Urban Vancouver

There is a proposal being discussed to have the Coast Plaza Hotel converted from a hotel to a dedicated rental building. The company that owns the building has hired Brook and Associates to submit a proposal to change the use of the property where the Coast Plaza Hotel is located. In order for this proposal to go forward the zoning would have to be changed. This rezoning would have to be approved by the Mayor and Council of Vancouver.

On Friday May 8, 2008 Aaron Jasper, WERA Director and Brent Granby, WERA President, had a meeting with Laurie Schmidt of Brook and Associates and the owners of the Coast Plaza Hotel and all the commercial space below. They wanted to inform WERA of a plan to rezone the hotel. They want to change the hotel into a market rate apartment building. This is their core business to buy and hold and manage rental property.

The project would create 316 new rental spaces in the West End. The owners stated that in the bachelor category of rental space that this project would increase the availability of this stock by 4%.They have no intention of changing any of the commercial space on the street level , but will be doing something with the conference space on the second floor. Don’t worry the gym is going to stay.

The family run residential rental business that was started by their grandfather and passed to their father and is now run by the three sons. The owners informed WERA that they currently have approximately 300 tenants. The rezoning of the Coast Plaza Hotel would almost double the number of tenants that rent from them.

Rental Space represents an important category of housing units. In Vancouver over 50% of citizens are renters. In the West End 82% of the residents are renters (Vancouver Housing Centre numbers). In the West End there are 25, 285 tenant house holds this represents 5% tenant house holds in the province (census data from 2006 compiled by TRAC). The vacancy rate has been at historically low rate for almost 3 years if current trends continue. In some category of rental space such as the bachelor apartment CHMC considers the availability to zero. Rental property is a vital role in housing middle income folks. The increase of the stock of affordable rental housing is critical component of solving the homelessness crisis in Vancouver.

Whether this rezoning would result in apartments that are affordable is uncertain in this point. This question raises a bigger point of how to define affordability. The Housing Centre of Vancouver has a term “core need housing” which defines a situation where folks are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. To be in core need is considered by housing experts to be a state where tenants are at risk of being homeless. The term “affordability” should define situations where tenants are paying 30% or less for housing needs. In some not for profit housing society link rent to income levels.

At the meeting with the owners, WERA made suggestion of community amenities ideas around the providing space for the community centre and the library, The Centre and possibly a day care facility in the conference area. The owners were receptive of these ideas, but also stated that they did not think that there was going to be a very big community amenity as the value of the property would actually be reduced by changing the use of the property to rental. When the city changes a zoning of a property typically there is a increasing of the zoning which makes the property more valuable.

This project is at the inquiry stage at the moment and if there any questions or concerns folks can call Laurie Schmidt at 604 731 9053 ext. 106.

The West End Car-Free Festival is happening!

Sign up now by e-mailing WEcarfree@gmail.com.

On Sunday, June 15th, we will be transforming Denman St. from a traffic-lined thoroughfare into a pedestrian oasis filled with music stages, artists, street vendors and space for seniors, parents and kids to frolic.

Why a “car-free” festival?

Our goal is to celebrate, stimulate and discover our local neighbourhood by removing the cars from Denman Street and handing the space back to you - the community. We are taking this one day to celebrate the richness of the West End and see how reducing our car dependency can improve all of our lives.

Join!

We need West Enders who support the festival to help us keep Denman Street car-free for the day. By standing by a street barricade for 2 hours you will be part of a huge team of like-minded people who will help ensure this festival’s success. And of course, there will be a huge volunteer party afterwards.

Sign up now by e-mailing WEcarfree@gmail.com.

Shifts start at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm leaving plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the festivities.

Thanks for helping!
-The West End Festival Team
http://www.WEcarfree.com

There will be a Public Information Open House
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
4 pm – 8 pm
Best Western Sands Hotel
Pacific Room
1755 Davie Street


The City of Vancouver has received a rezoning application for the building on the corner of Davie Street and Bidwell Street. The notice of the proposed rezoning application dated May 2, 2008 from Community Services, Current Planning-Rezoning and was received by area residents on Monday May 5, 2008. The rezoning application is from Henriquez Partners Architects on behalf of Millennium English Bay Properties Ltd. The request from Henriquez Partners is to rezone the site which includes Balthazar Restaurant from C-5 commercial to CD-1.




