is the primary comprehensive policy framework to guide rezonings and development of Jericho Lands.
As mentioned, the MST Partnership does not require building heights to be part of the ODP to secure financing from lenders. Given the ODP is at the request of the MST Partnership, the City is not requiring building heights to be regulated as part of the ODP.
So the fact the applicant does not require building heights to secure financing means the public does not need to know what they are—or am I reading that wrong?
I would like to relate the ODP document to an actual building plan/concept for the site?
You can review the Council approved Jericho Lands Policy Statement (January 2024). The document can be found here. As part of this document, a series of "illustrated concepts" can be found starting on page 171. The illustrations represent the proposed redevelopment concept, as developed by the consultant team, let by the Landowners (MST/CLC). They represent how the policies contained within the Policy Statement could be expressed.
I can only recommend readers of this post follow the link above to Page 171 of the Policy Document and make their own determinations as to how the proposal as illustrated meshes with the community.
Community amenities & impacts
I note that the central green space and most of the public amenities to be built on site are scheduled for the 4th and final phase of development. So substantially all of the expected population increase will live on site BEFORE the new school is built. Where do you think all those kids are going to go to school in the meantime?
It is estimated that approximately 550-850 elementary school-aged students will be generated by the Jericho Lands development9. In the short- to medium-term there is capacity for these students in nearby schools. In the long-term there is a need for a new elementary school on Jericho Lands, with the balance of students being accommodated in nearby schools. As you note a new elementary school is included in Phase 4 of the site plan near the community centre, with opportunities for co-location with other community amenities and/or affordable housing.
School funding is the responsibility of the Province. The City, VSB and the Landowners will work collaboratively to coordinate delivery of the elementary school in a timeframe compatible with the provision of adjacent/co-located community amenities and housing, and the availability of funding from the Province. As surrounding school enrolment levels are monitored, advancing the construction of the elementary school (and other co-located amenities) in an earlier phase may be warranted. Secondary school enrolment in the area will be monitored.
VSB estimates that 450-700 secondary school-aged students will be generated by the Jericho Lands development, and that these students can be accommodated at existing school facilities in the area10.
So only one in 14 families will have a younger school-aged child, and one per 16 families will have an older child. What does that say about the projected resident profile? Where did all the kids go?
What is the current outlook for a new public swimming pool?
A new public swimming pool is not envisioned for the site at this time.
There does not appear to be a skytrain connection to the 10th ave commercial district which is dying a slow death. Is it possible to connect the skytrain to say 10th and Sasamat as well?
The location of the UBCx station within the Jericho Lands as indicated in the Policy Statement is the preferred location of the Landowners. While the City supports this preferred location, and it is integral to the Jericho Lands site plan, the Province is undertaking a business case which will include a more detailed design and technical analysis for the proposed UBCx project including site condition investigations. Any decision on funding the proposed UBCx SkyTrain Project will not be made until after the business case is completed.
When a commitment is made to fund and deliver UBCx the City will undertake an area planning process for the neighbourhoods around the Jericho Lands. This would consider improved walking connections between the Jericho Lands and West Point Grey Village on West 10th Avenue as well as land use changes to enable more housing in proximity to rapid transit.
In other words, there will be no SkyTrain station for the 10th Avenue commercial area. Get out your walking shoes!
Communications
Why does the draft ODP have so little information in it? I was on the team that worked with city staff on the False Creek South and Coal Harbour ODPs, which had much more information than is on offer.
We will get back to you as soon as possible with a response.
Still waiting…
Conclusions
To summarize the Jericho Lands ODP process as confirmed in staff Q&A:
Pass the ODP in April over any community objections—”Following Council adoption of the ODP…”
Await the proponent’s four rezoning phase applications—the first will be within one year.
Provide no public hearings at any phase of development.
Limit notification about Development Permits for all 80+ development parcels to a few neighbourhood postcards and the ShapeYourCity portal.
There will be one or more public-organized meetings—not by city staff nor by the developer—in the lead-up to the final public hearing in April. CityHallWatch is your best bet for keeping informed. City Conversations will do its best.
This post is way longer than the three minutes citizens are allowed when they speak to the current City Council. If you appreciated it, please share to your social media and consider becoming a free subscriber to City Conversations at
Brian Palmquist writes on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam people. He is a Vancouver-based architect, building envelope and building code consultant and LEED Accredited Professional (the first green building system). He is a member of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver. He is semi-retired, still teaching, writing and consulting a bit, but not beholden to any client or city hall. These conversations mix real discussion with research and observations based on a 50-year career including the planning, design and construction of almost every type and scale of project. He is the author of the Amazon best seller and AIBC Construction Administration course text, “An Architect’s Guide to Construction.” A glutton for punishment, he recently started writing a book about how we can Embrace, Enhance and Evolve the places where we love to live.
https://syc.vancouver.ca/projects/jericho-lands/jericho-lands-policy-statement.pdf?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ehq#page=109
JERICHO LANDS OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN DRAFT – February 2025, page 14
I was the Managing Architect for the ODP phase of FCN, which is why I am using it for comparison.
The publication limits of my blog prevent me from including all of the questions, and I’ve had to edit some for brevity. I’ve not edited city staff’s words to be fair to them.
A majority of questions have come in the past 12 months. For focus I’ve excluded older questions as well as questions posted anonymously.
Questions are somewhat edited for brevity. All the originals are found at https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/jericho-lands?tool=qanda#! Questions from the public are in bold type. City answers are italicized.
From the Draft ODP Backgrounder
It’s difficult to identify the relationship between the grey illustrative site plan and the blobby heights diagram, but I tried. Of more than 80 building masses in the grey diagram, I identified: at least 28 sites with mid-rise buildings up to 12 storeys—last I checked that was actually high-rise, like the existing building on the SE corner of 4th and Alma; at least 25 sites with buildings up to 25 storeys; at least 10 sites with buildings up to 39 storeys; and the three “sentinels”at 49 storeys.
The ODP does not provide information validating that there will be no more than 850 elementary school-aged children in the development. The draft ODP says up to 1,175,000 sq.m. of residential development is permitted under the ODP. At a generous average of 100 sq.m. (1076 sq.ft.) per home, that’s 11,750 homes. At the accepted city average of 2.2 persons per home, that’s 25,850 residents, of whom 3.2% will be elmentary school-aged children. That’s one young child per 31 residents, or one for every 14 families. Seems low.
700 secondary school students is 2.7% of the projected population. That’s 1 older child per 37 residents, or one for each 16 families. Seems low.