Experts are raising concerns about Vancouver’s commitment to provincial housing plans

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Good morning,

It’s a big day here at the Lookout. We’re sharing our very first long-form story, looking at the past, present and future of False Creek and what’s going to happen to many of the co-ops that make up a big part of its housing supply.

A big thanks to Nate for writing it (he’s written a few newsletter lately). These are the types of stories I hope to do more of in the future. If you have any ideas of what we should explore, let me know by replying to this email.

We’ve also got a look at Vancouver’s, shall we say, less than aggressive approach to the province’s housing plan.

Let’s dive in. 

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

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

WEATHER

Friday: 13 🌡️ 9 | 🌧️

Saturday: 12 🌡️ 8 | 🌧️

Sunday: 11 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

Monday: 12 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

EXCLUSIVE STORY

‘We’ll bring the shovels’: The past, present and future of False Creek South

Today’s main story is a little different. Thanks to the hundreds of membership who contribute to the publication, we were able to commission our first long-form story. Please enjoy reading it.

Along one part of Vancouver’s iconic Seawall lies False Creek South (FCS), a unique planned community, with courtyards, parks, businesses, and amenities conveniently located in Vancouver’s Fairview neighbourhood. A dynamic mix of housing types, limited road access, and an emphasis on pedestrian and wheeled access have come to define the nearly 50-year-old “village-like” community.

Before the mid-1970s, False Creek had most recently been an industrial zone, “with log booms, sewer discharge, noise from factories, trains, bridges and roads… [making] residential neighbourhoods in the area unfathomable,” according to a City of Vancouver presentation on the history of the area. Through a series of land deals, the city acquired most of the land that now makes up FCS. 

The area was designed based on community “charrettes,” an intensive type of planning process that focuses on collaboration between developers, neighbours, and prospective residents. As early as the 1950s, a budding urban planning concept known as “Vancouverism” promoted liveable inner-city districts with an inclusive range of housing types, centred around public open space, view corridors, and robust public transit.

Click here to read the entire story.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🗳️ 45%: The BC NDP’s current support in the polls, as we get closer to the upcoming provincial election. The Conservative Party of BC is at 27% while BC United is at 15%. [Research Co]

💰 $11 million: The amount Nude Beverages, a Vancouver-based drink business, sold its ready-to-drink alcohol business line. [Business in Vancouver]

🍎 98,000: The number of people accessing BC food banks in the last month. [CBC]

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CITY HALL

Experts are raising concerns about Vancouver’s commitment to the province’s housing plans

What happened: Experts are continuing to raise red flags that Vancouver is not on track to build the necessary housing needed as part of the province’s housing targets and may, in fact, be undermining some of those plans.

Background: The province has set a number of targets, as well as brought in specific policies, with the goal of getting more housing built. These include upzoning single family lots, and Transit Oriented Development areas, among other things. Missile middle housing, such as fourplexes and other non-condo developments, are also a key part of the mix. 

The issue: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s major missing middle housing policy plan focused on building more multiplexes. But as policy expert Alex Hemmingway noted back in March, the city’s mutiplex policy, as it stands right now, would result in 30,000 fewer homes, blowing a hole in the province’s overall target.

The FSR problem: The province’s housing guidelines for upzoning multiplexes allow around 1.8 FSR, or floor space ratio, which dictates the square footage of a house in relation to the unit lot. The bigger the FSR, the bigger the potential homes, and vice versa.

• Shaughnessy oh my: Peter Waldkirch, a director at Abundant Housing, has noted that the city wants a limit of 0.5 FSR in Shaughnessy, meaning there would be major limits on what could be built. This was part of the multiplex update from the city. 

We reached out to Waldkirch to ask his thoughts on Vancouver’s current plans:

• “Vancouver is doing the bare minimum to comply with new Provincial housing goals, especially when it comes to multiplexes. For example, Vancouver recently legalized multiplexes in many residential neighbourhoods, but they’re much smaller than the Province is recommending. This means they’re much less likely to be built, and those that do get built will be smaller and less suitable for families. This is a big problem because, when the Province estimated how much housing would be built under the provincial multiplex legislation, it assumed Vancouver would align its policies with the provincial ones,” said Waldkirch over email.

Why is this a problem: The province has staked much of their reputation on solving the housing crisis. But the biggest impediment to that appears to be the cities, adopting incremental policies that make the overarching provincial goal much harder to hit. 

• Waldkirch noted that things like “setback, height, and yard requirements” are all tools the city could use to reduce the amount of housing that gets built.

What it means: It’s clear many municipalities are beginning to make policy decisions that will limit the effectiveness and intent of the province’s policies. Though the province appears to be aware of the problem, according to a post by the Minister of Housing on Twitter, it raises questions about what they will actually do to fix it.

