Is Vancouver’s missing-middle housing strategy still missing?

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In today's newsletter, we've got a new housing policy that could shakeup detached homes, allegations of police-on-police misconduct and who says Vancouver hockey fans aren’t friendly?

Let’s get to it.

— Geoff Sharpe

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Weather Report

Friday 7 🌡️ 3 | ⛅

Saturday: 6 🌡️ 2 | 🌧

Sunday: 6 🌡️ 2 | ⛅

Monday: 5 🌡️ 3 | ❄️/🌧

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

$2,480: The average monthly cost to rent a single-bedroom apartment in Vancouver, the highest in Canada. The average two-bedroom will set you back (gasp) $3,500. [CTV]

DEVELOPMENT

Supersized lots, and lots of lot changes

Detached homes may become an endangered species if a new proposal by Vancouver city staff is approved by council.

What happened: City staff presented a plan to increase medium-density housing — such as three-story multiplexes — which are key to increasing supply and affordability, according to the Vancouver Sun.

• Vancouver is a city of detached housing and this missing-middle housing development lags behind other housing types in Vancouver’s 10-year housing strategy.

The details: All single-family zoning would fall under the policy, with an expansion of up to four units per lot, while larger lots could have six units. New projects would not require normal rezoning approval by council. The Vancouver Sun said it could affect 60,000 lots, which is about 15 percent of homes.

Urbanized writer Kenneth Chan broke down the potential impact on unit pricing. Currently, a unit in a duplex costs an average of $1.55 million. A fourplex unit would cost $1.1 million, a substantial savings.

Not so fast: As pointed out online, the plan isn’t happening anytime soon, with consultations not beginning until February. Critics have also said that the increase is not nearly enough to address Vancouver’s severe housing shortage or significantly improve missing-middle housing.

• Affordable? The cost of a fourplex unit would require a combined annual household income of $235,000. Ouch.

Why the small change: The report explains the smaller changes of unit rezoning were made in part due to the limits on underground sewers to handle the expected increase in, ahem, waste.

QUOTE

“It’s not a substitute for other types of lower cost or truly more affordable housing, like rental.” What City manager Paula Huber said while explaining the new housing proposal. [Vancouver Sun]

QUICK HITS

📚 ​​The Vancouver School Board sued a former school principal at Britannia Elementary, which serves many under-priviledged children, after allegations she stole $170,000 in funds. [Vancouver Sun]

🚓 The cause of a shooting Tuesday night in the heart of Granville is unknown as police investigate further. [CTV]

🍺 How should we think about Canada’s new drinking guidelines? Our food editor Jamie Mah breaks it all down.

🚒 According to the fire department, five of the 10 fire fatalities in Vancouver were caused by fires from rechargeable batteries. [Global]

👷 Vancouver startup YouIn? is making it easier for workers to unionize with a free digital platform. [Daily Hive]

POLICE

Allegation of police interference, against the police, by the police

It was a tough week for Vancouver’s Police Department (VPD).

What happened: Allegations of Vancouver police interference in a car accident has prompted B.C’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to investigate the VPD, according to Global News.

After a training session on Tuesday, a VPD officer made an illegal left turn and crashed into another vehicle.

• According to Global, “sources say a VPD inspector tried to retrieve the phone of the member who crashed, and when the Mountie intervened, she grabbed the RCMP member’s arm.”

It’s alleged VPD superintendent threatened the RCMP member’s job.

Aftermath: As mentioned by Global, a number of questions remain, including whether VPD members tried to prevent an investigation and if there will be any discipline.

Thin blue line no more

Police officers have been instructed to no longer wear the controversial Thin Blue Line patch, according to CityNews.

What happened: In 2021 a complaint was made against an officer for wearing the patch while working at an Indigenous rally in downtown Vancouver.

Background: The patch is associated with white nationalist movements as a symbol of hate for many marginalized communities. Many police agencies have banned it, though it still persists.

• Calgary police cannot wear the patch, but have been spotted wearing pins according to CBC.

• In May of last year, Saskatoon Police Services were informed they could not wear the symbol, as it’s not an authorized attire for uniforms.

• The RCMP banned it in 2020 but an officer was observed wearing one in Saskatoon in October.

• Charlottetown police apologized for officers wearing the badge and promised to update their uniform policy.

