Why Victoria’s missing middle housing strategy may be a cautionary tale for Vancouver

Good morning,

First, a big thank you to over 250+ of you that took the time to complete our survey. It’s really great to see so many of you interested in local news. I didn’t know what to expect when we launched this newsletter, but the response has been incredible.

I’ve also gotten a bunch of ideas that I can’t wait to start including in the future. If you haven’t already done the survey, you can go ahead and do it here. It’ll help shape our stories in the coming months and years.

Today we’ve got:

• 🚆 TransLink delays

• 🏠 A cautionary tale from Victoria

• 🎨 An update on art news in town

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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

WEATHER

Wednesday: 22 🌡️ 15 | 🌧️ 

Thursday: 23 🌡️ 15 | 🌧️ 

Friday: 24 🌡️ 16 | 🌤️

TRANSIT

How bad was the SkyTrain shutdown?

While Vancouver isn’t dealing with the transit chaos in other cities — apologies to my Lookout team members in Ottawa — Metro Vancouver did experience some SkyTrain troubles yesterday.

What happened: SkyTrain riders on the Canada Line going through Richmond experienced delays yesterday between Bridgeport and Brighouse stations, according to Urbanized.

• For up-to-date issues and route changes, be sure to check out TransLink’s Alerts page.

As of writing this newsletter, TransLink had not yet provided a reason for the delay, except to say it was due to a track issue. There were photos circulated online of large lines of people.

Zoom out: Consider Vancouver lucky when it comes to transit problems. Our friends in Ottawa, including my colleague Robert, have had to deal with train shutdowns, broken rail lines, leaky tunnels and so much more. Currently, half the system isn’t working, and has been shut down since July 17.

Rating: The TransLink 2022 Accountability Report outlines levels of customer satisfaction over the last five years. After a brief spike to 8.2 out of 10, it went down to 8.0, which is not surprising given the increased delays and congestion coming out of COVID. Complaints per bus trip stand at 80 per 1 million boardings in 2022, down from a high of 95.5 in 2018.

• Busses and the Seabus had the lowest level of on-time performance at 81.5 percent, compared to the Expo and Millennium Lines at 95.9 percent. Not bad!

Why it matters: Even a small delay impacts people’s quality of life. The Accountability Report said that 89 percent of respondents felt TransLink was “somewhat to very important” to their quality of life in the region.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🚢 50,000: The number of cruise ship passengers that were expected to disembark at Canada Place this weekend. [Urbanized]

⛺ 815: The number of tenants evicted from supportive housing since 2020, with 285 of them becoming homeless and living on the streets. [The Tyee]

DREAM HOME

I am a big Mount Pleasant fan. Central to most transit, lots of local restaurants, extremely walkable, what’s not to like? So today we head over to that community to check out what’s for sale.

Unfortunately, a popular neighbourhood usually means an expensive neighbourhood, and that’s no different here.

This two-bedroom apartment isn’t cheap. But it’s got a stunning view, a good-sized kitchen with design elements that don’t scream cheap, a nice-sized bedroom and a massive pantry. It’s a Vancouver-sized home, with a normal Vancouver unaffordable price point, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate how nice it is.

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.

HOUSING

Does little ol’ Victoria offer a cautionary tale for upzoning?

You’re probably wondering, hey Geoff, this is a Vancouver newsletter, not Victoria, why write this story? Well dear readers, Victoria’s much-hyped recent housing policy, which Vancouver is also contemplating, is proving to be much less effective than originally envisioned.

What happened: Earlier this year, Victoria city council passed a law to allow up to six units on a single-family lot, with the goal of increasing the housing supply, similar to a policy in Auckland, New Zealand. The total number of applications to upzone properties? Zero, according to the Vancouver Sun.

The problem? Always read the fine print. According to the story, stakeholders say the rules and restrictions make it impossible to build these units. One developer told the paper the problem was restrictions on height, how close it could be built next to the property line, and the amount of floor space for each unit. Said Robert Berry, of the group Home for a Living:

• “But the fact is what they legalized are such small buildings located right in the middle of the lot with such finite bylaw limits on the building itself that it’s … still much easier to build a big, expensive mansion — and a profitable mansion at that — than it is to build a fourplex or a sixplex.”

Here in Vancouver: As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. A similar problem has been identified in Vancouver’s proposed missing middle housing plan, the allowable housing floor space to build new homes is not big enough to drastically increase multiplex builds.

What it means: The director of Abundant Housing Vancouver published an editorial in Urbanizedin February where he argued that the current rules would prevent any low-rise apartments or townhouses on the vast majority of land in Vancouver.

Looking ahead: The province’s own policy of allowing four units on a single-family lot may not be enough to deal with the issue of municipality pushback. According to the Vancouver Sun, Ravi Kahlon said he was concerned and said the policy will have specific language to address these issues. But are they willing to get into a fight with recalcitrant municipalities?

THE AGENDA

👮 The police watchdog is investigating a police-involved incident that killed an 18-year-old man at Clifton Park. The man in question had a firearm, and shots were fired. He died in the hospital. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🏳️‍🌈 The Pride Parade was another smashing success, with thousands of people attending. The event mixed both celebration and protest, as the global trend of hatred towards 2SLGBTQAI+ is increasing. [Vancouver Sun]

💰️ The B.C. government announced last week it will provide up to $2,000 to small businesses to clean up small property crimes like grafitti, as well as money for security systems. Property crime increased last year by 7.6 percent, which was partially to do with reopening after the pandemic, according to CTV. [Vancouver Sun]

🚨 On Friday, Vancouver registered its 11th homicide of the year after someone was stabbed near Grandville and Smithe Street. The person died at the hospital and police have made no arrest so far. [Global]

🪧 Striking workers at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel, who have been on the picket line for two months, are calling on people to boycott the other YVR hotels owned by their employer. Those include Hilton and Marriott at the airport. [CBC]

🌊 Get ready for bigger waves on B.C.’s coastline. A study from a researcher at the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography outlines how storm activity and wave height have increased as a result of climate change. [Vancouver Sun]

🏘️ The province isn’t providing specifics on upcoming rule changes for short-term rentals which are eating into the rental market. But there is some indication that the policy may address greater enforcement and require better data from short-term stay platforms like Airbnb, which could be similar to policies implemented Quebec. They require the platforms to undertake enforcement along with massive fines for breaking those rules. [Victoria News]

Local news doesn’t have to boring…

But many times it is. Here at the Lookout, we’re trying to change that.

We want you to discover the best ways to live in and learn about Vancouver, all in a way that’s actually fun to do.

We need your help to shape our newsletter and the stories we cover. Take two minutes to share your opinions — we read every single response!

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Some people in Metro Vancouver were treated to a Northern Lights display… In August! [Daily Hive]

• Congrats to Ryan Reynolds and Dr. Penny Ballem, and many others who received the Order of B.C. [CBC]

• It was another successful Powell Street Festival this weekend celebrating Japanese food, culture and heritage. [Vancouver Sun]

• I don’t think gas prices are meant to do that… [Reddit]

• For the record, private parking lot tickets do not affect your credit score. [Urbanized]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

This isn’t technically from Vancouver, but how often are the northern lights this far south? Thanks to Reddit user Chimone who captured this at Pitt Lake.

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who correctly guessed the Vancouver Wordle. The answer was PRIDE.

Today we’re doing another Vancouver park. The last one may have been a bit too hard, so here’s an easier one. Reply to this newsletter with your name and the correct answer to be featured in the newsletter.