Category — Housing

The city’s latest report on building permits, issued in the dying days of the election, confirm what is obvious to any door-knocking politician: Vancouver’s neighbourhoods are changing rapidly as builders upgrade homes — and add laneway houses — in every part of the city.

Just three years ago, as voters headed to the polls to elect Gregor Robertson for the first time, the global economy was in free fall. The October 2008 numbers reflected the end of the city’s long building boom. A few months later, building permit activity had dropped by at least half and the new Vision council was scrambling to find $50 million in savings to balance the 2009 budget.

Four hundred and twenty-eight residential units were approved in October this year, compared to 130 three years ago. (By January 2009, the number had dropped to 34, of which 18 were replacements)

Today it’s hard to find a city block in many parts of the city without new construction or renovation. Vancouver specials are being tossed out for a 21st century update: much larger, centre-plan, two-storey homes with full basements, quality stucco exteriors and much finer finishes. (The granite front steps on many of these homes are notable for the observant canvasser.)

Laneway homes, a controversial aspect of 2008 campaign, are routine now: 162 have been approved so far this year, but they weren’t even listed in 2008.

The global economy is still in deep trouble and the US housing market is so grim that cities like Cleveland are bulldozing foreclosed homes to “save” neighbourhoods. Here, in Lotusland, we’re still building, but fewer and fewer residents can afford to buy. It looks like existing homeowners are responding with a quiet housing expansion program right under our noses.

With all-candidates’ meetings over and five days of door-knocking remaining before Saturday’s election decision, I realize there were three questions I expected but seldom encountered at all candidates’ meetings. I participated in about six meetings, I think — it’s all a blur — from small community centre affairs to the large transportation forum chaired by Gordon Price last week.

But I heard little about:

1. The crisis for renters

Although half the city rents, few meetings had the intensity we experienced in 2008 with “renovictions” soaring and vacancy rates near zero. The situation for renters has not improved, but the very significant launch of  a new rental housing coalition got little coverage last week. Only Vision Vancouver is making specific commitments to help renters and has generated significant new rental housing construction since the last election.

2. The crisis in the global economy

Although Greece’s economy imploded since nominations closed and Italy has gone to the brink, the economy almost never arose. Meetings generally stayed close to local issues like zoning and housing prices. (Many discussions centred on the impact, if any, of mysterious “foreign” investors.)

But Vision’s platform does lay out specific proposals to support job creation and innovation in Vancouver. I spoke hopefully, in an early-campaign news release, of “economic recovery,” a prospect that seems to be fading in light of the latest news.

3. Climate change and global warming

Perhaps because support and engagement around the Greenest City Action Plan is so broad, there were few arguments about the need to work harder to make Vancouver green.  But the decision to delay approval of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline means that the push to export bitumen from Metro Port Vancouver will intensify. Vision is the only party with a comprehensive environmental program and convened a special council meeting last year to shine a light on growing oil exports from our port.

Without a strong Vision team at all three levels — council, school and parks — Mayor Gregor Robertson will be hard-pressed to deliver on these commitments, despite their obvious importance.

With the election scarcely three weeks away, almost no time has been spent on what all agree is perhaps the most critical issue facing Vancouver: the cost of housing.

Mayor Gregor Robertson’s platform announcement yesterday set out VisionVancouver’s proposals to tackle the problem, including a key pledge to begin work on affordable market housing.

After a scant three questions, however, reporters turned to more pressing issues, like the possibility of rats at the site of Occupy Vancouver.

Nonetheless, Robertson spelled out what Vision Vancouver will do if given a new mandate Nov. 19. Here’s exactly what the Mayor said:

“It wasn’t that long ago that people thought Vancouver’s toughest social problems were permanent fixtures.
Homelessness… unaffordable housing… Too bad, some people would say, but you’d better get used to them. They’re just part of the backdrop, like the mountains and oceans.
Well, three years ago, homelessness hit the crisis point. And the people of Vancouver decided it was time to start moving mountains.
We knew Vancouver could do better. We knew we have to do better. It’s what led me to run for Mayor. [Read more →]

A clear commitment to energy retrofit BC’s existing housing stock while changing energy pricing could reduce poverty, cut a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions and create up to 12,000 new jobs province-wide, according to a compelling new study from the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The CCPA analysis is the first to look carefully at the social justice side of energy pricing to create a program that could reduce poverty and global warming at the same time.

It’s entirely consistent with Mayor Gregor Robertson’s Greenest City Action Plan and a challenge to make such a plan province-wide in scope.