1003 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

So is Andrew Weaver’s.

[Victoria Watcher]

Vancouver's mayor has announced a plan to boost the empty homes tax rate to five per cent and double its compliance audits in an effort to provide more affordable housing.

 

Kennedy Stewart says his decision to triple the empty homes tax rate in 2020 has brought in about $32 million for affordable housing and helped "return" more than 4,000 homes to locals.

 

https://www.timescol...housing-5264552

[Victoria Watcher]

Speculation and vacancy tax generating millions, is being expanded, government says

As of January, Duncan, North Cowichan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Lions Bay and Squamish will be subject to the tax as well

https://www.timescol...nt-says-6143630

[Nparker]

It's generating revenue, but is it creating more housing?

[Mike K.]

I don't think we realize yet just what this is doing to communities that rely on temporary residents for taxes and economic growth, without the burden of full-time residency.

Gulf Islands residents have an opinion on the benefits of full-time residency growing by 30% among non-permanent residents over a short period of time.

[LJ]

^If you rent your place out, you don't have to pay the vacancy tax, right?

[Mike K.]

Yes that’s right.

[spanky123]

^If you rent your place out, you don't have to pay the vacancy tax, right?

 

True but then it isn't a vacation home, it is a rental property. Obvious the NDP feels that only elites own vacation property and thus it must be taken away from them.

[Nparker]

MLA elites being exempt of course.

[Mike K.]

The trend now is to strata-title office towers and build strata-titled business parks, so before long, foreign capital will have a significant foothold in the commercial sector, namely because there are so few commercial spaces relative to housing units.

Look at all of the strata-titled business parks that are going up in Victoria currently. I can think of five. How long before offices buildings start employing the same tactics?

We never seem to think what actually happens when the flow of capital is redirected. We just jump from one issue to another.

Consider the housing situation. The federal government stopped its housing programs in the 80s, leading to a complete shut down of rental and affordable housing construction. Municipally, governments gave developers the middle finger, when they tried to build rental housing with private money 80s onwards (we’re taking locally). Now provincially, the premier of BC is vowing to tackle the issue of housing head-on, by dictating to municipalities what they can and can’t do regarding housing, while also forcing multi-generational vacation properties to either carry high taxes or be sold, pushing the economic impact thereof to other jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the feds are back at the housing funding helm, as they announce hundreds of thousands more openings for immigration into Canada.

At all three levels of government, we have roadblocks meeting up with big ideas, and tripping over what the issues are and what is causing them.

Here it is in a simpler format:

Municipalities (locally) are exhausted from a decade of heavy development which still isn’t meeting demand. Residents have voted in anti-growth governments as a result. The province is reaching to enact housing quotas to address housing shortages in municipalities. Meanwhile, the feds have announced the most ambitious immigration program in the history of the nation.

[Sparky]

chaos

 

noun [ U ]

/ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ us
/ˈkeɪ.ɑːs/

a state of total confusion with no order:

[Mike K.]

We need to build 44,000 units of housing to this region by 2041 to meet population growth projections:

 

https://victoria.cit...rowth-estimate/

[Victoria Watcher]

Or if we don’t build them, the population won’t increase 44,000 units worth. What’s so bad about that?

Oak Bay’s population hasn’t grown, and most would say it’s the best place to live around here.

In fact crime there is so low, the cops go home during shift for naps.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 November 2022 - 08:54 AM.

[spanky123]

We need to build 44,000 units of housing to this region by 2041 to meet population growth projections:

 

https://victoria.cit...rowth-estimate/

 

I think that number is way off. BC welcomed 115K new immigrants last year alone. If only 10% of those come to the CRD that would be over 100K units.

[Barrrister]

Dont build it and they wont come. Maybe the Province needs to start to build actual new cities if it wants to increase housing. Or at least fix the doctor and hospital problem before going on a building rampage.

[aastra]

 

Oak Bay’s population hasn’t grown, and most would say it’s the best place to live around here.

 

Is growth a problem by default? Or can growth happen in a desirable way?

 

 

Daily Colonist

March 18, 1950

 

Oak Bay: A Model Municipality

 

From comparative obscurity before the turn of the century, Oak Bay has earned itself the reputation of being one of the most-envied municipalities in British Columbia.

 

Oak Bay has attained this valued position because of much expert guidance since its incorporation in 1906. Careful management and sound investment have made Oak Bay a financially healthy municipality which stands high in the bond dealers' register.

 

Good municipal government has kept taxes low in comparison with other municipalities. Services are considered good. The municipality's bonded indebtedness is low...

 

Like other municipalities, Oak Bay is in the midst of a building boom with attractive subdivisions springing up throughout. In order to maintain a high standard, municipal building restrictions are strict...

 

From a population of about 300 in 1906, the area has grown into a thriving municipality of 12,500 residents and 3,600 homes. Homeowners are well protected by well-planned zoning regulations.

 

[Mike K.]

I think that number is way off. BC welcomed 115K new immigrants last year alone. If only 10% of those come to the CRD that would be over 100K units.

It’s likely just as pie in the sky, the projection for 88,000 newcomers here, as 400,000 residents in the CMA by 2031 was back in 2001.

[LJ]

True but then it isn't a vacation home, it is a rental property. Obvious the NDP feels that only elites own vacation property and thus it must be taken away from them.

But you only have to rent it out for 6 months, the other 6 you can stay in it.

[AllseeingEye]

Speculation and vacancy tax generating millions, is being expanded, government says

As of January, Duncan, North Cowichan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Lions Bay and Squamish will be subject to the tax as well

https://www.timescol...nt-says-6143630

 

 

Not speculation or tax-related but by God there are some nice estates, houses and properties just east north east of Duncan; we were at friends' last night who recently moved to a gorgeous 1.5 acre property off Maple Bay Rd, roughly half way between Quamichan Lake and Mt Tzouhalem, with a stunning view overlooking the lake. Wow.

 

My trips in recent years to the Duncan area always of course involve a hard left turn off the highway and a direct bee line to Riverbottom and parts more remote in the ecosystem in pursuit of Cowichan River fish; I hadn't really ventured east of town probably since the 80's when some UVic pals lived in the Lakes District.

 

But turning right at Trunk Rd off the main drag and proceeding about 4-5 kilometers just past the Maple Bay Estates development along Maple Bay Rd, to Lansdowne Rd, and Shoreview Way is just stunning, a real gem that I suspect many folks are unaware of. We have been talking recently about moving in the next couple of years and this location is definitely now officially on the radar.

[Mike K.]

Yup. It only gets better the further north you go, on the east side of the island, save for Nanaimo. Once you pass Nanaimo it’s paradise.

We never drive the TCH any more. It’s all side roads through to ladysmith, then 19A past Nanaimo.