B.C. government could explore potential new Kitsilano sites after City of Vancouver quits Arbutus supportive housing project

City of Vancouver ends support for Arbutus supportive housing project

Vancouver City Council approves temporary pause on new supportive housing, including in the Downtown Eastside

Interview with Vancouver mayor on the "unsustainable" state of supportive housing, and the need for other cities to do more

City of Richmond scraps controversial supportive housing project

Proposed Downtown Eastside policy changes enable more market rental housing and social housing up to 32 storeys

Vancouver emergency services strained by SRO and supportive housing calls: statistics

This follows more than two years of legal challenges led by the neighbourhood advocacy group Kitsilano Coalition for Children & Family Safety Society. The group’s efforts culminated in a December 2024 ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal, in which a panel of three judges sided with the coalition. The court found that the provincial government’s legislative amendments — intended to push the project forward after an earlier court ruling — constituted improper interference with the court’s adjudicative authority.

One path to potentially revive the project would be to restart the entire rezoning process. This would involve submitting a new rezoning application, undergoing City staff reviews, conducting formal public consultation, and holding a new public hearing with City Council. However, to avoid triggering further legal challenges from opponents, the process would have to strictly adhere to all legal and procedural requirements.

But the City has removed this option, as the municipally owned land is no longer available for this specific project plan.

In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized on Tuesday, B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Ravi Kahlon expressed frustration regarding the news of the City’s decision, criticizing the municipal government and deeming it a major setback.

“It’s frustrating news to hear that the City of Vancouver has withdrawn their property from this important project in the community. We have people in the community that are struggling. We have people sleeping in the parks there, sleeping in front of businesses,” said Kahlon.

Kahlon asserted this goes against the municipal government’s strategy of reducing the current concentration of people with high needs within the Downtown Eastside, which is seen to further exacerbate the area’s issues relating to crime, public disorder, homelessness, addictions, and mental health issues.

Recently, Vancouver City Council approved a temporary suspension on all new supportive housing projects within its jurisdiction that receive any form of City support — whether through land contributions, direct funding, or other resources. Some exceptions would be made for in-stream projects. The intended focus of the City would instead be pivoted towards replacing aging SROs, temporary modular housing, and other housing that is in poor condition with permanent housing.

Earlier this year, Mayor Ken Sim called on other municipal governments in Metro Vancouver to do their fair share by enabling more shelters, supportive housing, and social housing in their communities. According to Sim, Vancouver is home to 25 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s population, but its municipal government takes on a disproportionate financial and resource burden on the challenges that directly and indirectly come from being the location of 77 per cent of the 8,150 supportive housing units found across the region, 67 per cent of the 2,088 shelter beds, and 50 per cent of all social housing.

But the Minister emphasized a specific need for more supportive housing within Vancouver, and in this specific area of the city.

“It’s frustrating because this is a poster child of why we can’t get things built in Vancouver. There’s years of consultation, years of public engagement, and years of court decisions,” said Kahlon.

He noted that the “frank reality we have to deal with is if you don’t want more concentration of vulnerable people having housing in the Downtown Eastside, well, the question is where do you want them? Because if you can’t find ways to approve housing in different parts of Vancouver and you say that you don’t want it in the Downtown Eastside, well, the two don’t go together.”

Kahlon also challenged the arguments made by the project’s opponents and other critics of supportive housing that such sites bring more crime, public safety, and public disorder issues to neighbourhoods, asserting that “supportive housing works, especially when it’s purpose-built.”

“This narrative has been pushed by the City to suggest that somehow supportive housing is going to lead to more crime, and that’s why they don’t want it in the Downtown Eastside,” the Minister told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“This is the problem that you create when you push that narrative, because you want it to be distributed — you want it in other parts. But you’re also saying to people it’s not safe. And the reality is the majority of our supportive housing sites throughout the province have very little issue in community. And, in fact, they save a lot of lives.”

Kahlon shared that as of the end of April 2025, BC Housing has incurred about $3.1 million in total costs to support this supportive housing project’s design, planning, and consultation, as well as legal costs. The provincial Crown corporation is in the process of determining whether some or any of these costs can be repurposed or recovered.

The project’s total budget was approximately $108 million, including grants and contributions from all partners involved.

When asked whether this site could become a social housing project, instead of a supportive housing project, the Minister reaffirmed that the need in the area is supportive housing, and the funding set aside for this project is for such uses.

The cancelled Arbutus/8th supportive project, combined with BC Housing’s other major supportive housing tower project at 1406-1410 East King Edward Ave. (on Knight Street) in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood, accounts for the majority of the provincial government’s September 2020-announced strategy to build 350 additional permanent supportive homes within Vancouver. The King Edward/Knight project is still proceeding.

