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Government Relations Update #305
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Mark Sakai, Director of Government Relations
Twitter: @Mark_HAVAN
GRU comes to you this morning from the lovely shores of Harrison Lake, as we wrap up another Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) conference. This event, along with the UBCM convention in October, is my best opportunity to sit down and discuss important housing and urban planning issues with our local elected officials. While presentations in Council chambers are also important, a quiet chat during a coffee break, over breakfast, or even while soaking in a hot pool is an excellent way to build relationships with councillors, particularly given the large number of new ones that we have after the 2018 election. (And yes, the Darryl Plecas speech was a total gong show).
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METRO WEST
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The first round of recommended amendments from the Regulation Redesign project will be on the agenda of
Vancouver's Policy and Strategic Priorities Committee meeting of 15 May. Here is the
staff report. In addition, the City's website has some improved navigation in the zoning and development section, as well as a very handy 'library' section where virtually every document you need to put together a development application is now filed. Use www.vancouver.ca/zoning , www.vancouver.ca/zoning-library , and www.vancouver.ca/zoning-amendments as shortcuts to find the new pages. And be sure to also provide your comments on the bottom of each page with the "Help us improve this page" button. As long-time GRU readers will recall, one of the Best Practices from the first G2G report is " Accessible and Complete Information Online".
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HAVAN members featured prominently in
this piece from The Vancouver Sun on multi-generational housing new builds and renovations/additions in
Vancouver.
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Here's a Daily Hive story on the status of
Richmond's future
Capstan Station, along the Canada Line between Aberdeen and Bridgeport. And, I believe, the first privately-funded station in TransLink's system.
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Here's a story from the Courier on past
Vancouver Councillor
Raymond Louie's post-Council work of introducing the City's prominent developers to new Mayor Kennedy Stewart.
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At
Richmond's Regular Council meeting of 13 May, the Signage Improvements for Rezoning and Development Projects (pages 475 - 496) and Development Notification and Requirements and Service Levels (pages 497 - 508) are on
the agenda.
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At
Burnaby's Regular Council meeting of 13 May, the Mayor's Task Force on Community Housing Interim Report is on
the agenda (pages 117 - 158).
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Here's a story about
Burnaby Councillor
Nick Volkow's ongoing battle with brain cancer.
NORTHEAST SECTOR
For Your Information
- Coquitlam is seeking industry feedback as part of their Development Application Process Review, the goal of which is to streamline processes, improve customer service and reduce processing times. An engagement session is scheduled for Tuesday 04 June, 3:00 - 4:30pm at City Hall. They would like the industry's view on portions of the process that the City is doing well, areas of frustration and opportunities for improvement. Primary focus for this session is the development application process, not building permits. Space at this session is limited, so if you have some constructive feedback (not simply "do it faster"), please RSVP to Zoe Mlcoch ([email protected]) by Monday 13 May.
For Your Information
- There are two Notices of Motion of interest on the agenda of Langley Township's Regular Afternoon Council meeting of 13 May. Item J.1 is Cllr. Arnason's request to direct staff to contact Small Housing BC to prepare a presentation for a future Council Priorities Committee meeting. Item J.2 is the return of Cllr. Woodward's motion for new/revamped CACs for increased density via OCP amendments, including a possible 50% land lift capture. Interestingly, a third Notice of Motion J.3, brought by Cllr. Long, directs that non-time-sensitive Notices of Motion be directed first to a Council Priorities Committee meeting, prior to being presented at a regular Council meeting for debate.
- At Langley Township's Regular Evening Council meeting of 13 May, Cllr. Richter's Notice of Motion, item M.1 on the agenda asks that the 216 St. Corridor Study begin immediately.
NORTH SHORE
For Your Information
- At North Vancouver District's Council Workshop of 13 May, the OCP Targeted Review - Scope, Timeline and Budget is on the agenda (pages 23 - 42).
- West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Pamela Goldsmith-Jones has announced that she will not be running in the fall federal election.
