https://council.vancouver.ca/documents/r2_003.pdfhttps://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/government/2025/07/will-the-city-of-vancouvers-recent-changes-spur-new-housing-constructionhttps://readsitenews.com/vancouver-eases-development-costs-to-keep-housing-projects-alive/As development costs continue to rise and interest rates remain elevated, Vancouver is implementing a set of targeted policy adjustments aimed at preventing active and approved housing projects from collapsing. The city is looking at focussing on practical, immediate changes that reduce upfront costs and accelerate timelines for builders as an approach designed to stabilize the current housing pipeline rather than implement sweeping policy changes.Easing Financial Pressure on Active ProjectsThe most significant change is Vancouver’s decision to allow deferrals of major municipal fees that previously had to be paid up front. Developers with Development Cost Levies (DCLs) exceeding $500,000 can now pay in three installments. Similarly, Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) tied to rezonings, which previously required full payment at enactment, can now be partially deferred. Only $5 million is required upfront, with the balance secured by a surety bond or similar financial instrument. This marks a substantial shift from the city’s prior insistence on full cash contributions early in the process.These adjustments reflect an acknowledgment that high land costs, construction inflation, and tight lending conditions have made it increasingly difficult for even viable projects to proceed without relief on the timing of payments. While the total amounts owed remain unchanged, allowing deferrals frees up working capital during the most financially vulnerable stage of development.Streamlining the Permitting ProcessIn addition to deferring costs, the city is working to remove procedural bottlenecks. One notable change is the deferment of rezoning-phase utility servicing reviews, which previously required applicants to complete a detailed engineering assessment before receiving approval. Going forward, this step will be completed later in the development process, allowing projects to advance through rezoning more quickly and reducing design costs during early planning stages.The city has also paused its practice of indexing fees to inflation. This freeze on annual fee escalations, typically tied to construction cost trends, is intended to reduce year-over-year uncertainty for builders managing long approval timelines.A Triage Approach in a Slower MarketThis series of changes represents a deliberate shift from longer-term growth planning to short-term stabilization. Vancouver’s current housing market is marked by slower sales, reduced project launches, and increased risk aversion among lenders and equity partners. The policy updates aim to ensure that already-approved projects do not stall midstream due to liquidity constraints or delayed approvals.The focus is not on opening large tracts of new development land or overhauling planning frameworks, but rather on ensuring the feasibility of what is already in the system. Longer-Term Planning Still in MotionWhile these new measures are largely reactive to immediate market conditions, they build on earlier efforts to expand housing supply over the long term. Vancouver has already made several zoning and planning changes aimed at increasing residential density, including relaxing building height restrictions governed by view cones and enabling multiplex housing across formerly single-family zones.The city has also set a housing target of 83,000 new units over the next ten years, with 28,900 of those expected by 2028. However, achieving these goals will require not just more flexible zoning but also ensuring that already-approved projects actually get built, which is one of the central aims of the current policy adjustments.By deferring major fees, relaxing early engineering requirements, and halting inflation-linked fee increases, the city is hoping to create space for developers to maintain momentum in a difficult market, so projects that are stalled, but otherwise sound, may be able to keep going.