The Restaurant Balthazar is on the C-list for heritage protection because the building that it is housed in, 1215 Bidwell Street, is a noted example of Spanish Revival built in the 1930’s when the so-called “Hollywood style” influence was spreading from California up the West Coast. Given the building’s heritage status there are certain policy guidelines that allow the City to grant density to the building to pay for the cost of heritage restoration. When the City rezones a site or “upzones the density” the city, in effect, creates more value on the site because a developer could build more units and make more money. Typically, when a property is rezoned the City enters into negotiation with the developer to ensure that the bulk of the value of the rezoning flows back to the citizens of Vancouver in the form of “public amenities”. The restoration and retention of a historical important building would be considered a “public amenity”.

On the site on Davie and Bidwell Hernriquez Partners is proposing to build a point tower with 3-storey podium at the base. This podium is to have three stories on Davie Street and one on Bidwell Street. The storefronts by City policy guidelines can be no more than 25 feet in length. On Davie Street there is steep grade so the front of stores will have to be stepped. The set back of this building could potentially be far enough back to create wider sidewalks that could provide more street level cafés or more space for pedestrians to be able to pass folks waiting for the bus.

The innovative element to the proposal is the architect is planning to build 33 units of market rate rental space in the 3-storey podium over the commercial space. Currently, there is no market rate residential space on this site. The City would secure the tenure of this market rate apartment to ensure that it would stay rental in perpetuity. This creation of the rental space would be part of the public amenity package that the developer would pay to the City in exchange for the site rezoning. The size of the rental units would be small ranging in size from 380 sq ft to 530 sq ft. It is unclear if the smallness of the apartments would translate to affordability.

Are 33 units of market rate rental space a fair exchange for 50 condo units? Should the City demand more? Should there be social housing as well? In the South East False Creek original proposal there was a demand for a 1/3 social housing, 1/3 middle-income rental and 1/3 market rate? Given the dire need of affordable housing should not the City set new standard to ensure that citizens of Vancouver have affordable housing?

In the point tower above the podium there will be a 50-unit condominium structure. The height of the building would be 210 ft, which are 20 stories. This is as high as permitted by the City under the C-5 District. Interesting to note there are no firm guideslines on “tower separation” in the C-5 zoning category. Unlike in the RM zoning category were towers have to be 400 ft apart and no more than one a block. However, the architect is obligated to submit analysis of how the building fits in with other buildings in the area and how it will impact the privacy of these other buildings.

In regard to how the building will impact the livability of the surrounding area the architect is also obligated to submit impact studies on how the new structure will affect view cones and how the building cast shadows and how does this impact the surrounding area.

The most astounding feature of the proposal, given the dire need to take immediate steps to combat global warming and reduce the emission of C02, this building will have a behemoth parkade that will house 103 parking spaces. The proposed building is right on a bus route; surely some of the future residents of this building will buy a bus pass. The proposal also has no mention of car sharing spots so that the Car-Co-Op can better service the West End Community.

This proposed project is yet another example of a design that is not thinking creatively about the integration of transportation planning to the built form. The City could “relax” the parking requirement to the architect in exchange for more market rate housing. A very conservative cost of a parking stall is $40,000. The Cities requirement for parking is a huge expense to builders. Is creating parking really a priority for the City? The City should be creating incentives for folks to try to live in a more active way by walking, riding bikes and using public transportation. Parking should be left to the market to provide for.

Is the small number of market rate rental space an equitable exchange for the rezoning? Given that the heritage restoration will not be extensive as only the exterior façade and architectural detailing is being retain. Is the rezoning in the interest of Citizens of Vancouver? When the city rezones a property the bulk of the value needs to be allocated to develop more market rate housing and social housing. Given the extremely low vacancy rates in the West End neighbourhod this should be a priority for the City.

There are also questions around the built form of the point tower. What will it look like and is a large tower the most appropriate design for the West End? Will a point tower be an innovative design that will speak to the uniqueness of the West End? Should there be design guidelines that speak to specifics of place and community?