Kahlon said the provincial government will now return to the drawing board to determine its next steps, which will likely include identifying an alternative site within the Kitsilano area.

“At this point, we’re going to have to go and find other land within the Kits area to support the people that are from their community that need support,” Kahlon told Daily Hive Urbanized during the interview.

“Quite frankly, it reinforces a narrative that many people have, which is if you’re building housing in a community that’s more vulnerable, those communities usually say, ‘yes.’ But in communities that are more affluent, you see people with deep pockets who can hire very fancy lawyers and drag things out in court for a long time. And that’s frustrating for everyone.”

Earlier this year, driven by resident opposition, the City of Richmond made a similar move by terminating its consideration for BC Housing’s new 90-unit supportive housing project at 3780 Sexsmith Rd.

Kahlon says this Richmond project was highly crucial, as it was intended to be a permanent replacement solution for temporary facilities in the city. The leases for temporary facilities expire in two years.

Over the past roughly eight months, BC Housing has been looking for alternate sites in Richmond that are available, suitable, and supported by the municipal government. So far, he says, no sites that fit all of the checkboxes have been identified, but they are continuing the search.

“If we don’t find a solution for where they want housing in Richmond, they’ll have potentially 90 people that will lose their housing and will be in front of the businesses and in the parks,” said Kahlon.

“We see challenges in Vancouver. We’re seeing this challenge in Richmond. But there are other communities that are stepping up and stepping forward, which gives me hope. Burnaby is stepping up. New West is stepping up. Surrey is stepping up. And so there’s a whole host of communities that are, you know, wanting to help vulnerable people in their community. And I’m grateful for them.”

Karen Finnan, a local resident and spokesperson for the Kitsilano Coalition, took issue with Kahlon’s remarks that suggested her organization does not want poor people in their neighbourhood.

“That has never been our position. We have always been in support of low-income housing at that site,” Finnan told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview.

She says what her group and other critics are concerned about is the provincial government’s current supportive housing model, asserting that it does not provide adequate levels of supports for residents experiencing addictions, mental health issues, and other high needs.

“We’ve said all along that the model of housing, supportive housing, that the government is pursuing is the wrong model,” said Finnan, noting that the group’s opposition began with the supportive housing project’s site right across the street from a major elementary school. She shared that many members of Kitsilano Coalition are parents of children attending this school.

Not only is the site next to a school with 450 kids and within a residential area, but it is also next to the Arbutus Greenway and the future major public transit hub.

“We did our homework on this and we realized that this is not the right kind of supportive housing for anywhere. Not in our neighbourhood, not in Vancouver, and not anywhere in the province. We’ve been advocating for several years now for recovery-oriented housing,” continued Finnan.

Another major area of concern is the project’s inclusion of a drug consumption room for the building’s residents.

Finnan says the organization believes there are proven examples of successful supportive housing projects, including locations within the Vancouver Westside, but they are smaller and are not geared for high needs people with addictions and mental health issues. She asserts that these kinds of projects are well supported by the neighbourhood.

“If you had a three-pack-a-day smoking habit, would you want to move into a tower with 120 other people that had a three-pack-a-day smoking habit and you wanted to quit?” she said.

“We support more diverse housing, a mix of individuals in every building, social housing, and supportive housing. It’s actually reflective of what Kitsilano is, but that’s how we think people can be successful — those who require supportive housing should be living in an environment of normalcy and an environment that has services to help them address whatever their problem may be, whether it’s addiction or mental illness, and oftentimes people have both.”

In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, Union Gospel Mission (UGM) called on the City to reaffirm its commitment to supportive housing initiatives.

“The City’s decision to withdraw support for a previously approved supportive housing project is a step backward — and sets a troubling precedent. At a time when housing is already scarce, especially for low-income residents, potentially reducing supportive housing or doubling back on plans only deepens the crisis,” said Nick Wells, a spokesperson for UGM.

“Supportive housing shouldn’t be a political issue. It’s a vital step from crisis to stability, and a cornerstone of dignity and recovery. We urge the City to reaffirm its commitment to these projects, because everyone deserves the safety and belonging that a home provides.”

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• City of Vancouver ends support for Arbutus supportive housing project
• Vancouver City Council approves temporary pause on new supportive housing, including in the Downtown Eastside
• Interview with Vancouver mayor on the "unsustainable" state of supportive housing, and the need for other cities to do more
• City of Richmond scraps controversial supportive housing project
• Proposed Downtown Eastside policy changes enable more market rental housing and social housing up to 32 storeys
• Vancouver emergency services strained by SRO and supportive housing calls: statistics