Yes, but: The reasoning behind banning the symbol has less to do with its connections to hate groups. It was banned in Vancouver, and in many other cities, due to rules around what officers can wear on their uniforms.

CITY HALL

Renters cancelled and new buildings approved

It was a busy week at city council and The Lookout is here to summarize the biggest decisions we haven’t covered in previous editions.

Renters in the cold: ABC councillors voted on Wednesday to end the city’s renter office which provided information to renters about their rights. The work will be transitioned to other service providers. [Global]

Grants incoming: Council approved $4.3 million in grants to 208 cultural organizations. This funding, while small for each group, has a huge impact on groups throughout the city that many people enjoy and rely on.

More buildings: Rezoning projects were approved this week, including 1063-1075 Barclay St. to develop a 47-storey residential building and 5562-5688 Manson St. to develop an 18-storey building with rental units and a childcare facility.

• All of the recent city council reports and motions can be found here. A breakdown of the new changes in Chinatown can be found here.

Upcoming policies

New space: Reimagining Granville District was pushed to another council meeting on Jan. 31 The planning program seeks to “re-establish Granville as an exciting, welcoming, safe and inclusive downtown destination.”

Energy expansion: A motion to increase the supply of renewable energy in Vancouver and look at building by-laws “to enable expanding renewable energy production in Vancouver” will be debated on Jan. 31.

WEEKEND EVENTS

Food

Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival, until Feb. 14: Featuring chocolatiers, pastry shops, bakeries and others showcasing delicious hot chocolate. See the locations.

Food Fair Pop Up Day Market at the Hollywood Theatre, tomorrow 11 am-4 pm: Dishes inspired from around the world, family-friendly with free admission.

Street Food City, Sat to Jan 29 at Vancouver Art Gallery: Many different street food options from vendors across the city.

Culture

Annual Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade, Sunday 11 am-2pm: One of the biggest non-commercial parades, come celebrate with your family. More info.

Art

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, until Feb 5: Visionary, genre-bending, a multi-disciplined art show featuring Canadian and local artists. Ticket prices vary.

Film

Cineplex Family Favourites, Saturdays at 11 am: Only $2.99 to see a family favourite movie. This week it's Minions: Rise of Gru.

The Lookout's weekend movie recommendations:

• Decision to Leave, VIFF: Beautifully shot femme fatale mystery. Beautifully shot. Will make you crave sushi.

• Come Back Anytime, VIFF: The story of a humble ramen shop owner in Tokyo. Simple, inspiring and comforting.

• Bambi, Cinematheque: How often do you get to see Bambi on the big screen?

• Infernal Affairs, Rio: It inspired the Departed but your humble newsletter believes it's better. An outstanding performance by the always incredible Tony Leung.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Food editor Jamie has an under-the-radar bar recommendation that you should check out. Scroll down in the story to read it.

• Rick Tocchet may be close to becoming the Canucks’ new head coach. [TSN]

• Are you a woman seeking to advance your career in culinary or other hospitality fields? The BC chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier has $20,000 in scholarships to give away this year.

• VIRUS1 was one of many vanity license plates rejected by ICBC in 2022. ASSMAN, a popular Seinfeld reference, was also rejected. [Vancouver Sun]

• An Indian artist had to cancel their show at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival after visa delays [CBC]

• Zellers is re-opening and it’s coming to The Bay at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre, because retail is such a booming industry these days… [Vancouver Sun]

• Use this handy map to avoid the worst parking blocks in the city for tickets. [Vancouverisawesome]

• If you have an empty home in Vancouver, you probably have no need to read this newsletter because you’re too busy being rich. But if you do, you need to declare it by Feb. 2.

• Want your announcement featured in the newsletter? Hit the reply button and let us know.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Who says Vancouver isn’t friendly? Lightning player Steven Stamkos received a standing ovation from Canucks nation after netting a hat trick and his 500th career goal. It’s not often there’s much to cheer about with Vancouver hockey these days…

GAME TIME

Congrats to Lourraine, Dan, Melanie and Monica who all guessed the VancouverGuesser location Cartems.

If you like Wordle, you’ll love Vancouver Wordle. It’s Wordle, but with Vancouver words. Clever right? Let’s see if you guess today’s answer.