With all these changes there is a cost. If the proposed project were to be built what would happen to the small businesses that create a unique sense of place for the West End? Will the commercial space in the proposal be affordable to smaller more locally oriented businesses? Will the space be so big the only larger businesses be able to afford to locate in the new space? Affordability for small business is also an issue. Will the current lease holders be offered space in the new building?

There will be a Public Information Open House
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
4 pm – 8 pm
Best Western Sands Hotel
Pacific Room
1755 Davie Street

Emergency Preparedness Week - May 4 – 10, 2008

IS YOUR FAMILY PREPARED?

What is Emergency Preparedness Week?
Emergency Preparedness (EP) Week is an annual, national event that takes place during the first full week of May. The main objective is to increase awareness about individual and family preparedness. All EP Week activities reinforce the idea that we can reduce the risks and lessen the consequences of a disaster by being better prepared.

For more information, click to download the poster, or see below.



The following events are planned by the City of Vancouver

1. Emergency Social Services (ESS) Exercise - Saturday May 3/08 – 9am till noon - Douglas
Park Community Centre
During the year volunteers from local Community Centre ESS teams train and plan so they are ready to open their community centre’s as a Reception Centre in the event of an emergency or disaster. Join us as the City of Vancouver ESS teams will be testing and exercising their emergency plans as they set up and open up a Reception Centre. If you would like to see what a Reception Centre is like - join us at Douglas Park Community
Centre. We will be looking for volunteers who would like to go through the Registration Process in a Reception Centre.

2. Dedicated Fire Protection System & Emergency Preparedness Displays - Sunday May 4/08 @ 1300 Pacific Boulevard @ Drake Street. (next to the Roundhouse
CC)
Join us for a display of the Dedicated Fire Protection System (DFPS) at David Lam Park along with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services emergency response apparatus, Emergency Social Services (ESS), VECTOR Ham radio, the Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP), The Salvation Army & Krasicki & Ward. Displays by these groups will be set up promoting personal and family preparedness to help you and your family be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster.

3. Presentation by Mayor Sullivan – May 6, 2008 @ 3:00PM in the Council Chambers Foyer
15 volunteers from the Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP, Emergency Social Services (ESS), and Vancouver Emergency Communications, Telecom Organization (VECTOR) will be presented certificates from Mayor Sullivan in recognition of their contributions to the Vancouver Emergency Program.

4. Vancouver School Board – The Big One. Thursday May 8, 2008 @ 2:00PM
THE BIG ONE on May 8th is a district-wide earthquake evacuation drill. All school and district sites initiate a “false alarm” at 2:00 pm in order to practice drop, cover and hold. All students and staff then follow site specific evacuation procedures.

5. Emergency Preparedness Sessions
Learn how you and your family can be prepared for an emergency or disaster by attending one of our free NEPP sessions on Personal and Family Preparedness. To register for one of these sessions call the community centre directly. For sessions offered throughout the
year visit our website at www.vancouver.ca/nepp

Tuesday May 6/08 7pm – 8:30pm at the West End Community Centre. To register call 604-257-8333

Thursday May 8/08 7pm -8:30pm at Douglas Park Community Centre. To register call 604-257-8130

Saturday May 10/08 1pm – 3pm Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation
Centre.
Session by Vancouver Fire & Rescue Emergency Preparedness Officer To register call 604-713-1810

6. Introduction to Emergency Social Services (ESS)
When a disaster strikes Vancouver Emergency Social Services volunteers will be relied upon to assist evacuees by opening reception centres and providing essential basic needs to evacuees such as food, clothing and lodging. If you are interested in volunteering with the Vancouver ESS Program join us for our Introduction to Emergency Social Services.

Thursday May 8/08 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre. To register call 604-713-1800. For sessions offered throughout the year visit our website at www.vancouver.ca/ess


CONTACT
Michael Smith
Lieutenant, Emergency Preparedness
Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services
900 Heatley Ave. Vancouver, BC V6A 3S7
Office: 604.665.6072: mike.smith@vancouver.ca
http://vancouver.ca/fire/Pub_train/emerg_train.html

WERA Director, Aaron Jasper, was quoted in the Georgia Strait in regard to Vancouver Park Board’s proposed English Bay Bistro concession.
For the full story select the link below:

http://www.straight.com/article-143886/english-bay-bistro-moves-next-level?#


WERA President, Brent Granby, was quoted in the Georgia Strait in regarded to the renewal of Burrard Street Bridge.
For the full story select the link below:

http://www.straight.com/article-143850/cost-burrard-bridge-project-creeps-higher?#

Affordable Rental Protection in West End Motion

The Opportunity to speak directly to Council about concerns of affordable housing is:

Thursday May 1, 2003
9:30 am
At City Services and Budgets Committee Meeting
Council Chambers
City Hall.

