Approve 2026 Graffiti Abatement Grants
Motion 16 · Council Meeting, March 10, 2026
Summary
- Council approved up to $510,000 in Graffiti Abatement Grants to be distributed among Vancouver's 22 BIAs in 2026, a $10,000 increase from the $500,000 granted in each of the four prior years.
- Over the past three years, BIAs have used these grants to remove more than 21,800 instances of graffiti from private properties, averaging roughly 7,200 removals per year across business districts.
- The grants supplement graffiti removal already funded through BIA annual budgets and complement the City's own abatement program, which removes an average of approximately 161,000 graffiti per year from public assets.
- Each BIA tailors its use of the grant to local needs, with approaches ranging from targeted area removals and mural restoration to preventative mural creation as a deterrent; BIAs in the Downtown Eastside allocate a proportionally higher share of their budgets to graffiti removal than those elsewhere.
- To access the grant, BIAs must report on how they used the previous year's funds and sign a 2026 grant agreement; funds may only be used for direct graffiti abatement costs, including mural maintenance.
- The City also supports graffiti reduction through complementary programs such as free paint from Dulux locations, Community Paint Out funding, and free graffiti wipes distributed to BIAs and Community Policing Centres.
Transcript
3 segments
Are there any coming on the queue to...
Councillor Frye, want to put yourself in the queue? I can do that now. I'll advance you. Go ahead, Councillor Frye.
Okay, so 6 and 5 and 7 are already being held or held back for speakers. So we'll just add report 6 to that one. Thanks very much. Okay. Okay, thanks very much. I have a seconder. Seconded. Councillor Kirby-Young. All those in favour? Opposed? That carries. Thanks very much. Okay.
I should have asked if anyone has a conflict of interest. My apologies. But I'm assuming no one does. That's fine. Okay. So we have reports.
One. I'm just going to write them down here a sec. Okay. So we have report one, approval of 2026 business improvement area BIA budgets. Report two, 2026 graffiti abatement grants for business improvement areas. Report three, proposed Vancouver charter amendment business improvement area renewal. Report 4, Annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities, FCM, Union of British Columbia Municipalities, UBCM, and Lower Mainland Local Government Association, LMLGA, membership fees for 2026. Report 8, Community Housing Incentive Program Grant. ALT, Commercial Housing Society Co-op Housing Project. Report 9, Amendments to Street Vending By-law to Support 2026 Granville Street Summer Patios. Report 10, Nomination Subjects. recommendations transmittal report and report 11 auditor general committee recommendations transmittal report all right we will now move on to unfinished business this is item 1 is c1 rezoning tent 1030 to 1070 East Hastings Street 1115 to 1125 East Hastings Street and 360 Glen Drive and 1168 and 1182 East Hastings Street Thank you.
At the public hearing on February 24, 2026, Council heard the staff presentation, applicant comments, and asked questions to staff, and the applicant heard from public speakers and then closed the speakers list and received public comments. Subsequently, Council referred closing comments, further questions to staff, debate and decision to this meeting as unfinished business. Councillor Bligh and Kirby Young missed a portion of the public hearing and will need to confirm they have