Vancouver city council approved a series of actions this week aimed at boosting the Downtown Eastside, setting the stage for a larger decision to come about overhauling the plan for the beleaguered neighbourhood.

At Wednesday’s meeting, council approved several interrelated decisions involving the DTES. This included a two-year pilot project that aims to reduce the high number of vacant storefronts in the neighbourhood by streamlining the permit process to make it easier to open certain kinds of businesses, including beauty salons, offices, retail spaces, health care and artist studios.

Council also approved city staff’s recommendation to allocate $2 million in grant funding for private owners of single-room occupancy hotels, or SROs, to complete life-safety repairs and upgrades on their

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