Vancouver's arts scene is at a breaking point

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. We’ve got a lengthy issue for you today, so I’ll keep this brief. 

Art is always in season, but, in Vancouver especially, summer really seems to be the time that creativity shines, with so many different celebrations and gatherings planned for the pleasant months. To that end, we’ve got a bunch of arts recommendations for you in our weekly listing! 

So many of us enjoy, witness, and create art in different forms, and its generally something everyone can get behind, at least in the abstract. But when it comes down to concrete measures and competing priorities, it’s often a different story. Today’s Insider article delves into the state of arts and culture in the city, and the forces stretching organizations from all angles. 

Let’s get to it.

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout 

As always, you can send your tips, leads, and story ideas to Nate at [email protected].

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

WEATHER

Wednesday: 26 🌡️ 16 | ☀️

Thursday: 24 🌡️ 16 | 🌤️

Friday: 23 🌡️ 15 | 🌤️

THE LOOKOUT RECOMMENDS

A perfect dinner: I had the pleasure of visiting Published on Main at 3593 Main St. on Monday. I won’t spoil the review by giving away too much. But all I can say is that serious foodies in Vancouver need to visit, no ifs, ands, or buts. The team continues to fire on all cylinders. I’d recommend going soon if you can and getting the scallops before they run out. 

What I’m reading: A few people wrote in about Dustin’s reading recommendations, so I thought I’d throw in one as well. East Riders, Raging Bulls is a sweeping, intimate and incredibly entertaining look at Hollywood in the late 70s. The LA Times says it’s the ninth best book about Hollywood, and it’s not hard to see why. Anyone in the arts, who enjoys cinema, or wants a captivating read on that era, will absolutely love it. 

— Recommendations by Geoff Sharpe

ARTS

Vancouver's arts scene is at a breaking point

‘Tis the season for pop-up events, outdoor music festivals, and innovative exhibitions. But the sunny revelries of summer belie a much stormier picture behind the scenes. Amid economic uncertainty and rising austerity, arts and culture celebrations and venues in Vancouver have been forced to reduce their programming, and in many cases are being pushed to the brink of non-existence. 

Arts and culture organizations are being pressured in multiple directions, stretching their balance sheets to stomach both growing costs and reduced government support. It's created an untenable situation, with many arts and culture leaders scrambling to keep their organizations afloat.

Even large arts and culture organizations are feeling the sting. Many have been threatened with cancellation or have had to significantly reduce their offerings. 

THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

$141

That’s the price point for Flair Airlines’ new non-stop Vancouver to Mexico City route, scheduled to launch in October. Currently, only Air Canada and Aeromexico offer direct service between YVR and MEX, priced at around $300 each way. Read more. [Vancouver is Awesome]

THE AGENDA

🚉 A gas leak suspended service on the Millennium Line yesterday afternoon between Sperling and Production Way stations. Service on the Canada Line and Expo Line was unaffected. Read more. [CTV]

⚽ German soccer star Thomas Müller is on the verge of signing with the Vancouver Whitecaps, according to multiple sources. If the deal goes through, Müller would be the highest-profile player the Whitecaps have ever signed. The ‘Caps acquired Müller’s “discovery rights” from FC Cincinnati for roughly $400,000, after the other MLS club was unable to sign the 35-year-old footballer. Read more. [The Province]

🏗️ PCI Developments is proposing a new development consisting of two 43-storey towers, a 10-storey mid-rise building, and a seven-storey mid-rise building next to the Marine Drive SkyTrain station, in the lot currently occupied by two car dealerships. If it progresses as planned, the development would include 1,000 new rental units, a new public park, a dedicated space for childcare, and a seniors’ centre. Read more. [Storeys]

⛴️ B.C. Premier David Eby is demanding British Columbia’s marine highway get the same treatment as Atlantic Canada’s, just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney lowered the cost of east coast ferries by 50 per cent. Without support from the federal government, BC Ferries warns that it could be looking at a 30 per cent price hike by 2028 to maintain service levels. Read more. [Global News]

🐟 Catch and release no longer — after violating fisheries laws more than 34 times since 2008 and orchestrating an illegal sea cucumber harvesting operation, Gabriola Island fisherman Scott Steer, dubbed B.C.'s most notorious marine poacher, has been sentenced to six years in prison. Read more. [CTV]

🇭🇰 Hong Kong police issued arrest warrants and placed bounties on 19 pro-democracy activists living overseas, including four residing in the Lower Mainland. Local activists and Canadian officials say the move is a form of political intimidation that threatens free speech and public safety in Canada. Read more. [Vancouver Sun]

HOME OF THE WEEK

If there’s one thing that’s certain, the farther west you go, the more expensive housing seems to be. Dare we even look?

Yes, we do, at least as far as Fairview, where this lovely two-bedroom is located. It’s got just under 1,000 square feet of floor space, high ceilings, and an open-concept kitchen.

