Press Release: UNITE HERE Local 40 Files Court Challenge Over Vancouver Hotel Development Incentive
Petition alleges City Council approved new hotel development incentive after being wrongly told provincial law required it
Vancouver, BC — UNITE HERE Local 40 has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia seeking judicial review of the City of Vancouver’s decision to grant hotel developers a new density bonus that was approved based on an unreasonable interpretation of provincial law.
Unlike traditional density bonuses, which are intended to secure public amenities or affordable housing, the new provision rewards hotels for building commercial spaces that primarily generate revenue for the hotel itself. The exclusion allows developers to build larger hotels without rezoning approval, while providing no comparable public benefit to Vancouver residents.
The petition asks the Court to quash Council’s June 2, 2026, decision to create a new floor area exclusion for downtown hotel projects, potentially worth millions of dollars in additional development rights, and send the matter back to Council for reconsideration.
According to the petition, city staff repeatedly advised Council and the public that the change was required to comply with provincial housing legislation under Bill 16, the Housing Statutes Amendment Act, which sets out new rules for municipalities to streamline housing approvals. The Union argues that this advice was legally incorrect.
“Council was told this change was mandatory. It wasn’t,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “It was a new incentive for hotel developers to build larger projects by excluding commercially valuable space from density calculations. This case is about ensuring major planning decisions are made fairly and determined on the basis of accurate information.”
UNITE HERE Local 40 argues that nothing in Bill 16 required the city to make this change. Instead, the lawsuit says Council relied on an unreasonable interpretation of the legislation when approving the bylaw.
The amendment replaces an existing discretionary hotel density provision with a new rule allowing downtown hotel developments to exclude up to 20 per cent of their floor area from density calculations for revenue-generating spaces such as meeting rooms, conference facilities, business centres, and other hotel spaces.
This is the second time UNITE HERE Local 40 has sought judicial review of a City of Vancouver decision involving hotel development. In May, the Union filed a judicial review challenging Council’s approval of a proposed floating hotel at Canada Place over concerns that material information about the project was withheld, denying the public a fair hearing process. The latest petition continues the Union’s efforts to ensure that significant planning decisions are made in accordance with the law and in the public interest.
The court challenge follows a new report released by the Union challenging claims that Vancouver faces a hotel room shortage “crisis” requiring public incentives. The report found no evidence of a long-term supply crisis and concluded that many industry claims relied on selective data and unsupported assumptions.
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785