3171 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Trudeau is blaming the provinces on housing. Ontario is trying to build the “green belt.” Nope, sorry. Can’t do it. Municipalities want all the housing. And all the taxes, fees, surcharges and crazy building codes that make that housing unaffordable to build.

The state of this nation, currently, is the result of either brilliant strategists trying to being the system down, or a collective of politicians who climbed the echelons of power, with no real-world experience to execute a workable plan. We are failing on every, single, front. By every measure, we have regressed. We even have a PM who jets off to Tofino, while his taxpayers are stuck below due to a broken highway.

I don’t know why the press gave the PM a pass for that, but the symbolism there was historic.

[Nparker]

...I don’t know why the press gave the PM a pass for that...

Because the PM gives them funding even as their traditional medium is dying.

[Victoria Watcher]

Trudeau is blaming the provinces on housing. Ontario is trying to build the “green belt.” Nope, sorry. Can’t do it. 

 

The greenbelt is 810,000 hectares.  Toronto is 63,000.

 

I think they can spare some greenbelt for housing.

[lanforod]

And I believe they're only planning to pull out like, 6k acres, and also replace it with 8k acres from elsewhere (further away, I presume). 

 

I agree that the process should be transparent, and shouldn't be stuffing Ontario Conservative party insider pockets, but the concept is not flawed, IMO.

[LJ]

The greenbelt would be the perfect project for the government to produce several high density planned housing enclaves.

 

Maybe 20 acres each with greenbelt remaining between them.

[Victoria Watcher]

Vancouver city council unanimously passed a motion for lower-density neighbourhoods to allow up to eight homes on a single lot.

 

The new zoning changes all for multiplex homes as an option for new builds along with an amendment to allow for character homes to add units to the existing dwelling.

 

 

In addition, this motion also carries a reduction in the size of single-detached homes but increases the size of new laneway houses.

Standard-size lots can now carry up to four units with larger lots able to hold up to eight.

 

With respect to zoning changes, the motion consolidates nine low-density residential zones into a single new residential inclusive zone with a goal of simplifying regulations.

 

 

https://globalnews.c...-homes-per-lot/

 

 

 

 

FSR will be limited to a maximum of 1.0 in Vancouver.  Victoria allows 1.1 on the corner lots.

 

Interesting in that they are now forcing new SFDs to be less FSR.  From current 0.7 to new 0.6.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 September 2023 - 12:29 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Missing middle missing from Greater Victoria new-home data

 

Few townhomes and houseplexes — "missing middle" housing — are being built in the region, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s monthly survey of new housing construction.

https://www.timescol...me-data-7565851

 

Greater Victoria homebuilders remained busy in August as construction started on 664 homes but industry insiders point out what’s missing in that number is the missing-middle housing municipalities have been talking about but few have delivered.

 

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s monthly survey of new housing construction, of the 664 new homes started last month, 645 were either apartments or single-family homes. Only four semi-detached homes and 15 townhomes — the missing middle — were started in the region last month.

[dasmo]

Is it time for mandates? Or more public shaming first?

[Mike K.]

There’s plenty of that stuff being built. You can’t just cherry pick a month and make a market statement out of it.

There are 225 townhomes in just one Langford project. Everyone worried about the data at the media offices, chill.

[dasmo]

It’s what they do. Lie without technically lying. It’s why the wheels of the old world media can’t come flying off soon enough IMO. It’s an institution that could serve humanity but has become a net negative as it’s not serving us that’s for sure.

[Victoria Watcher]

10 municipalities are given house-building targets to reach within five years. Oak Bay has qualms.



https://www.timescol...oak-bay-7604633



The province has rolled out new-housing targets for 10 municipalities, including three in Greater Victoria, that each must reach within five years to help alleviate the continuing shortage of affordable housing.

Slightly more than 60,000 new units are to be built.

Victoria’s net target for new units is 4,902, Saanich is 4,610 and Oak Bay is 664.





Oak Bay 664. Lol. They haven’t built that many in total since 1950.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 September 2023 - 03:06 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Oak Bay was less welcoming. It said it will work diligently to see new housing built and was pleased to see the possibility of provincial money. But it criticized the province for requiring targets to be confidential during summer meetings.

Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch said in a letter to Kahlon that the targets were set on the basis of need but did not fully consider the capacity of a municipality to meet that need. Conditions in Oak Bay that make it challenging to meet the target include little vacant land, limited commercial or industrial land for intensive development, limited private-property owner interest in redevelopment, and the lack of significant land assemblies, he said.

With its old infrastructure, more infrastructure and amenities would be needed to support a growing community, Murdoch said.

The short timeline puts Oak Bay at a disadvantage compared with other larger municipalities which already have development-enabling policies, systems, staffing and resources in place, he said. As well, Oak Bay does not have any large-scale development applications in the pipeline, he said.

[dasmo]

Bullies need to be disobeyed.

[Victoria Watcher]

One part of the article says “some people are choosing not to live in BC”.

Isn’t that a good thing?

[Nparker]

There's a big country out there. No one is being forced to live in BC.

[Mike K.]

Are we going to have a quantity over quality problem 25 years from now? If you’re asking a municipality to triple its housing output from one month to the next, you’re not going to achieve it without something else taking a cut. It’s just not possible unless you can ramp up labour; which we cannot do.

Is there going to be a rise in construction costs now, too? So many variables here.

[Nparker]

Setting quotas for anything is never good policy.

[dasmo]

Setting quotas for anything is never good policy.

Accepting force will only lead to more force. The most important word right now is NO. Out of principle. OakBay is built. Let it grow organically, or not. Let the community have self determination. There is nothing wrong with it. If there is there is also something wrong with anyone reading this who has space in their home to house more people and isn’t.

[spanky123]

One part of the article says “some people are choosing not to live in BC”.

Isn’t that a good thing?

 

It certainly is if we are serious about reducing CO2 emissions. What is the point of setting CO2 reduction targets if you then completely offset that by increasing population?

[Victoria Watcher]

It certainly is if we are serious about reducing CO2 emissions. What is the point of setting CO2 reduction targets if you then completely offset that by increasing population?

Exactly. If you let Africans live with our type of carbon emissions we are ducked.