Real-estate consultant Bob Laurie says he has observed a "significant change in attitude" since the arrival of Vancouver’s top planner, Brian Jackson.

But while Laurie says Jackson has engaged with residents, the real-estate veteran calls the next phase of work on the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts a "test" for the city.

Laurie told the Straight by phone that because there’s a two-year plan for analysis on the removal of the viaducts, there’s plenty of time for city officials to demonstrate that "their actions speak louder than their words".

"Brian is talking about community engagement, but this will be a real test…to see what that means—and how is it different from previous directors of planning and previous council policies," Laurie added.

City council approved recommendations Wednesday evening (June 26) for two years of planning work concerning the viaducts, including negotiations with neighbouring landowners and discussions with communities. Laurie said he "conditionally" supports the removal of the structures.

"You drop a big boulder in a pond and everything ripples out," he stated. "So when you eliminate two viaducts, you’ve got to make damn sure that everything else connects."

Laurie, chair of the community affairs committee of the Vancouver Board of Trade, said he would oppose rezoning of industrial or work areas to residential, but supports an "integrated mix" in the region. He added he respects the position that neighbourhoods such as Strathcona and Grandview-Woodland have taken on the issue.

"They want to connect the dots too, and they’re not just rolling over and saying, ‘Yeah, let’s replace one freeway with another,’ " Laurie said.

Former COPE councillor Tim Louis is skeptical about the outcome of consultations, including on the level of affordability for residential development in the area. COPE wants to see 20 percent of new units dedicated to social housing, with tenants paying a maximum of one third of their income on rent.

"Our concern is that it will be consultation of the type that we’ve seen now for the last four years that Vision Vancouver has been in control," Louis told the Straight by phone. "At the end of the day, the best staff in the world, doing the best they can, can’t make a difference if city council is close-minded."