WERA is inviting folks to sign up and speak. One must call the City Clerk at:

For information, or to register to speak, please call Nicole Ludwig, Meeting Coordinator at 604.871.6399, e-mail nicole.ludwig@vancouver.ca. One can also sign up to speak before the meeting starts by talking to the City Clerk.

If you are unable to attend the meeting please consider writing a letter expressing your personal concerns about affordability of housing and how this affects your life.
These stories in person or in writing are powerful and have an impact on how the Mayor and Council view this crisis in our city. This is a chance to make a difference with housing.


Address for massage to Mayor and Council is as follows:

mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca

1. Affordable Rental Stock in the West End

MOVER: Councillor Tim Stevenson
SECONDER: Councillor David Cadman

WHEREAS:

1. 82% of West End Residents rent;
2. there is a 0.2% vacancy rate in the West End;
3. the West End rental housing stock is diminishing;
4. affordable rental stock in the West End is diminishing.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

1. The City of Vancouver undertake a complete review and reworking of the
1989 zoning regulations and other pertinent regulations governing the
residential and commercial districts in the West End in consultation with
community groups and organizations, property owners, interested West
Enders and City staff.

2. Put a moratorium on all requests for rezoning, whether pending or future,
until a review and reworking of the current guidelines are completed and
new guidelines are adopted and in place.

3. Ensure that all building maintenance standards are enforced throughout
the West End so that all buildings remain in good order and habitable and
are simply not being held with the view to redevelop at some time in the
near or distant future.

WERA is inviting folks to sign up and speak to this motion. Take action, write letter and speak up for affordable rental market space.

WERA Director Aaron Jasper speaking to the Vancouver Park Board about the proposed English Bay Bistro stated:

“Like a lot of West Enders I consider the beaches and the parks to be our backyard. Most of us live in condos and apartments. We are very sensitive to what goes on in public spaces. Our association is not necessarily against a bistro on the beach, but our attitude is the devil is in the details. Our overriding concern is around process.

Consultation just on the design aspect of the project is too narrow a scope of consultation. We hope the scope of the consultation will be broad.

Our association would hope that the accessibility in terms of affordability would be a priority. We don’t feel a high-end restaurant would necessarily be a good fit. West Enders view this area as our back yard. We want to be able to access it. A lot folks in our neighbourhood are of modest to low incomes and it’s a factor to be weighed.

If this project were to go ahead, we have heard concerns from residents in Kits Point that there needs to be an effective dispute resolution mechanism. If residents have concerns about noise or other aspects of this project, what avenues do they have to see this handled? We would hope that in the agreement with whoever is the going to be the operator, that this is in the agreement. So we are not left with a situation where when we contact the Park Board staff and we have concerns about this and this and we are not told: 'that it is a private operator sorry we can’t help you out with this.'

The footprint in that proposed bistro seems relatively small and WERA is happy about that. Out overriding concern here is about process. To clarify, we are not necessary opposed to the idea of a facility there, but we really hope that the consultation process goes beyond just design aspects, but really what kind of restaurant it will be and how it will be a good fit for our community.”

The Vancouver Park Board unanimously passed the motion that the design of the English Bay Bistro be accepted for consultation. The consultation process will be for two months and will consisted of two open houses where the public can view the plans. There will also be an “information kiosk” set up in English Bay to display the plans for the bistro and to gather feed back from the public. The design will also be posted on the Park Board website and citizen’s will be able to give “feed back” on the project.

One of the important aspects of the English Bay Bistro project is the process of who will be involved in writing the terms of reference for the requests for proposals. Community members and local businesses need to be involved in the process to ensure that whoever bids on the project is aware that there needs to be sensitivity with regard to affordability and how the project fits into the social environment of English Bay. The issues of affordability, a dispute resolution mechanism and the need for good community relations needs to be developed in the term of reference from the start so that these issue can be incorporated in the business plans of the reataurant's future operator.