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REGIONAL, PROVINCIAL, NATIONAL
For Your Information
- A collaboration between West Coast Food and TransLink has resulted in Dine The Line a website that encourages you to "take your taste buds on a culinary tour on transit".
- Here's the Vancouver Sun's story on the release of the latest reports from the Provincial Government on money laundering. Here are the Province's media releases on the real estate and luxury auto reports.
- Here's the Province's media release on the CleanBC Building Innovation Fund.
- Here are the April statistical reports from REBGV and FVREB.
- Government policies have done an effective job of reducing market activity and prices in the high end of the single family market in Metro Vancouver, but have they actually helped the people who they were intended to assist? Not really, says Tamara Vrooman of Vancity, in this article from The Sun.
- Here's Mike Smyth's column on Finance Minister Carol James' approach to create a 'policy-induced housing market slowdown', and how it's producing some of the outcomes she's been wanting to see. As well, this page includes another of the Housing Matters video series, and an episode of the 'In the House' podcast.
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HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
For Your Information
- Next up on the Urbanarium schedule of events: "Is Small Beautiful? Breaking Rules for Compact Affordability", taking place on Wednesday 29 May, 6:30 - 8:30 at UBC Robson Square. Check out the web page for full details and registration.
- Here's a story on famed Vancouver landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, who's work is featured in a documentary called City Dreamers.
- Not sure I'm 100% in agreement with this column from the generally-well-regarded Jennifer Keesmaat, past Chief Planner and Mayoral candidate in Toronto. Throwing out a number like 400,000 new homes built in the past 20 years in Toronto and Vancouver combined - yes, it's a large number, but it means nothing unless you compare it to population growth - is a classic bit of distraction. And surely there are more potential solutions to Toronto and Vancouver's problems than transplanting Vienna and/or Amsterdam's housing model here? And there are other ways to deal with the 'commodification of housing' (2019's new 'hot term' for the housing crisis?) such as building smaller-scale missing middle projects that are not so easily 'commodified'?
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EVERYTHING ELSE
For Your Information
- Is it just me, or does the headline of this CBC.ca story scream "NIMBY bait"? The fact that one entire tower is proposed to be entirely rental units is buried in the story, while the concerns of neighbours living in single family homes one block from a future rapid transit line is the main point of the story.
- Here's an interesting research study out of Massachusetts indicating that Public Hearings favour established residents who can oppose a proposal, in relation to future residents of that proposal who would be in favour, but may have difficulty voicing that support. Further proof (if any were needed) that the current rezoning/public hearing process needs to be revised - an issue that I hope the Province's Development Approval Process Review will address.
- Here's a story from CBC.ca about a structural engineer who was required to resign his engineering license by EGBC due to 'unprofessional conduct' related to his work on seismic and wind load design on a high-rise residential tower in Surrey.
- Young families want their place of residence to be convenient to transit, says this survey.
- Will spending $1billion on widening a freeway result in improved traffic flow? Maybe, but maybe not, as this story from Los Angeles shows.
- One more Star Wars reference, following last week's Episode 9 trailer - the folks at TransLink are obviously big fans of the films, as evidenced by this galactic SkyTrain system map that was posted at Metrotown Station. (Who knew the Kessel Run was actually so easy?)
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The content of GRU is determined primarily by HAVAN's geographic territory, which are the municipalities of Metro Vancouver (the regional district). Other considerations are provincial and federal issues, policies, announcements or opportunities to engage that would interest our members, housing-related articles and information from other jurisdictions and, of course, the odd tidbit or video clip that interest me.
Please feel free to distribute this email to others in your office, if you think that they would benefit from the information. If you are reading this as a forwarded message from a colleague, you can get your own version, delivered directly to your mailbox. Just let me know, and I will be more than happy to add you to my list. And don't forget, the most recent issue of GRU is always posted on the Government Relations Page of havan.ca.
As always, comments are welcome. If there is an issue or a website that you would like me to follow, please contact me at 778-373-9784, or via [email protected]
Mark Sakai
Director of Government Relations
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