The City of Vancouver’s planning department was criticized as cumbersome by Aquilini president David Negrin in front of 1,100 delegates at the Urban Development Institute 2015 Forecast luncheon January 22.
Negrin called on the City to streamline the planning process and create a single Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) system – a suggestion that drew loud applause from the largely development industry audience.
Negrin also compared the City planning office to a pack of wolves. He said, “I walk into the planning office and it’s like five wolves and a lamb in a room. The wolves turn to the lamb and say, ‘What’s for dinner?’”
City planner Brian Jackson, who was at the event, told REW.ca's sister publication Business in Vancouver, "We feel it's exactly the opposite, where we're the lamb and they're the wolves." He told BIV that developers have the power because the city cannot pay for public facilities and affordable housing without developer contributions.
The City of Vancouver raised $133 million in CACs in 2013, according to an annual report presented to the city January 21.