The price of the lease will determine how much the successful bidder on the restaurant will have to charge. One of the built-in contradictions of leasing public land to a private interest is the tension between revenue maximization and affordability. On the one hand public entities like the Park Board are accountable to the Vancouver taxpayers and should be acting in a way that benefits most of these people. On the other hand the Park Board is trying to increase revenues by concession privatization. Some could argue that this transaction or management strategy of leasing the public land is a way of minimizing risk to the Park Board by contracting the job out. But in a substantive way much of the control that elected public boards have over the space and the operation will be lost. There needs to be very strong language in the lease agreement to unsure that our elected officials will be able to respond to the citizen’s concerns on leased public land.

Quoted in regard to Park Board’s proposal to develop a bistro style concession in English Bay, WERA Director Aaron Jasper spoke to WERA’s concerns about the affordability of the facility.

To view the complete articles please select the links below:
http://www.straight.com/article-142948/english-bay-bistro-worries-residents?#

http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=70c9aef1-bfcb-41be-bde3-aa6fed6f777e

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (VPB) is proposing a high end Bistro in English Bay. Many Vancouver citizens are concerned about how the proposed restaurant is going to affect the affordability of the experience of coming down to English Bay on a hot summer night. Given that the proposed restaurant is going to be built on public land entrusted to the VPB for its stewardship should it not be a restaurant that is financially accessible to most citizens and not a venue that is targeted to just a select few to raise revenues for the Vancouver Park Board?

Here are two stories in the media about the project and the VPB staff report:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=87629cea-9e1f-46f8-861a-c8d08c7e6bdc



http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article.jsp?contentPaths=/shared/article.jsp&content=20080422_0944


http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/board/2008/080428/index.htm

Media contact for WERA: Aaron Jasper 604 669 3131

By Jim Boothroyd
Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund)

Did you know that city engineers are advancing a plan that would allow the polluting Iona sewage outfall – at the mouth of the Fraser River, and at the heart of a major environmental lawsuit -- to continue spewing toxic sewage for another 22 years?

Or that your civic authorities are timid about embracing proven technologies that would allow Vancouver to “harvest sewage” to fuel fleets of buses, heat whole neighbourhoods and produce profitable sources of fertilizer? (See example at end of article)

Well, it’s true – and now is the time to tell them to look to the future and clean up their act.

For the first time in five years, Metro Vancouver (the old GVRD) is reviewing its plans for liquid and solid waste management and is holding a series of public consultations to hear what you have to say. This is your best opportunity to ensure that the changes coming down are the best for the region for the long-term. Please consider taking part.

All meetings run from 6:30pm to 9:00 pm and include time for you to ask questions of the engineers in charge – they’ll even give you coffee and an oatmeal cookie.

Tues., April 22, North Vancouver (Capilano College);
Wed., April 23, Vancouver (Library Square);
Tuesday April 29 , Coquitlam (Executive Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre);
Wed., April 30, Maple Ridge (Maple Ridge Arts Centre & Theatre (The ACT);
Tues, May 6, Langley (Newlands Golf and Country Club).

For details, go to http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/730

One last thing: if you lived in Stockholm, Sweden, this is what managing your waste would look like. One of your many sewage treatment plants would treat both sewage and kitchen waste producing biogas for fifty buses, rising to two hundred in a few years. The plant would have a Business Development Manager who sells biogas from her plant, as well as providing cooking fuel for the nearby community of Hammarby Sjöstad. Energy recovered from sewage by heat pumps would provide heat and hot water for a total of 80,000 homes. The energy and material would loop between the plant and the community mimicking nature's closed cycles.

An approach to managing waste that is based on integrated resource management and built on the idea of smaller distributed plants rather than a few large ones is happening in other communities around the world, protecting our environment and providing a sustainable source of energy.

The question is whether we’re ready to bring that thinking here.

For more information on resource recovery from waste: http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/567<?a>

Check out Steve Burgess column on the WERA town hall meeting on April 10. Click on the link below and go to opinions and then select "Overflow crowd rallies for future of West End housing"

http://westender.com/