If Your Property Is in One of the 17 Villages, the City Is About to Rezone It For You.

Not all properties near a Village intersection are inside the boundary. The Village boundaries follow specific street lines and parcel edges — a property one block away from the central intersection may or may not be included. The most reliable way to confirm is to check the official City of Vancouver boundary map for your specific Village, which you can access by clicking your Village name in the section above. If you want a definitive confirmation specific to your address, that is the first thing we establish in an initial consultation.

If the Plan is not adopted, the City-initiated rezoning does not proceed and properties within the Village boundaries remain on their current zoning. The development potential of those properties would revert to what their existing zoning permits — which in most cases is single-family or low-density residential. That said, the Vancouver Official Development Plan, adopted in 2026, has already identified all 25 Villages as priority areas for growth — meaning even a delayed or modified adoption is likely to result in some form of increased density at these locations over time. The July 14 hearing outcome determines the timeline and the specific framework, not whether these areas will eventually see change.

City-initiated rezoning means the City of Vancouver files the rezoning application and bears the cost, risk, and timeline of the approval process. If adopted, the new zoning applies automatically to all eligible parcels within the Village boundary — no individual application required for what the Plan permits. Privately-initiated rezoning means a developer or landowner files their own rezoning application for a specific site, seeking permissions beyond what the standard zoning allows. The Villages Plan identifies certain sites where privately-initiated rezoning may still be considered for higher-density or more complex projects — these are flagged on the individual Village maps as privately-initiated rezoning areas. Understanding which category your site falls into is fundamental to understanding its development pathway.

The Villages program proposes to increase the permitted density and use of properties within Village boundaries — from single-family or low-density residential to low-rise residential and mixed-use buildings up to six storeys in most cases. In general, increased permitted density increases the residual land value of a property because a developer can build more floor area on the same lot, improving the economics of a project. However, the actual impact on your specific property depends on your Village, your lot size, your lot dimensions, whether site-specific provisions apply, and current market conditions for the property type the new zoning enables. We do not publish general estimates of value impact because they are not meaningful at the individual lot level. The value conversation happens at the property-specific level in a consultation.

That depends on your circumstances. Waiting for adoption provides certainty — you know the zoning is in force before any transaction proceeds. Acting before adoption means engaging with buyers who are already underwriting against the proposed framework, in a market where fewer competing sellers are active. Neither approach is universally correct. The right answer depends on your timeline, your specific Village and lot, the activity level of buyers currently evaluating your area, and your appetite for operating with some policy uncertainty. What we can tell you is that the information-gathering phase — understanding your lot, your Village framework, and what buyers are currently paying in your area — costs nothing and positions you to act decisively whichever way the hearing goes.

The primary difference is the zoning framework and, for some West Side Villages, the presence of additional affordable housing requirements. The West and Southwest Villages use a C-2E mixed-use district and R3-4 residential district framework. The Central, East, and Southeast Villages use a C-2D mixed-use district and R3-1 residential district framework. Several West Side Villages also carry inclusionary housing requirements that affect the residual land value calculation for certain project types — these vary by Village and by the type of development proposed. The framework that applies to your specific Village is identified in the section above, and the individual Village boundary maps include the specific zoning designations for each parcel.

Yes. A land assembly can be initiated, negotiated, and completed at any time — before or after the hearing. The practical consideration is that assembling before adoption means negotiating with neighbours against a proposed framework rather than a confirmed one, which can complicate pricing alignment. That said, some of the most effective assemblies are initiated early — before neighbouring owners receive developer letters and form independent price expectations that may be difficult to align later. Wallace Green has coordinated multi-owner assemblies on Vancouver sites and understands what it takes to hold a process like this together. The timing question for assemblies is strategic, not regulatory.

Heather Street and West 33rd Avenue is designated as one of the 17 Villages, but its land use changes are integrated in the Cambie Corridor Plan rather than the Villages Plan. If your property is in or near the Heather and West 33rd area, the framework that applies to your lot is the Cambie Corridor framework — which has its own set of policy layers, zoning designations, and value drivers. We cover the Cambie Corridor framework in detail on our Cambie Corridor Development page.