• When I asked Waldkirch about it, he said the province, “needs more enforcement tools to ensure consistent pro-housing policies.”

In other news: The Vancouver housing market is dealing with a new problem — not enough buyers purchasing homes due to mortgage rates, according to Bloomberg.

THE AGENDA

🧑‍⚖️ The Labour Relations Board has ruled that the City of Vancouver owes firefighters sick day pay after the city sought a review of an arbitrator’s decision back in January of last year. [CBC]

🏒 Uh, so that’s not great news… Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko will be back, at the earliest, for the conference finals, after injuring his knee. That’s assuming the Canucks make it that far, though the series with Nashville is tied at 1-1. [The Province]

👎 The mayor has addressed why there are no plans for outdoor parties for the Canucks playoffs this year. He says the city has to be “responsible” after the riots of 1994 and 2011, and is using a report on those riots as a basis for not hosting any parties. [Global News]

⚽ It’s the crossover of the century. Well, maybe not that big. But the Whitecaps will be hosting Wrexham AFC, the team featured in Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s popular show Welcome to Wrexham. The teams will play at BC Place on July 2 and there are still lots of tickets remaining. [CBC]

🏗️ Construction on social housing in the Little Mountain neighbourhood is finally set to begin, after residents who lived in the area, 700 of them, were displaced. There have been long-simmering complaints that the developer Holborn Properties failed to develop the land, waiting for the property value to rise. [CBC]

🍄 It’s a real faceoff, but not the hockey kind. Dana Larsen, the owner of a mushroom dispensary, says even though the city’s chief licensing inspector has ordered his business to shut down, he plans on keeping it open. [CTV]

🚆 The Mayors’ Council has approved the short-term funding plan to help deal with increasing population growth resulting in overcrowded vehicles, including increasing bus service, extending hours and more Bus Rapid Transit, amongst other deliverables. [TransLink]

FOOD REVIEW

Parker Place food court punches above its weight

Our ongoing series covering Chinese food courts always makes me a little frustrated for two reasons. 

First, the quality, diversity and affordability of food at food courts is a reminder that there aren’t enough of these in Vancouver proper. Second, it’s ridiculous that in a city with so many local publications, we’re the only publication consistently visiting and reviewing these places. Seriously, Vancouver Sun what’s going on?

So my ongoing hope with these reviews is that you venture outside your comfort zone and check out what non-traditional dining spots, like food courts, have to offer. 

High on your list should be the recent food court I visited in Parker Place at 4380 No. 3 Rd in Richmond, just south of Aberdeen Station.

It’s jam-packed with high-quality food stalls, many with clear English signs (that some Chinese food courts lack) making it an easy visit for most people.   

To read this story and get our free food newsletter, click here to subscribe instantly and read the story.

EVENTS

Richmond Night Market | 8351 River Road | Friday-Sunday all summary | It’s baaaaaack. The ever-popular night market has returned, where you can score so many great different food | Tickets

Filipino Restaurant Month | Multiple locations | Throughout April | Four restaurants in Vancouver are participating, including Goldilocks Bake Shop Inc., Max’s Restaurant, Pampanga’s Cuisine and Shameless Buns | Learn more

Canucks Away Game Viewing Party | BC Place | April 26 | Come watch the team’s away game at BC Place | Tickets $15

Canadians Vs Spokane | Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium | April 26 | Nothing better than an afternoon baseball game! | Tickets $22

Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party | Fraser Street | April 27 | Filipino party with music, dance and Filipino food | Free

Etsy Spring Pop Up | Heritage Hall | April 27, 10 am-5 pm | 40+ local small businesses selling different products, with 50% of ticket sales going to charity | Tickets $3

Cherry Blossoms of Stanley Park | Akebono Cherry Tree Grove | April 27, 10:30 am | Join expert Nina as she shares her knowledge on cherry trees | Tickets $12

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Congrats to Botanist and The Keefer Bar which both made the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars of 2024. I’ve been to Keefer many times, and it’s certainly deserving of the award! [CityNews]

• 📜 Fed up with the shortsightedness of today's business news? History Investor’s weekly newsletter uses history to bring you insights and ideas that you can apply to your own life. Subscribe now! [Sponsored]

• For all you fans of The Crown, Princess Anne will be visiting Vancouver and Victoria starting on May 3. [Vancouver Sun]

• Ever struggled to reach out to old friends? You aren’t alone. A new SFU study shows that people are very reticent to restart relationships with old friends. [SFU]

• If you fancy yourself a trivia expert, then this event with $2,1000 in winnings may be your jam. [Straight]

• As someone on Reddit kindly pointed out, you can get some pretty incredible perks at the Vancouver Public Library, including free New York Times access. [VPL]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

GAME TIME

Think you can guess today’s Wordle? Play it here.