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  • How’s Vancouver doing on those housing targets? Not great

How’s Vancouver doing on those housing targets? Not great

We're off to a slow start, but staff say the city should still reach its five-year targets

Good morning,

I’ve been in a very fortunate position lately to have a really flexible schedule (one of the benefits for being a freelancer!), and there’s no better time for that than when the sun is out! I’ve never been exactly good at sports, but I’ve taken a real liking over the last nine or so months to playing basketball. And with the sun out in force this last week or so, I’ve managed to make it down to the court by my place to play every day! I hope everyone else is getting to take advantage of the sun in their own ways.

Today, we’re talking about provincial housing targets. Is the city meeting them so far? Will the city meet them? Is it more complicated than just a number of units? Read on to find out!

Let’s get to it!

— Dustin Godfrey, freelancer

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

WEATHER

Monday: 20 🌡️ 9 | 🌤️

Tuesday: 18 🌡️ 9 | ☀️

Wednesday: 19 🌡️ 10 | ☀️

HOUSING

City’s housing completions not exactly on target

What: The City of Vancouver will need 3,595 more housing completions before October if it wants to meet the first target set for it by the province. That’s more than twice the 1,607 completions between Oct. 1 and Mar. 31.

The city is one of 10 municipalities that were given one- and five-year housing targets by the province last fall — the so-called “naughty list” — and it is required to report on the first six months, the first year, and every year after that. City council is set to hear the first six-month report tomorrow in a special council meeting.

What’s the deal? The city’s first target, to be reached by Sept. 30, was 5,202 housing completions, leaving the 1,607 in the first six months lagging behind. And while the start of the year is usually low compared to other parts of the year, the city staff report noted this year’s rate of completions is low compared to the previous two years.

  • It’s unclear exactly how the province would react to lagging completions in the first year — or why the province chose completions as a measure in the first place. As staff noted in their report to council, measuring completions in 2024 reflects construction that began two to three years ago, and which went through city permitting processes five years or longer ago.

“The impact of policy changes made today, and projects approved this year, will not reach completions until the later years of the target order timeline or into the next provincial target order,” staff wrote.

Some hope yet: While staff noted “lower than anticipated completions” in the first six months of the timeline, the city reported that there is “an unprecedented volume of projects in-stream, enough capacity in our current development pipeline” to meet the five-year targets.

In all, there are about 31,300 new units of housing that are currently in the pipeline. That includes 8,000 with building permits issued and another 14,600 with rezoning approved or development permits issued. The city is reviewing applications for 4,200 units, and 4,500 low-density housing permit applications are also projected to be completed in the next five years.

If all 31,300 units are completed in time, that would surpass the five-year target of 28,900 completions set by the province.

What control does the city have? As the city noted in its report, there is plenty that can go wrong. The city can expedite the approvals process, but construction and completion “is primarily dependent on factors beyond the city’s control, including capacity of the construction sector, inflationary pressure, access to funding, and financing for market and non-market developers.”

One factor could be the performance of the labour market, as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has in recent years decried a “labour shortage,” a line of thinking that is often used to justify programs like temporary foreign workers. In a report last month, the BC Construction Association projected 6,600 unfilled construction jobs by 2033.

But economists like the Centre for Future Work’s Jim Stanford warn against leaning too hard on “labour shortage” discourse. In a Toronto Star commentary last year, he noted properly planned immigration is good for the economy, but “importing masses of workers just to make life easier for employers is the wrong way to do it (especially using exploitative temporary migrant programs).”

What of developers? There’s also the question of whether developers would willingly build their way to lower profits. Last year, the Vancouver Sun reported that Vancouver developers held new condos empty for years while they waited for higher housing prices.

While the numbers of unsold condos were low (just 96 units), it’s worth questioning whether that would be put into wider practice if developers were building to a point where housing prices were to be seriously impacted.

On the other hand, one Vancouver-area blogger, Russil Wvong, pointed to the example of Austin, Texas, where more supply has driven vacancies up and prices down to a point of a local “real estate syndicate reporting to its investors that it's going bankrupt.”

Other missed targets: The province didn’t just say that the city should be building 28,900 units — it also prescribed the makeup of those units. For instance, it calls for 60% of units to be studio or one-bedroom units, 18% to be two-bedroom units and 22% to be three-plus-bedroom units.

