Vancouver proposing immediate approval for social housing projects

Vancouver city planners are proposing that all social- and supportive-housing projects up to 18 stories be automatically approved without having to go through rezoning or public hearings, an idea that is likely to generate opposition from residents with concerns about accommodating people with mental-health and addictions issues in their neighbourhoods.But housing planners Dan Harrison and Jessie Singer say the policy, set to be released Wednesday, is a core principle of the new Vancouver Plan to make housing equitable and to ensure affordable housing is available throughout the city.