So long single-family homes

Good morning,

It’s a big news day here in BC. And no, I don’t mean the news that Taylor Swift will be performing in Vancouver.

I’m of course talking about a new housing announcement from the BC government! For housing advocates is it a policy from their wildest dreams? Or will it create bad blood between the province and the cities? Either way, this may be karma for local governments who refuse to build more homes. 

Anyways, enough of these terrible song puns. Let’s get to the newsletter. 

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity newsletter writer

HOUSING

So long single-family homes

The province could look much different in the coming years, with fewer single-family homes…

What happened: The BC government introduced legislation to encourage the creation of townhomes, laneway units and multiplex homes, by removing zoning rules that limit their constructions, according to CityNews.

The policy is threefold:

• Legalize laneway and secondary suites in all communities;

• A single-family zoned lot can three to four units;

• And up to six units on lots close to frequent transit stops.

One-off public hearings for previously required rezonings that are “consistent and aligned with the official community plans” will be phased out, according to the province. 

Context: Before you start celebrating it’s worth remembering Victoria already legalized this in a similar way, but not a single unit has been built from the policy. The reason? Overly restrictive regulations on things such as height and how far back a home has to be built away from the property boundary. 

The good: Economist Alex Hemmingway noted that this type of regulation from cities, which could stifle the intended policy goal, may be harder with these rules announced by the province. It also takes into consideration likely housing needs 20 years from now. 

Yes, but: There are a few problems. Getting these types of units built requires rules that make it easy. Limits on height restrictions, size and lot coverage — the rules set by the province — could dampen the policy, according to the Vancouver Sun. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon noted that these rules would be brought in later through regulations when the bill is enacted. 

In Vancouver: Hemingway noted that the policy will not impact large parts of Vancouver. He also noted the intended build goal is not nearly enough, and multiplexes wouldn’t be enough to actually dent the housing supply. 

What it all means: Little by little, more permissive housing laws are becoming the norm. The shift in tone in just a few years, and the speed of policy change, are rather stunning. The question is a matter of scale — this type of policy will likely not be enough itself. The province has promised more laws in the coming months, so expect other policies to address the housing crisis.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

📊 632: The number of people that the city was able to secure housing for in 2022. But, the latest housing count had a record number of homeless people in the city at 2,420. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🎤 3: The number of concerts Taylor Swift will perform in Vancouver, from Dec. 6-8. [CBC]

🎆 0: The number of fireworks tickets given out in Vancouver over Halloween night. [CTV]

💰 25: The number of properties that the BC government is considering buying using the Rental Protection Fund. The fund purchases older buildings, saving them from for-profit developers and preserving lower rents for tents. [Urbanized]

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HEALTH

Should the province expand safe supply?

What happened: The debate around safe supply continues as an expert panel recommended that safe supply be expanded, and the provincial government responded by rejecting the recommendation, according to Global.

The recommendation: The panel, convened by BC chief corner, recommended making safe-supply prescription free, in order to expand it to those who need it, helping to reduce the number of deaths, to address the ongoing problems with the program. 

• “The current medical model for provision of safer supply faces a number of overwhelming challenges, including scalability, geographic reach within the province, and the adequacy of available drugs to meet the needs of people accessing the unregulated drug market,” chair of the panel Michael Egilson said according to Global. 

Other problems include limitations of one-to-one prescription not being scalable and not enough medicine readily available. 

The panel included a range of experts, from health leaders to a police chief, to clinicians, according to the Globe and Mail. Their recommendation included allowing agencies to apply to distribute the drugs. One unique approach to reduce diversion is making the drugs free to use at a facility, while charging users the same price as street drugs to take them outside, with the goal of preventing the drugs from being sold.

Those opposed: The province’s main opposition is related to administration. They oppose the idea of removing medical oversight of those receiving the drugs. They say they are focused on expanding treatment beds, and that more harm reduction mechanisms are in place, according to Global. It would also require the province to ask the federal government for an exemption. 

• Yes, but: The NDP government only added 360 new treatment beds since 2017 to the 3,200 total in the province. Those trying to access those beds say the waitlist can be months long, according to CTV. With that said, the government did announce $1 billion earlier this year to fund services like this, according to the CBC. 

Thought-bubble: Regardless of whether you support or oppose safe supply, it’s clear the current policy is failing, with new records set almost every month for deaths from illicit drugs. It’s also worth considering this policy in the context of the recent crackdown by the police of a group who were running an unsanctioned safe supply organization, according to CTV. 

