Council punts on prioritizing affordable housing, rental unit development proposals

Good morning!

Apologies in advance — today’s newsletter is heavy on housing news.

Normally we try to keep it to one story, but there’s so much happening we couldn’t ignore it. From a heated debate over a housing project, to city development priority changes, it’s a lot to get through (but fear not, it’s still our normal easy-reading newsletter).

We also have a breakdown of the latest art and theatre news.

I would be remiss not to mention that a few of you pointed out grammar errors in the newsletter. It’s something we work hard to avoid. But while this may look like a massive operation, we’re a tiny part-time team running the Lookout. We do our best to catch them, but they sometimes slip through. But by all means please flag them, it helps us improve!

Strap in and let’s get to it.

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 18 🌡️ 9 | 🌤

Thursday: 20 🌡️ 10 | ☀️

Friday: 22 🌡️ 12 | 🌤

HOUSING

What 105 Keefer St. can tell us about Vancouver’s housing challenges

The development at 105 Keefer St. is serving as a microcosm for a broader debate about housing in Vancouver, with duelling narratives about whether it’s the right project for the community.

What happened: A hearing for the proposed development was met with local opposition as groups and individuals spoke out at the city’s development permit board meeting, according to Global.

Background: The property has a long and winding history. The original zoning application was submitted in 2014 by Beedie Living. It was rejected in 2017 by the former Vision-dominated council. It was then appealed to the development permit board where it was voted down, the first time the group had done so in over 10 years. The courts overturned the decision. Now Beedie is back to get it approved.

• The proposed development is currently on a vacant lot and proposes 111 condominium units, with a ground-level floor of 10,400 square feet of commercial space for up to nine businesses, according to Urbanized.

Those opposed: The lack of social housing is a major reason, with those opposed calling the development “luxury housing” according to Global. Gentrification was cited as a major concern, as costs rise and local residents are displaced. The first development proposal back in 2014 did include social housing, while the current one does not.

Those in favour: Organizations throughout Chinatown have come out in favour of the development, including the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Society, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver and many other groups, according to Daily Hive. Some groups opposed it in 2014 now support it because the developer reduced the building’s height.

• A poll surveying local residents showed that 43 percent said they supported the project, according to the Vancouver Sun. It should be noted the poll was commissioned by the developer and only reached 330 people.

Zoom out: Big developers versus local residents — it’s a tale as old as time. The city faces a serious challenge of a growing population that needs housing while ensuring a place like Chinatown remains affordable and accessible for everyone, including the historical Chinese community.

• Next steps: The board delayed their decision until June 12, according to CityNews.

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

📈 $16.75: The new minimum wage in B.C. as of June 1. This represents an increase of 6.9 percent from $15.65 per hour. [Vancouver Sun]

🔥 90 hectares: The size of a fire on Northern Vancouver Island, which represents the biggest fire on the west coast so far this year. [Global]

CITY HALL

Council votes to de-prioritize affordable housing projects

What happened: With city staff facing a massive backlog of housing development approvals, the ABC-dominated council voted to prioritize projects that would deliver the greatest number of housing units of all types, and not specific development types, according to the Vancouver Sun.

Background: City staff had previously told council they could not keep up with the volume of development requests, and proposed that council prioritize social and supportive housing, rentals and co-ops for approval.

• But council essentially went in the opposite direction, with ABC proposing and voting for prioritizing the most units possible, while Green councillors voted against it.

Opposition: Coun. Adrienne Carr accused the ABC-majority of going backwards, and that their decision went against the city’s 10-year housing plan that moved development more towards a focus on supplying affordable housing and rentals rather than unaffordable condos, according to the Vancouver Sun.

• Zoom out: The debate centres around two ideas to combat housing affordability — whether we need more housing overall which would ensure more people can access housing, or focus specifically on building more affordable housing and rental stock.

Yes, but: The change in direction is only a temporary measure to fix the massive backlog facing city hall according to Urbanized, and does not represent a permanent state of change. Staff also mentioned that doesn’t mean affordable housing projects would be deprioritized.

Thought-bubble: This decision, coupled with the return of millions of dollars of tax revenue by ABC to developers — essentially a tax break — does carry risks, as people may infer that the current council majority are too developer friendly.

DREAM HOME

This may be the biggest house we’ve featured yet. Sitting at 12,000 square feet of living space, this massive building has six bedrooms, a fully equipped gym, a movie theatre and a steam room. It’s immaculately laid out with windows throughout. It also has an indoor pool, because why not? The bedrooms are also unnecessarily large.

Guess how much this place will set you back. Now add a whole lot more.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

New fed housing help incoming

What happened: The federal government says they will roll out an infrastructure plan in the fall to build much-needed housing across the country, according to CBC.

• Trudeau said the plan would be similar to their infrastructure plans, where funding is only dolled out based on how ambitious each jurisdiction's housing plan is.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he hopes the government will take a more direct hand by actually building these projects publicly rather than through private, for-profit developers. Signh also proposed an affordable housing acquisition strategy so that nonprofits can buy up units to keep rental costs low.

