Amending UBC's Land Use Plan
Thank you for your interest in the Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the UBC Land Use Plan for the Point Grey Campus Lands.
The Public Hearing has now concluded. Please read the latest process update to learn what happens next. In the "Key Documents" section of this page, you will now find:
- Reports to the Board of Governors, to be considered at the December 5th Board meeting
- Final Public Hearing Record, containing a summary of what was heard at the November 7th Public Hearing
As part of the Campus Vision 2050 process, a legislatively required Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the UBC Land Use Plan for the Point Grey Campus Lands took place on November 7th, 2023. These changes to the Land Use Plan will enable UBC to deliver on the vision for the campus we have been developing together over the past 18+ months.
How we got here
Over the past 18+ months, we explored what’s important for the future of the UBC Vancouver campus and how land use planning can help to get us there. The result is Campus Vision 2050, an ambitious, long-range plan for how the campus will change and grow to support the needs of the university, its students, faculty, residents and staff, and Musqueam.
In addition to the creation of the Vision itself, the Campus Vision 2050 process has resulted in:
- Proposed amendments to UBC’s Land Use Plan (LUP), which regulates campus development on both academic and neighbourhood lands and is adopted by the Government of British Columbia
- Draft updates to the Housing Action Plan (HAP), a UBC Board of Governors-approved policy to improve housing choice and affordability for students, faculty and staff.
Engagement has included opportunities for community members and campus residents to give input, share ideas and raise concerns through workshops, a design charrette, open houses, stakeholder meetings, and surveys resulting in over 13,000 engagement touchpoints. This input has been incorporated and reflected in all three documents. Summaries of engagement can be viewed at:
Learn More
What happened at the Public Hearing?
Community members and campus residents had the opportunity to comment as a speaker at the public hearing, online and in-person, and through pre-recorded video or written comments.
A Public Hearing Committee heard these comments. The committee comprised of:
- Noha Sedky, Public Hearing Committee Chair (external professional planner appointed by the Chair of UBC’s Board of Governors); Principal at City Spaces
- Brent Elliot, (external professional planner appointed by the Chair of UBC’s Board)
Associate Vice President, Campus and Community Planning at Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Byron Thom, (UBC Board of Governor member appointed by the Chair of the UBC’s Board) UBC Governance Committee Chair, member of Executive, Finance Learning & Research Committees
Alison Brewin, (UBC Board of Governors member appointed by the Chair of the UBC’s Board) UBC People, Community & International Committee Chair, member of Employee Relations, Executive, Governance Committees
Richard Watson, (University Neighbourhoods Association - UNA); UNA Board Chair
Robin Ciceri, Vice President External Relations, UBC
Michael White, Associate Vice President, Campus and Community Planning, UBC
A Committee Clerk is supporting the committee. The Public Hearing committee does not make a decision about the LUP. Its role is to hear public comments and share them with UBC's Board of Governors for consideration.
What happens after the Public Hearing?
Comments (summarized speakers' remarks and written comments) which were received before the conclusion of the Public Hearing will be summarized in a Public Hearing Record and will form part of a report to the UBC Board of Governors, along with a detailed summary of the past 18+ months of public engagement. At a December 5th meeting, the Board is expected to consider the comments, any refinements to the Land Use Plan, and submitting the Land Use Plan to the Province of BC for adoption. The Board may:
- endorse the Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment and recommend that the Province adopt it;
- amend the Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment and recommend that the Province adopt it*; or
- decline to endorse the Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment.
*If the Board of Governors decides to amend the proposed Land Use Plan amendment by either increasing or decreasing the proposed density or altering the land use, another public hearing is required. This is consistent with the rules for municipal public hearing decisions in provincial legislation.
The Public Hearing Record will be posted on this webpage ahead of the December 5th Board of Governors meeting.
What is the Land Use Plan?
UBC’s Land Use Plan (LUP) regulates long-term campus development on academic and neighbourhood lands. It is similar to municipal Official Community Plans and is updated about every decade. The LUP is adopted by the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs, and provincial law requires all land development decisions to be consistent with the LUP.
Why is UBC amending the LUP?
Implementing Campus Vision 2050 requires amending UBC’s current LUP to enable more space for teaching, research and partnerships, more student housing, more non-market and market rental housing for faculty, staff and campus employees, maintain and enhance campus ecology and biodiversity, and provide more funding for academic priorities. You can learn more about how Campus Vision 2050 was shaped by community input by reading:
What are the proposed amendments to the LUP?
Some of the key features of the draft amended LUP include:
- Increasing the minimum requirement for total neighbourhood rental housing to 30 per cent (from 20 per cent), while enabling higher targets for new rental in the Housing Action Plan (proposed 40 per cent)
- Continue aspiration of at least 50 per cent of neighbourhood housing occupied by people who work or study at UBC
- Minimum target for housing at least 25 per cent of full-time student population, with ambition to increase to 33 per cent
- Formally committing to UBC’s ambitious climate action targets, including a new commitment to net-zero operational emissions in new neighbourhood buildings by 2030
- Continuing the high-level of amenities and open space provision within walking distance of all residents, consistent with best practice and regional comparators
- Policies to integrate biodiversity strategies and targets (e.g., tree canopy) into future plans
- Enabling an increase of 20 per cent additional neighbourhood floorspace above the existing plan, which would double existing housing in the neighbourhoods over the next 30 years — new floorspace enables UBC to fund institutional priorities and provides space for market and non-market rental housing
- Increasing the maximum building height on Academic land from 18 storeys (53 metres) to 22 storeys (66 metres).
- Establishing Neighbourhood building height maximums by area:
- Wesbrook Place: up to 39 storeys (117 metres)
- Future Stadium Neighbourhood: up to 28 storeys (84 metres)
- Future Acadia Neighbourhood: up to 35 storeys (105 metres)
- Wesbrook Place: up to 39 storeys (117 metres)
- Policies for increasing Musqueam presence in the landscape by expressing Musqueam values in green and open spaces