THE AGENDA

🏠 Housing inventory is rising across Vancouver, but the sales are still low. So far, there were 4,664 units listed last month, up 15.4 percent from last year. The bad news? House prices rose from 4.4 percent from October 2022. [CBC]

🍄 No need to hide your shiitakes and oyster mushrooms, this only applies to magic ones. The police raided three magic mushroom dispensaries on Wednesday. The stores have popped up throughout Vancouver. Police say the dispensaries are trafficking in an illegal substance. [Global]

🌧️ Expect mostly rain throughout November in Vancouver, hopefully skipping snow in any low-lying areas. [Daily Hive]

🎆 A group was caught shooting fireworks at people in East Vancouver. The suspects fled after the police arrived. [Global News]

🚗 Meanwhile, a pedestrian who was struck by a driver of a vehicle on Halloween has “life-altering injuries.” Police are asking for any witnesses to come forward. [CityNews]

🅿️ We’ve written before about the lack of industrial space in Vancovuer and how that could impact the economy. One solution? Free up land by reducing parking space, according to a survey of industrial sites across the city, where there is too much parking for the areas. [Urbanized]

👍 Congrats to Vancouver who, according to a new study, led job growth for high-tech positions with 26.3 percent growth between 2021 and 2022. [TriCity News]

VIDEO OF THE DAY

This is a great breakdown of the history around building the social housing complex at Little Mountain. It’s a troubling story about privatization, delays and broken dreams, that showcase so many problems with the city. I’ll be covering this story in more detail in the next Insider edition newsletter for paying subscribers who help support our local news. Join today. 

WEEKEND GUIDE

Metro Vancouver Croissant Crawl | Around the region | Nov. 1-14 | Check out tasty and limited edition croissant creations around Vancouver and the city | Free

Autumn pop-up market | Heritage Hall | This Saturday and Sunday, 11 am-5 pm | 40+ vendors to discover new artwork and more | Free

Wonder Walks: Vancouver Chinatown | Chinatown Memorial Plaza | This Saturday, 11 am | Journey through wonders and big sights in little Chinatown | Tickets $12

Elf: The Musical | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | Nov. 2-Dec. 31 | Come see Elf like you’ve never seen it before, as an on-stage musical | Starting at $46

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival | Rio Theatre | Nov. 14-19 | Come see 25 of the best mountain films this year | Tickets $23

Eastside Culture Crawl | All throughout East Vancouver | Nov. 16-19, various times | One of the best art events of the year, come check out the studios of artists throughout East Vancouver | Free

Vancouver Christmas Market | Jack Poole Plaza | Nov. 16-Dec. 24 | One of the best Christmas festivals in the city, come celebrate the Christmas spirit with food, drinks and other vendors | Starting at $15.99

Van Dusen Festival of Lights | Van Dusen Botanical Garden | Nov. 24-Jan. 7 | 15 acres adorned with lights, along with food vendors | Tickets $24

FOOD

🇮🇹 If you’re looking for Italian groceries straight from the source, you can’t go wrong with this classic spot just outside of Vancouver. [Vancity Lookout]

🍷 Need a bottle of wine this weekend? This entry-level one is sure to be a hit and pairs well with Asian food. [Vancity Lookout]

👍 The chef of the Caribbean restaurant Calabash Bistro in the Downtown Eastside shares his favourite things to eat at his restaurant, how he marries contemporary and classic foods and what inspires him. [Scout Magazine]

✅ Here’s where some of Vancouver’s top chefs and restaurant industry people love to eat. It ain’t fancy, but the spots sound great. [Vancity Lookout]

🍷 Popular spot Salt Tasting Room is back, re-opening at their new location of 227 East Pender St. in Chinatown. [Scout]

HISTORY

This is a photo of W Hastings looking East from 1932, right near where Save on Meats is now. Crazy how much it’s changed…

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Someone named a Vancouver crow Fabian. And then they created a short video of him. I love it. [Reddit]

• 🐶 Meet Joy (and Honey Toes)! Watch their video here to learn why flexibility matters for drivers like Joy.*

• Good news for Vancouver, if a tsunami hit, the city would mostly be fine. Richmond and Delta, not so much… [604 Now]

• Congrats to Elias Petterson who was named the NHL star of the month. [The Province]

• Join the fight against uterine cancer! Take Uterine Health Research Lab’s quick and easy questionnaire to help us understand the risk factors and improve screening methods.*

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GAME TIME

Congrats to Will, Kristi Anderson, Timm, Tyler, Pegi, Christine, Nick and who all guessed the correct intersection in this week’s Vancouver Guesser, Fraser and Kingsway. And I think Christine said it best when she called it Vancouver’s hardest-working food intersection. I agree! Faux Bourgeois, Sal y Limon, Savio Volpe, the list goes on…

Today’s Wordle is easy if you read the newsletter. Can you guess it? Play now.

We’re also including a bonus question — how many Taylor Swift songs titles did I sneak into the introduction of the newsletter? Reply and let me know!