The University of British Columbia will implement new programs,
under an Official Community Plan (OCP), aimed at attracting more
UBC faculty, staff and students to reside on the Point Grey campus.
The commitment is contained in a report to the Greater Vancouver
Regional District (GVRD) outlining how the university will address
OCP goals which would have some members of future households at
UBC working or studying on campus.
“We are committed to creating an exciting community at UBC that
reflects our standing as a world-class university,” said UBC President
David Strangway, “We envision a community that reflects innovative
housing approaches and reflects the diversity of the Lower Mainland.”
“The OCP provides UBC with an opportunity to revisit the long-term
use of its precious land resource and to generate a set of principles
for the transformation of the university into a vibrant community
for its residents, students, faculty, and staff, as well as the
communities surrounding the 1,000-acre Point Grey campus,” said
Harold Kalke, chair of UBC’s Board of Governors’ Strategic Planning
and Property Committee.
Following a four-month consultation process which included the
appointment of a housing consultant, the formation of a community-based
committee to study UBC’s housing policies and future housing plans,
and four public meetings, UBC will implement the following measures:
– Create a Housing Advisory Committee with membership that includes
an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a Hampton Place resident,
a resident faculty member, the soon-to-be-appointed director of
transportation, and one representative from each of UBC’s Department
of Housing and Conferences, UBC Financial Services and the UBC Real
Estate Corp. This committee will work with a consultant who will
be hired to determine housing demand at UBC. Together, they will
ensure that current housing issues on the campus are clearly explained
and considered on a regular basis.
– Engage an independent housing consultant to review the current
demographics, income levels and other relevant housing-related information
for UBC faculty, staff, students and others working or studying
at UBC to determine their typical housing needs. This would be done
at least annually, and prior to any land lease tendering or development.
This information will be provided to potential housing builders/developers
who will be requested to target the defined market first.
– Establish a planning advisory committee or council comprising
seasoned professionals to establish overall development concepts
and guidelines. Following this step, UBC will commence work on at
least one Local Area Plan. This work will follow the public review
and input process established in the Memorandum of Understanding
between the GVRD and UBC and will give all parties an opportunity
to see how the OCP policies work in practice. Within this Local
Area Plan, sites will be identified for non-market housing, as is
the practice in adjacent municipalities.
– Begin planning a “live/work” project within the main campus that
emphasizes computer connectivity, with small, affordable residential
units. These units would have a low parking ratio and would be tied
to a transit pass. The units would be targeted at people currently
working at UBC.
– Commence planning of additional full-time student housing, including
family student housing, as described in the “UBC Department of Housing
and Conferences Five-Year Business Plan.”
– Commission a study, including focus groups, involving faculty,
staff and students to determine and describe the size, type, location,
amenities and price of housing units that would be attractive to
people associated with UBC.
– Taking into account Revenue Canada guidelines, monitor and review
the downpayment assistance program for qualifying faculty members
and consider whether any additional assistance should be provided
when the faculty member purchases a housing unit at UBC rather than
off-campus.
Housing consultant City Spaces has recommended that UBC hold further
discussions with the GVRD on housing policies before the OCP is
finalized. City Spaces has concluded that the GVRD’s requests for
50 per cent of all new housing units being reserved for UBC personnel,
and 20 per cent of all new units being for rental purposes, are
without precedent at North American universities and far exceed
the targets expressed for municipalities in the Lower Mainland.
The consultant also says the GVRD percentages should be lowered
because the current request will add considerable complications
to the development process at UBC and could set precedents for other
developments in B.C. However, UBC is committed to the intent of
these targets — that is to have many of the units occupied by UBC
personnel or students — and to assess the results at a subsequent
review of the OCP.
Work on an OCP for the UBC area began in December 1994 upon the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the university
and the GVRD. The OCP received third-reading approval by the GVRD
Board of Directors last November.
UBC and the GVRD have also received a commitment from the Minister
of Municipal Affairs to undertake a governance study for all of
Electoral Area “A” including UBC and the University Endowment Lands.
UBC and its Board of Governors fully support the governance study,
and are eager to see the development of one that recognizes the
unique mission of UBC and its obligations under the University Act,
along with provincial interests. UBC would also like to see the
terms of reference and composition of the Governance Study Committee
develop through full consultation with the university’s community
of students, faculty, staff, and residents, as well as residents
of Electoral Area “A.”
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