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June 27, 2007
Rental housing costs - Height rules limit supply Danny Westneat's column ["Rents soar through the roofs," Times, Local News, June 24] documents how much renters have to pay, but he describes only one aspect of the housing trade-offs Seattle has made. The city's long-term height limitations on dwelling height artificially restricts how many housing units can be built, and even the recent rules allowing modestly taller buildings have had a limited effect in raising the housing supply. Consequently, as demand rises, so does rent. If Seattle is serious about lowering housing costs, it must allow supply to meet demand. Seattle is not immune to the laws of economics, and if we want to reduce rents we must prepare for physically higher apartment buildings. |
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| June 27, 2006 Langford approves another 950 units for megaproject Already projected to house about the same number of people that live in Colwood, the massive Westhills development on the south side of Langford Lake could be getting bigger. Just a year ago, Langford gave its blessing to 5,000 units that would be built over the next 15 to 20 years to house between 12,000 and 15,000 people. The community would be built on a 200-hectare site south and southwest of Langford Lake. |
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| June 23, 2007 Deadline looms for housing project A Fernwood non-profit just wants to build a little apartment building for families who can't afford to buy a home. Victoria -- where you need a $114,000-a-year income to buy a first house -- desperately wants more affordable housing. So why isn't city council tripping over itself to make it happen, asks Lisa Helps, chairwoman of the Fernwood Neighborhood Resource Group board. |
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| June 22, 2007 Victoria group marks 50 years of housing At a time when affordable housing is a growing concern, a Victoria group is celebrating 50 years of providing homes for seniors on fixed incomes. The Gorge View Society, created by the United Church of Canada, marks its golden anniversary today at 11 Chown Pl., where it runs a 100-suite complex. The suites, contained in 15 cottage-style buildings, house seniors who are able to live independently. |
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| June 21, 2007 The Saanich Planning Department is inviting comment on the OCP from many constituencies. Business and Development is invited to provide input on Wednesday, June 27th. Please see the pdf for details. |
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| June 18, 2007 Having a Neighbourhood Vision Conference The feedback and suggestions from the conference have been compiled and are available for viewing on the Conference Summary, Feedback and Next Steps webpage. We have also added a new section to our website called Podcasting with Herman. Herman Rebneris attends the housing related events in the region and provides podcasts of the events through the Video Google service. We are proud to be able to offer links to these important events. Plese feel free to contact us with any additional suggestions or feedback. Thank you |
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| June 16, 2007 Victoria legalizes 'in-law' suites Property sellers will be updating their dictionaries and striking out furtive euphemisms that pepper some Victoria real estate listings. Descriptors like "extra accommodation," "nanny and in-law suites" and "basement ready for your ideas" are words of the past. That became effective yesterday when the City of Victoria made good on its promise to pass a bylaw legalizing secondary suites in family homes. The bylaw will take secondary suites "out of the closet and into the real world," said Ray Blender, manager of Re/Max Camosun. Link to Times Colonist article for more information.... |
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| June 15, 2007 It's almost highway living at new apartment building The apartment block is being built so close to the highway you'd almost think the future tenants barbecuing on their decks would be able to reach out and touch cars whizzing by into Langford. In fact, Slipway Flats is named after a highway off-ramp much like the one that runs past it. The name fits. Link to Times Colonist article for more information ... |
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| June 15, 2007 Oak Bay hopes to fend off "monster houses" with new bylaw Oak Bay has a new bylaw that politicians think will stop so-called "monster houses" but also allow older character homes with low basements to expand. Council passed the floor-area-ratio bylaw this week after two years of study by a special committee trying to craft a measure that had to address many concerns. The new bylaw sets caps on house size instead of using percentage to determine what size home is allowed on a lot. The previous bylaw permitted a maximum house size of 40 per cent of the lot size. Link to Times Colonist article for more information .... |
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| June 14, 2007 Victoria's suite dreams about to become a reality When Gordon Price started in city politics in 1986, the topic of secondary suites was "the third rail of politics. You didn't want to touch it." But the Earth has made a few revolutions since his experience in Vancouver, and Victoria city council is poised to travel down those tracks. Tonight, unless earlier dress rehearsals leading up to a bylaw on secondary suites were scripted for a different play, council will pass a bylaw making secondary suites in single-family homes legal throughout the city, joining View Royal, Langford, Metchosin and Colwood. The goal is to create a legitimate form of affordable housing. It's estimated that there are an additional 800 Victoria homes eligible to put in a secondary suite, should owners want to. Link to Times Colonist article for more information... |
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June 13, 2007
Congratulations to Alana Stewart from Oaklands Community Centre for winning a copy of Jim Diers book "Neighborhood Power" . Alana's name was drawn at random from the feedback forms returned from the "Having a neighbourhood vision" conference. Thank you to everyone who provided their thoughtful and insightful feedback on the conference. |
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| June 3, 2007
Booming Langford casts eye on Habitat in affordable housing
Langford is hoping its building boom can help Habitat for Humanity build affordable housing. The municipality is drafting a policy that would encourage deconstruction rather than demolition and provide Habitat for Humanity the opportunity to salvage building materials that it can use in its building projects or can be sold at its ReStore -- a thrift store for used building supplies. Link to Times Colonist Article... |
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Having a Neighbourhood Vision:
A starting point for Sustainability and Affordability Friday May 25th & Saturday May 26th, 2007 The 'Having a Neighbourhood Vision Conference' A starting point for Sustainability and Affordbility is hosted by the Housing Affordability Partnership, in collaboration with the Victoria Real Estate Board, Vancity Savings, and the British Columbia Real Estate Association. This conference will bring together representatives from all sectors of the housing industry, including Neighbourhood Associations, Developers and Planners, to discuss innovative solutions and raise awareness of the complex issues related to Housing Affordability in the Captial Region. The Having a Neighbourhood Vision Conference will take place on May 25 & 26, 2007 and will consist a public presentation by Jim Diers on the evening of Friday May 25th along with with workshops and interactive discussions throughout the day on Saturday May 26th. The Jim Diers presentation on Friday evening will be on "Sustainability & Affordability – the Challenge for Cities and Neighbourhoods" and will be open to both conference participants and to the general public at no cost. Seating is limited, so if you are not a conference participant, please use the Conference Registration form to reserve a seat for the Jim Diers presentation. The Jim Diers presentation will be held in the Esquimalt Community Theatre, 847 Colville Road.
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