Developers mixed on potential success of upzoning in Vancouver

Good morning,

I hope you all had a restful long weekend.

I both love and loathe Labour Day. I love it because it’s a day off, but dislike it because it reminds me summer is over and work really picks up.

Speaking of work, today’s newsletter is an especially full one today since we didn’t publish on Tuesday. We’ve got:

• 🏠 Mixed feelings from developers on upzoning

• 🚓 Police back in schools

• ✍️ I reply to questions about a new potential tax on homes

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

HOUSING

Developers mixed on potential success of upzoning

Upzoning, the policy of automatically zoning single family homes for more density, has been heralded as a key part of improving Vancouver’s housing supply and increasing housing availability and affordability. But will that actually happen?

Breaking it down: Vancouver’s policy to upzone single-family homes is continuing onwards, with public hearings slated to begin Sept. 14. Some developers are optimistic while others aren’t sure it will have the desired effect.

The good: The proposal would reduce nine different zones to one, require many homes to build smaller dwellings if the owners tear down an older home to replace it with a new single-family home, and allow construction of up to four units on land.

The problem: Only 60,000 homes would be affected by it. But many homes in Shaughnessy will not be impacted because they’re protected by the Heritage Conservation Area. Some developers say property prices may continue to rise, and the average unit would cost around $1.5 million.

• One developer also pointed out that when duplexes were legalized, few built them, and questioned why multiplexes would be different.

An example: Minneapolis adopted a similar policy in 2018 and began implementing it in 2020. According to an analysis by economist Matthew Maltman, the policy has had some success, with a few caveats. While plexes increased, they still represent a small percentage of overall homes built.

Maltman identified other factors which had arguably a greater impact on increasing supply

1. Reducing minimum parking requirements

2. Making it easier to build accessory buildings

3. A pro-housing government that is willing to act to increase supply

Vancouver is already looking at changing the number of vehicle stalls for larger buildings, according to Urbanized. This is already the case for rental housing projects.

Across the water: I’ve broken down previously how Victoria’s attempt at upzoning has resulted in no new properties due to existing rules around floor space and building space around the property. It’s a good example of Maltman’s point number three above, where having a pro-housing council matters. Law changes are fine, but they can have unintended effects.

What it means: Others have pointed out the problems with the policy, which you can read about here. The fact the policy is somewhat conservative already does not bode well for public consultation, which likely will face vocal opposition. It may also become a focal point of the housing debate when the policy will have minimal impact.

In other news: Vancouver housing was never meant to deal with extreme heat and may pose problems in the years ahead, according to CBC. Modern towers, which are primarily glass, were never designed to deal with high heat. The city has focused on incentives for renovations rather than forcing buildings and developers to build heat-friendly buildings.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🎤 65,061: The number of fans who attended Ed Sheeran’s show, a new attendance record at B.C. Place. [Times Colonist]

⛽ $1.98: The gas price this weekend, down from highs of around $2.13 earlier in the week. Fill up now, because these prices aren’t expected to last. [Global]

📚 47,000: The number of library items overdue or lost after the library brought in no overdue fines. But this isn’t really bad news. The library says the lost revenue is less than 0.1 percent of its budget and officials say the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive. [Vancouver Sun]

🌭 626,531: The number of people who attended the PNE Fair this year. That’s up 20 percent compared to last year. [City News]

📈 23%: The rise in the cost of a single detached family home in Vancouver since the start of the year, reaching a new record of $2.4 million. Yikes. [Twitter]

EDUCATION

Police back in schools this fall

What happened: The first week of school means the return of the school liaison officers, a controversial program that was brought back by the city’s governing ABC party as part of their election platform, according to CBC.

• The program places officers in schools, mostly secondary schools, to further safety through proactive measures. Officers are in less formal attire and have less exposed firearms. Approximately 15 officers will be deployed.

Background: The program ended in 2021 but was brought back by the ABC-dominated school board this year, with major changes. The district told Global that the program will “deliver safety and crime-prevention programs, give advice and guidance to students and family who seek support, and act as a resource for students and staff.”

Those in favour: Polling amongst students showed the program was popular, with 61 percent saying officers added a sense of safety to schools, according to Global. The program is very different than before, and the police consulted with community groups before relaunching.