It also calls for 72% of completed units to be rentals and 28% to be ownership, with 62% of rentals prescribed to be at market rates and 35% at or below BC’s housing income limits — for Vancouver, that means rents deemed affordable to households with incomes of $58,000 for one-bedroom units, $72,000 for two-beds and $86,000 for three-beds.

The city is far behind on all of those targets — of the 1,607 units completed so far, 51% were rentals, and of those rentals, 99% were at market rates. Just 11 units were geared to the housing income limits. That being said, the report noted the trend has been for some time towards purpose-built rentals.

What could happen? As noted by the Vancouver Sun, the city could see an “independent advisor” appointed by the province if it’s not making satisfactory progress. And if that isn’t successful, the province could step in and rezone entire neighbourhoods for more density.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🧑‍🌾 1: The number of grenades that would be too many to find in a park. Also, the number of grenades that a gardener found in Hinge Park in Vancouver. [CBC]

🚨 12: The number of charges prosecutors laid against a man for robberies at businesses downtown and in East Vancouver between June and December last year, according to VPD. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🏢 22: The number of storeys proposed for a development at Cardero and Davie streets, with 198 rental units, including at 37 below-market rates. [Vancouver is Awesome]

👶$100,000: How much a UK man may need to pay a BC woman in retroactive child support for a child who was born following a fling between the two individuals. The order was granted by a BC judge, and will now need to go before a UK court. [CBC]

🔬 Tired of drowning in science news? Us too.

Caught in the whirlpool of ever-evolving tech and science advancements? You're not alone. The pace at which technology and science are moving can leave even the most curious minds in a sea of information overload.

That’s where The Aurorean comes in. It’s a weekly briefing of the most essential news, groundbreaking research, and awe-inspiring beauty in science right to your inbox every Wednesday. They scour 100+ sources to bring you the juiciest bits of science.

Whether you're a scientist, tech enthusiast, or just someone curious about the universe, The Aurorean helps you navigate the currents of progress with ease. Ready to stay ahead of the curve? Sign up now for your free weekly dose of science!

NEW JOBS

Discover your dream job in Vancouver:

THE AGENDA

🧑‍⚖️ A man is suing the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, Scouts Canada and the United Church claiming he was sexually abused as a child by John Frederick Way in 1979 at Camp Capilano. Way has since died. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🐶 Some very good dogs (and their owners) are struggling to find a new place to run free of their shackles/leashes and delight in the company of their fellow dogs (and owners) after the Vancouver school district closed the field at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary to public use a few months ago. [Vancouver Sun]

🚔 A fourth suspect has been arrested in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar near a Surrey Sikh temple last year. Brampton, Ont. resident Amandeep Singh, 22, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after three suspects were charged last week. [Global]

🚴 Vancouver needs more cycling infrastructure, according to HUB Cycling executive director Laura Jane, who cited a new study from UBC showing an increase in e-bikes being used across the province. We’re sure this will put to rest the debate over bike lanes. [CityNews]

🧑‍🚒 A person was taken to hospital with unclear injuries after a fire broke out in the electrical room at BC Place Stadium on Friday. [CityNews]

🛩️ It’s a bird! A plane! Well — several planes, actually! The Canadian Forces Snowbirds were in town performing a flyover at the start of the Vancouver Canucks’ second game against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. [The Canadian Press]

❓ What is the BC Conservatives’ position on abortion? The BC NDP and BC Greens are pushing the party, which is surging in the polls to challenge the NDP, to clear the air about this after a “dog whistle” statement in legislature about Mother’s Day that defined motherhood as starting “from the moment of conception.” [Vancouver Sun]

🧑‍⚕️ Doctors in the Vancouver Coastal Health region have access to peer support through a program run by the health authority to address mental health. One volunteer with the program, an anesthesiologist, wonders if this kind of program could have helped two of his colleagues in a UK hospital who died of suicide while he worked with them. [Vancouver Sun]

🏒 Are the refs to blame for any of the Vancouver Canucks’ woes? One commentator says Vancouver fans and (especially) media personalities play the victim too much, though he acknowledges that the homer tradition of crying foul over unfair penalty calls (or the unjust lack thereof) isn’t isolated in this city. [SportsNet]

