11779 replies to this topic

[dasmo]

Yep. My read of the missing middle initiative in general is it’s aim is to also reduce available land. New raw development land.

Edited by dasmo, 12 June 2022 - 08:06 AM.

[Mike K.]

Adding to this, we’re going to see a systematic pull back on new housing, meaning competition for existing homes and whatever is delivered will become just that much bigger.

[JimV]

MMI is in effect “up-zoning,” but it’s being done here by permitting a new development form within an existing zone. So it’s adding density to zones permitting SFDs and duplexes, not changing the zones for those properties.
 

Whew, that’s a hair splitting distinction.  It’s upzoning no matter how it’s dressed up.

 

I would also like to second Nparker’s question to SA as to why it is necessary to address this issue before the upcoming election.

[dasmo]

But that’s my connecting it to the agenda 2030 goals around “human settlements”

[dasmo]

Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) aims at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030. By putting direct focus on urban areas, and thereby recognizing the important role of urban actors, it launches a new era of international development.
https://www.local203...Settlements.pdf

[Mike K.]

Whew, that’s a hair splitting distinction. It’s upzoning no matter how it’s dressed up.

I would also like to second Nparker’s question to SA as to why it is necessary to address this issue before the upcoming election.

In practice it’s the same result, but there are legal distinctions that do matter with regards to piloting this initiative and potentially altering it or scrapping it.

What I question is how the City expects developers to take advantage of this new density that could be retracted at any moment. Lenders won’t lend the principal above the value of a single unit or duplex on one property, instead of the six you expect to get. That means you need to come up with cash to cover the difference, or fund the full purchase price with cash.

[dasmo]

Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) aims at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030. By putting direct focus on urban areas, and thereby recognizing the important role of urban actors, it launches a new era of international development.
https://www.local203...Settlements.pdf

As Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia since 2014, Lisa Helps was elected on a platform to use City Hall and city government as a to help unleash the potential of citizens and local business and to create inclusive, sustainable prosperity. As mayor, she takes inspiration from the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular emphasis on Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
https://socialvalue-...lue/lisa-helps/

[Mike K.]

Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) aims at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030. By putting direct focus on urban areas, and thereby recognizing the important role of urban actors, it launches a new era of international development.
https://www.local203...Settlements.pdf

Yes.

Nearly all of what council has pursued since 2014 has its origins in these think tank-made guides. Federally we’re on the same path, too.

[dasmo]

We need to think more local… this one size fits all modality is not working.

[Mike K.]

Thinking local doesn’t get you onto panels or speaking engagements discussing UN plan implementation.

That giant Curbed article linked earlier ultimately decides housing must be decommodified, btw. In case few people read that giant piece. It also admits MM doesn’t create affordability and achieves little that its designers say it will achieve. The end game is de-commodification and non-market, government-funded housing built in the most desirable communities. There is nothing wrong with that, but MM is not being sold as that to the public, is it?

[Nparker]

As Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia since 2014, Lisa Helps was elected on a platform to use City Hall and city government as a help to unleash the potential of citizens and local business and to create inclusive, sustainable prosperity....

[JimV]

So council is using their remaining time productively by renaming Trutch street to Su’it street (no puns, please.)  I’m sure we all feel greatly relieved that this 19th century scoundrel is expunged from our history and that the cause of reconciliation has taken another giant leap forward.  And in these dullish times the residents of Trutch, oops, Su’it street can entertain themselves by correcting their addresses with the CRA, banks, other businesses, friends and organizations.  Hopefully before they adjourn for summer they can rename Victoria too and free us from the painful reminder of colonial oppression.

[dasmo]

The Queen still owns the street so it remains colonized regardless of the name.

Edited by dasmo, 24 June 2022 - 07:09 AM.

[spanky123]

The end game is de-commodification and non-market, government-funded housing built in the most desirable communities. There is nothing wrong with that, but MM is not being sold as that to the public, is it?

 

I know what you are saying Mike but there is something wrong with the Government owning housing.

 

All you need to do is look to countries that have implemented non-market housing in large swaths of their cities and you find that it is far from utopia. If you look to the Nordics as an example, people wait decades for housing and if you are an immigrant don't even bother to apply. Of course like our socialized medical system, politicians, their buddies and the elites don't wait and the rooms with a view are theirs for the taking. 

[Mike K.]

Correct. Decommodified housing comes with its own pitfalls. We just don’t talk about that here.

[spanky123]

Correct. Decommodified housing comes with its own pitfalls. We just don’t talk about that here.

 

https://fee.org/arti...d-an-apartment/

 

Why wasn’t a single housing unit built in Melbourne in the nine years after World War II? Because rent control laws had made the buildings unprofitable.

Why did Washington, DC, see its available rental housing stock decline from 199,000 to less than 176,000 in the 1970s? Because fewer people were willing to rent their homes because of price controls.

Why did building permits decline by 90 percent in Santa Monica, California, in 1979 from just a few years earlier? Again, because rent control laws had made the building of new units unprofitable.

The lesson? Rent control has effects on housing supply, and those effects are not good."

[Mike K.]

We are going to see whether or not government intends to rent control our housing in BC very soon.

They should be working out a top-up program for vulnerable renters, not broadly changing how the industry operates.

[spanky123]

CTJ is out! That now means 3 open council seats.

 

We have made being on council so miserable that only the zealots and unemployed need apply. We will reap what we have sowed.

[Stephen Andrew]

CTJ is out! That now means 3 open council seats.

We have made being on council so miserable that only the zealots and unemployed need apply. We will reap what we have sowed.

Actually 4 open seats.

Me - Councillors Alto, Dubow and Thornton-Joe

[Nparker]

I am not sure who "we" is in the above, but I think much of the misery of serving on council comes from the members themselves who think their job is to save the world. Stick to the boundaries of the CoV and perhaps the job will be more manageable.