Those opposed: The polling also showed a majority of Black and Indigenous students did not feel the program created more safety. B.C.’s human rights commissioner sent a letter to B.C. School Trustees Association urging them to end the program because of a lack of evidence that the program benefits couldn’t be delivered by other means.

• A member of the Vancouver Police Board stopped down in June over the decision to bring it back, saying debate was stifled and no formal vote was held.

HOME OF THE WEEK

Two bedrooms? Under $700,000? Near Cioffi’s, my favourite Italian grocery store?

Yes, yes, and yes. The one caveat? The place is just outside of Vancouver in Burnaby. But with access to the city on the speedy R5 Hastings, you can get downtown in under 20 minutes.

The unit is newly renovated, with 1,012 square feet of space. The kitchen is cute with a nice space to peek into the living room. You can also enjoy two decent-sized patios with some solid views of the mountains.

My personal favourite? A squat rack in their building gym, which is exceedingly rare!

This place is very reasonable and won’t set you back as much as you think.

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labelled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

THE AGENDA

✈️ Car crashes cause delays. Plane crashes? Yup. On Sunday, flights were delayed after an Air Canada plane clipped another plane. No one was injured and the damage was just to the wing. [CTV]

⛴️ Speaking of delays, BC Ferries can’t catch a break. While the ferries were relatively problem-free over the long weekend, there were 12 sailings cancelled on the Sunshine Coast due to a crew member getting into an accident, and the company could not find a replacement. Is anyone else a little concerned about how just one person could impact so many sailings? [CTV]

😡 A man who was the subject of a hate crime is criticizing the justice system for too giving too lenient of a sentence for a repeat offender. [Global]

🏠 Is the answer to the rental housing crisis prefabricated homes? Metro Vancouver’s regional planning committee will look at ways of adding more prefabricated rental construction housing, as a way to speed up builds. This will especially help address what experts say will be a huge decline in construction workers in the next ten years as 20 percent of the workforce is expected to retire. [Vancouver Sun]

❌ After a brief return, Joffre Lake will close again on Tuesday as Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua First Nations, and the provincial government, continue to negotiate over the use of the land. The First Nations still plan to close the park till Sept. 30. [Vancouver Sun]

☕ One of Vancouver’s four unionized Starbucks is closing down. The lease for the 4467 Dunbar St. location is up and they cannot do the necessary upgrades. The company says it was not because of unionization and the union says the closure was expected. [The Tyee]

HISTORY

I love old-timey print ads. There’s something really simple about an impactful image and a big headline.

This one is from 1977. The orange colour of the ship really stands out!

TWEET OF THE DAY

If you choose to live by a school, there may be parties!

GOOD NEWS

Dan Fine is the co-founder of the Ukrainian War Animals Relief Fund and he just returned from his fourth visit to the country to vaccinate and spay/neuter abandoned animals, according to CTV. In coordination with the government, he travelled to villages to help the animals, who eventually find owners or can be sent to adoption centres.

Thanks Dan for all your hard work!

SURVEY

What readers said about property taxes

On Friday, we asked readers if they thought taxing the value of a property rather than the home value was a better policy.

• 58 percent thought it was a good idea that those who profit from housing should pay more

• 18 percent agreed but thought it should be offset by tax reductions

• 24 percent disagreed, saying they thought the current policy worked fine

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• People are celebrating the life of city planner Nathan Edelson who died at the age of 76. He advocated for co-op housing, DTES residents and heritage protection in Chinatown. [CBC]

• Vancouver could’ve looked a lot different because of this one vote. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Jeopardy team, assemble! CBC reporter Justin McElroy recruited three local Vancouver Jeopardy players to form what he called the great pub trivia team. The results were unexpected. [CBC]

• It was a busy weekend for whales, with a whale spotted at Whytecliff Park and orcas spotted off of Third Beach. [Reddit]

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

I’m a sucker for brooding photos of cities, and this photographer from Reddit really captures a foreboding vibe.

GAME TIME

Today’s Vancouver Guesser is another park. Can you guess which park this is? Bonus points if you can name the garden!

Reply with the park and your name and I’ll include it in the newsletter!