The Jericho ODP—what does it really mean?
CC #154—what are the numbers and what do they mean for our city?
An alternative plan for the Jericho Lands by the Jericho Coalition
“So is the applicant asking for so very much in the Jericho ODP?” my son asked as he looked over my shoulder. “I mean, we need housing, right?”
“Yes, we do,” I answered, “BUT, and it’s a big BUT, do we need housing this dense, this high and this damaging to the environment is my question.”
He walked into my trap: “So how is it too dense, too high and bad for the environment?”
“Let’s start with the last first, the environment.” He shrugged so I continued. “Back in March of 2022, when the Broadway Plan was under discussion, a small group of environmental and building scientists made a presentation to two of the civic Green Party Councillors, Adrienne Carr and Pete Fry—Adrienne has since retired, hence the upcoming by-election1. I am not qualified to comment on environmental matters, but I was invited to audit the presentation by those who are.”
“The best way to illustrate that presentation is to use a few of the PowerPoint slides that were shown2:”
“Note that the references are the city itself, BC Hydro and a well respected building envelope firm, RDH.”
“The city’s own study indicates low-rise is the ideal form of construction.”
“Wood low-rise is a better form of building.”
“And finally for our purposes (there’s more), wood-frame buildings are outlasting steel and concrete structures—at least until we began to demolish mature rentals in favour of high-rises.”
“So how did the Green Party folks vote after your presentation?” he asked.
“They supported both the Broadway Plan and the Vancouver Plan, of which it’s a part.” He was speechless for just a moment, then kept at it.
“Okay, I concede the environmental costs of what’s proposed,” he gesticulated, “but how about the need for greater density, hence height?”
“Two answers to that,” I continued. “The Jericho Coalition alternative proposal (the illustration at the top of this post) accommodates what were the original housing targets by the applicant, even though these were not very clear.”
“And they’re clear now?” he asked.
“Not entirely and not without doing some work, which I’ve done,” I answered with a smile.
“In terms of density, there are still no numbers of homes listed, just an overall residential floor area—1.175 million square meters.”
“What’s 1.17 million square meters when it’s at home and what’s that in square feet?” he asked facetiously—even though he’s now 30-something, he thinks imperial.
“If I’m being conservative, and allow an average of 1,000 square feet per home, including corridors and exits, etc., then that’s 12,600 homes. By the way, 1,000 square feet is probably 850 net square feet when exits, etc. are taken out. But since the development industry is building 800 square foot three bedroom suites these days, well, that’s why I’m saying my figures are conservative.” He nodded agreement so I continued.
“The average number of residents in a suite in Vancouver is widely accepted as 2.2—allows for singles, couples and families—used to be 2.4 but folks are having fewer kids.”
I continued. “So that means there will be more than 27,000 new residents when Jericho is built out, which is less than West Point Grey and Dunbar’s combined 36,000 residents.” His raised eyebrows suggested 27 is less than 36, so all good.
“BUT, and it’s a big but, those 27,000 folks will be distributed over 90 acres compared to WPG/Dunbar’s 31,000 acres.” I paused for effect.
“So Jericho will be more than 25 times as dense as the neighbourhoods it’s arriving in.”
“But Dad,” he countered, “Those neighbourhoods are very low density so it’s not a fair comparison, is it?”
“I agree,” I answered, “So let’s look elsewhere in Vancouver: Jericho will have more than three times the density of the West End3.” I paused before continuing to let that sink in.
“And the north shore of False Creek—the 200 acres of former Expo lands—has more than 2-1/2 times the area of parks per resident that Jericho will have.4”
“Way more folks in way less area with way fewer parks—I get why you are upset—me too.” He sat for a few moments, then motioned be up from my laptop and gave me a big hug. “Carry on,” he said quietly with another hug.
The Jericho Lands ODP is scheduled to go to City Council for review sometime 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.
The presentation was via Zoom on March 3, 2022, as the pandemic hangover still prompted caution.
The slides are presented as unedited screen capture images.
https://www.google.com/search?q=population+dencity+of+vancouver+west+end&oq=population+dencity+of+vancouver+west+end&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKAB0gEINjY4NWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
A simple calculation based on published data from the two developments.
Michael, thanks for reading and for your questions. TEAM's Theodore Abbott and Colleen Hardwick are the only candidates who will ask the questions that are needed. The Greens, OneCity and COPE all support ABC's Broadway Plan, Vancouver Plan, and Jericho Lands. With 2 councillors TEAM can move AND SECOND motions that may be defeated but will propose viable alternatives that will be debated. At the moment, the other parties' complicity in ABC's agenda keeps the lid on opposition.
How do we interrupt this preceding any further in the upcoming city election (who is running for council that will ask the questions you and others are raising? The roster seems very frail!