🚨 A 34-year-old woman was breastfeeding her child in the backseat of a parked car near Commercial Dr. and East Second Ave. when an unknown person allegedly opened the door and began grabbing at the mother and her child. The mother suffered minor injuries, and the baby was unharmed. A 26-year-old woman was charged in connection with the incident. [CBC]

🚒 The Grandview Cut has been the site of a string of injuries and rescues from people falling into the man-made ravine, including one recent incident in which a man fell down the steep embankment and needed to be rescued by the fire department. Vancouver Park Board commissioner Laura Christensen said she wants to see more security around the perimeter. [Global]’

EVENTS GUIDE

Avril Lavigne: The Greatest Hits | Rogers Arena | May 22, 7 pm | It’s Avril Lavigne! What more can I say? | Tickets $142

Bicycle Film Festival | The Rio Theatre | Saturday, 5 pm | If you love bikes and films, then take your BFF to the BFF! | Tickets $20

Foundation Volume 10.0 - Open Radius | PNE Centre Grounds | Saturday and Sunday, 4 pm | Two stages and two days of live house, disco and techno music | Tickets $99

Guys & Dolls | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | Daily starting May 16 | The classic musical is back in town | Tickets $39

Playland | Playland | Saturday | Vancouver’s amusement park is opening up again this weekend! | Tickets $33

Pussy Riot Reduced Sensory Day | The Polygon Gallery | Thursday, 10 am to 9 pm | The Russian artists bring a sensory-overloading exhibition to Vancouver | Tickets by donation

A Case for the Existence of God | Pacific Theatre | Daily starting May 16 | A discussion about a loan turns into a conversation about the realities of adulthood and much, much more | Tickets $15

FOOD PREVIEW

Exquisite simplicity at Delara

Delarra fish peas and dill

Delarra fish peas and dill. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

We recently visited Kitsilano’s Delara, and even if Persian food isn’t necessarily your thing, we recommend you give it a try! Here’s an excerpt from our review:

Delara calls itself a modern Persian restaurant and it certainly leans into that theme. The menu isn’t expansive, with five starters, six mains, and a rotating selection of specials. Simple dish titles like Lamb Shank and Roasted Cauliflower belie a complex combination of traditional flavours and ingredients, a balance they execute with perfection.  

Like the menu, the restaurant’s design may appear overly simple, with a design that’s in many new restaurants in town. But the subtle Persian influence is unmistakable. Windows with intricate geometric patterns found normally in mosques, arched doorways, light and sand-like colours, an intense blue of the napkins, it all transports you to a different world.

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

Did you catch the northern lights?

Aurora borealis? At this time of year? Through the weekend? Localized entirely across the continent? (Is it possible to do a story about the northern lights without a Simpsons reference? No.)

We don’t normally get to see the northern lights here in heavily light-polluted Vancouver, but a geomagnetic storm lit up the sky with hues of pink and green throughout the province. In fact, it wasn’t just BC — the sky glowed with aurora borealis across the country in New Brunswick, and even way down in Florida.

The vibrant skies are thanks to what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described ahead of time as an “unusual and potentially historic event” caused by at least seven coronal mass ejections from the sun. The show started on Friday and was expected to run through Sunday.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
  • When Vancouver’s outdoor pools reopen for the summer in the coming long weekend, Kitsilano Pool will not be among them. That’s because of “unforeseen repairs” needed for the pool, according to the Vancouver Park Board. [CTV]

  • 🌍 Geopolitics in <5 minutes? Get International Intrigue, the free global briefing crafted by former diplomats. [Sponsored]

  • Ok, this isn’t in Vancouver, but how can we not share this? A hairless raccoon was seen wandering around Richmond. The hairlessness is likely due to mange, and it is visibly itchy in a video that captured the little guy. [CTV]

  • Desperately need more donairs in downtown? Two new shops are opening not too far from one another, one on Robson and the other on Davies, to fill our fix. [Vancouver is Awesome]

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

GAME TIME

Today’s quiz question that you can find in the newsletter — how many units of housing are in Vancouver’s approvals pipeline?

How many units of housing are in Vancouver's approvals pipeline?

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