The price on this is quite reasonable. Of course, it is a co-op!

CITY HALL

Reductions in sunlight policy would only translate to minor housing gains, report

Written by Dustin Godfrey. Read this story online.

What happened: A report from city staff looked into changing the city’s sunlight access policy, but it would only result in minimal gains in terms of new housing. If the city’s guidelines were reduced by two hours, the development potential would be about 0.15% more housing units.

• While it would cut the time in which sunlight is preserved by about a third, it would only add around 300 potential new units of housing out of an existing development potential of 200,000 units, according to the report.

Background: The City of Vancouver’s development guidelines include rules for new developments to preserve access to direct sunlight around parks and school yards. The guidelines specifically are aimed at maintaining sunlight access from 10 am to 4 pm.

In a presentation to council, staff cited the city’s “predominantly overcast climate” as a particular reason for preserving direct sunlight in public areas, especially in the spring and fall seasons. Staff said access to the sun improves public life, supports mental and physical well-being and maintains healthy vegetation — particularly the tree canopy.

• Council recently directed staff to look at how changes to that rule could increase the potential development of housing, as the city faces a housing shortage. Specifically, council asked: would reducing the sunlight access window down to just four hours, between 10 am to 2 pm lead to more housing being built?

What the report said: In short, no, not really.

In the city, there are nearly 40,000 parcels of land outside the downtown peninsula, of which just 720 are within a “solar fan” area — that is, an area where development guidelines consider solar access. Parcels closer to a park will have a lower height allowance for sunlight access purposes, while the further one gets from the park, the higher one can build.

If the city reduced the window to 10 am to 2 pm, that would reduce the number of parcels in the solar fan area down to 570.

• Dive Deeper: In May we reported on a Broadway Plan rezoning application that was deferred due to the fact that it would completely shade a nearby pocket park in Mount Pleasant.

What does it mean? A 33% reduction in the sunlight access policy for city parks outside the downtown peninsula would impact fewer than 2% of the lots in the city for a total increase in allowable housing units of about 10 per year. It may be unsurprising, then, that staff proposed maintaining the 10 am to 4 pm window.

Staff noted that there is some flexibility in place already — rental buildings that are six storeys and buildings of any size with 100% social housing units are not restricted by the guidelines.

On that note: ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner asked why the exemption exists for 100% social housing units. 

“If [sunlight] is so important, why would we have an exemption for, say, a 100% social housing tower? Why would we say absolutely no shadows on this park, but if it’s social housing, then we can put a shadow on this park?” Meiszner asked.

• He noted that, as a person who lives downtown, he agrees on the importance of sunlight, especially when someone who lives in an apartment doesn’t have access to a yard.

While staff proposed no changes to sunlight access guidelines outside the downtown peninsula, changes were proposed for the downtown area. And that, like existing guidelines outside downtown, included exemptions for buildings with 100% social housing.

What staff said: Senior planner Kevin Spaans told Meiszner that there are two types of exemptions — in specific areas, a development may be allowed to cast a greater shadow on a park if it provides some kind of community benefit. That could include some amount of social housing, child-care spaces or community spaces, or anything else deemed to be a community benefit by staff or council.

However, 100% social housing units may be exempt in any of the solar fan areas, though Spaans put an emphasis on “may.”

Spaans added, in response to a follow-up from ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung that the city’s general policy in a number of areas has been to offer 100% social housing buildings more latitude. He said staff was “right-sizing” the policy approach with those other policies, which he acknowledged comes with an “unintended outcome that it implies they get a free pass.”

The city’s head planner, Josh White, also weighed in to note that sunlight is one type of public benefit, but that it isn’t the only kind of public benefit.

“We weigh the trade-offs of it as a public benefit against potentially others. And in some instances, we suggest that social housing, on the balance, is privileged over other public benefits,” he said.

Have some thoughts on this story? Want to share some insight with the Lookout community? Share your opinion in our Comment Corner and it could be featured in future newsletters.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• 27 runners completed the inaugural Costco Marathon, running 42+ kms between each of the five Metro Vancouver Costco locations. They got that [hot] dog in them. [Georgia Straight]

• There’s a parking lot farm producing incredible produce in downtown Vancouver. [Vancouver Sun]

• You’ll have to wait to visit Song by Kin Kao, as the popular restaurant just experienced a fire, while the community has rallied to support it. [Straight]

• Grouse Mountain is offering free admission to Lower Mainland residents on August 6. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Rumour has it that the Scrubs revival is scheduled to film in Vancouver this fall. [Hollywood North Buzz]

GAME TIME

Not just for the beach, this is an important thing to remember every day this time of year. Can you work out what it is?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The city recently re-opened parts of the upgraded Granville Street Bridge and the disbelief in the Reddit comments is equal parts entertaining and informative.