In B.C.: Singh’s idea echoes BC Premier David Eby's $500-million fund for non-profits announced earlier this year, by purchasing up non-profits and ownership cooperatives, according to Global.

Reading between the lines: One might say this direct action, by tying funding to housing construction, is a direct response to the lack of action by certain regions!

QUICK HITS

🏥 Fraser Health said letters circulated alleging poor emergency room patient management and multiple-day wait times are true, but says they are not in crisis. Currently, hospitals are dealing with an exceptional level of hospital volume. Fraser Health says they do not expect the system to improve over the summer. [CTV]

🗳 Atira housing workers have been approved by the Labour Relations Board to form a union. They are joining the BCGEU, and said they organized because of poor working conditions they were subject to on the job. [CBC]

🔥 Wildfires may be about to get worse. There is no rain in the long-range forecast, with May being an exceptionally dry month, the driest since 2018. [CityNews]

📈 While SROs are supposed to be affordable, a survey by the City of Vancouver found that at least 60 percent of residents at private SROs were paying more than half their income on rent. Private SRO rent prices were also rising faster than public units, up 21 percent in the last three years. [CTV]

👩 Embattled housing provider Atira has announced a new interim CEO while they search for a permanent replacement. Catherine Roome is the founder of Pulse Technology and says she will work to regain trust in the organization. [CityNews]

📢 Police are once again asking for help identifying a woman who drowned eight months ago near Spanish Banks Beach. They’ve broken down all the pertinent case info in this video. [CTV]

💼 It may soon be easier to get a business license. The city is reducing the number of different types of business licenses from 570 — damn! — to 88 starting next year on April 1. [Urbanized]

⛴️ B.C. Ferries is moving a ferry that travels from the Horseshoe Bay terminal to the Tswassen to the Duke Point route to reduce backed-up traffic in West Vancouver. Fares will be lower for travellers on that route from July 5 onwards. [CityNews]

ARTS

Theatre

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical will be just one of the performances at Theatre Under the Stars happening from July 6 to Aug. 26 at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. [CityNews]

Politics and music combine into Happy Valley, a powerful performance about the frenzied history of Hong Kong, from Derek Chan at Firehall Arts Centre. [Stir]

Late 19th century Germany is brought to life in Spring Awakening, about the struggles the country faced, in the Tony Award-winning musical at Shop Theatre until June 10.

Music

If you love music, you’ll love VSO’s Day of Music. Set to take place across 13 stages in Vancouver, there will be more than 100 free concerts on June 10. [Georgia Straight]

Billy Idol, Yung Gravy, Aqua, Blue Rodeo, Boyz II Men… It’s quite the eclectic lineup at this year’s PNE Summer Nights with a little bit of something for everyone. [Vancouver Sun]

Movies

The Night of the 12th is a French police procedural that’s described as similar to the popular Fincher movie Zodiac. Watch it at VIFF this week.

The Vancouver Greek Film Festival is happening June 16-19, a perfect way to explore Greek culture, showing at Cinematheque.

MEME OF THE DAY

Does anyone else miss the old MEC?

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• It’s Go By Bike Week starting on May 30. Stop by Celebration Stations around the city to get free bike maintenance, cycling info, snacks and coffee. [BikeHub]

• Should the metal trolly shelter at Mount Pleasant go? There’s a lively debate in the community about whether to keep it. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• There’s a proposal to turn the Stanley Park polar bear enclosure into something very, very different — a spa! [Daily Hive]

POLL

On Monday we asked what you believed could be done to fix rental prices. Here’s what readers voted for:

• 51%: Build all housing types

• 25%: We need the right type of housing to reduce rents — affordable rentals, subsidized housing and co-ops

• 11%: A massive expansion in building — condos, triplexes, everything!

• 6%: Government needs to act and build more affordable and subsidized rental housing

• 6%: I don’t care about reducing rental prices

And here are some thoughtful responses people shared:

“Slow permitting and a ‘not in my backyard’ attitude by homeowners continue to keep possible rental builds on hold. The increase in rental demand has A LOT to do with the fact that no one can afford to buy here either. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place — can't afford to buy, can't afford to rent so...we are forced to leave. Sad state of affairs for those of us who have worked and lived here most of our life. I'm personally staring at retirement and wondering if, even on a $3,100 total pension earnings per month, I can afford to stay here. I'm being forced out of MY LIFE — my friends, my family, my interests, all of it are here. It's all so depressing and frankly, obscene.”

“Stop only building high-end and luxury condos. No one can afford to live in them.”

“Along with fewer international students, vacant-unit penalties, training for construction workers, eliminating parking requirements in rental buildings, transit and bike route investments and more schools in urban areas…”

GAMETIME

Congrats to Michael, Alberta and Sarah who all guessed correctly that there are two upcoming by-elections.

Some might say this one’s too easy. Can you guess this fun summer spot? There’s a hint in the photo. The first five to reply will be mentioned in the newsletter.