Media Advisory: Workers, Tenants, Residents Launch City Hall Encampment as Council Rushes Hotel Projects and Major Rezonings Before Election
Rally and media availability at 5:30pm ahead of public hearing for Villages Plan
Hospitality workers, tenants, housing advocates and Vancouver residents will begin a two-week encampment outside Vancouver City Hall on Tuesday, to protest City Council’s misplaced priorities as Vancouver’s affordability crisis worsens.
Beginning July 14, participants will maintain a daily presence at City Hall, calling on Council to pause hotel approvals and other major land-use decisions that fail to put affordable housing first. The encampment comes as Council considers a wave of major land-use approvals ahead of its summer recess and the October municipal election.
“City Hall has lost sight of its priorities,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “Instead of focusing on affordable housing, Council is rushing through hotel projects, sweeping rezonings and other major development decisions before the election. Vancouver residents deserve a Council that puts housing affordability ahead of developer interests.”
The encampment will continue through July 28, with daily events highlighting housing affordability, hotel approvals, neighbourhood planning, and other City decisions that are moving Vancouver in the wrong direction.
Encampment Launch & Rally
What: Rally and media availability to launch two-week encampment calling on Council to pause major land-use decisions and hotel approvals until after the election.
Why: Among the projects before Council on July 14 are two mixed-use hotel developments that are exempt from public hearings. At least three more hotel proposals are expected in coming days, including 75 East 8th Avenue, which would displace dozens of tenants, and Holborn Group’s proposed downtown supertall towers. City Hall continues to fast-track hotel developments even though the anticipated FIFA World Cup hotel shortage never materialized, while the city’s housing affordability crisis deepens.
City Hall is rushing other major land-use decisions such as the proposed “Villages Plan,” which would rezone nearly 14,000 properties and establish 17 new village areas across Vancouver – a massive upzoning that would allow developers to bypass public hearings, limiting local input and undermining the democratic process. Changes of this magnitude deserve careful public scrutiny and not a rushed approval process in the final weeks of Council’s mandate.
Who: Hospitality workers, tenants, community organizations and Vancouver residents
When: Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 5:30pm
Where: Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785