Latest news with #Kitsilano
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
B.C. Housing Minister expresses concern after Vancouver abandons controversial supportive-housing project
British Columbia's housing minister says he is concerned about the future of supportive-housing projects in Vancouver after the city quashed construction plans in a west-side neighbourhood amid a legal battle with residents over the rezoning changes. The rezoning for the 129-unit, 13-storey project in Kitsilano was rescinded April 30, after a consent order between a local residents' group and the city essentially overturned a 2022 approval. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said he was surprised by the city's decision to abandon fighting a lawsuit the Kitsilano Coalition for Children and Family Safety Society had brought claiming the city's public-hearing process for the rezoning was flawed. 'If you don't want concentrations of supportive housing, but then you don't want them in Kits, where do you put people?' he said. Vancouver abandons controversial supportive-housing project in Kitsilano Earlier this week, Mayor Ken Sim told The Globe that the city is trying to work with the province on finding alternative sites, where two 40- to 60-unit projects could be built that fit in better with the neighbourhoods. Supportive housing provides units to low-income people the way social housing does, but also helps with drug addiction, mental-health counselling, medical visits, lifeskills training and more. Mr. Kahlon said the province is willing to work with the city but hasn't seen any 'credible' alternatives so far. 'It is frustrating but we're going back to the drawing board to find alternative sites,' he said, though he added that the province isn't about to buy out any private-rental development currently on offer as city officials have suggested. It's also unfair for some neighbourhoods to declare they're only interested in housing for seniors or other groups they have decided are less problematic, Mr. Kahlon said. The city's move has generated significant reaction, with many supporters saying the site was problematic because it was across the street from a private Catholic elementary school, too close to a women's rehab centre and would have resulted in too many troubled people in one place. Supporters have also criticized the province for trying to force disruptive new housing that they claim would be dominated by drug users into every community. 'This housing, in this location, was not appropriate and the community spoke,' said David Fine, a filmmaker who is a frequent commenter on Kitsilano housing issues on X. 'No one is against some form of social or supportive housing there, just not what was being proposed. In this case, Sim made the right decision.' However, several housing advocates, non-profit housing providers and city councillors are appalled by the move. 'It's a very scary, telling direction that this council is going. We definitely recognize this is going in the wrong direction,' said Donna-Lynn Rosa, CEO of Atira Women's Resources Society, which runs multiple supportive-housing buildings in the city. 'Less housing, less options is not the solution. We're just concerned about these motions that seem reckless.' BC Housing applied to the city four years ago for a rezoning for the building, saying it would provide accessible supportive housing for the many homeless people living in Kitsilano's parks, on its beaches, or near storefronts. But thousands of residents expressed concerns that it would draw new drug users and crime to the area and allow for open drug use right across from the school. OneCity Vancouver Councillor Lucy Maloney said she is going to do whatever she can to support work at city hall to approve supportive housing, after hearing during her recent election campaign that improving the situation for homeless people was one of voters' top three priorities. 'I have to assess the best way to address the problem that Vancouverites said was their top concern,' she said. Ms. Maloney said she was surprised that she learned the news through the Kitsilano residents' newsletter instead of from the city itself. The decision to abandon the legal fight was made during an in-camera vote earlier this year before new councillors Ms. Maloney and COPE's Sean Orr were sworn in. Prominent drug-policy advocate Guy Felicella, a former drug user who champions better treatment and harm reduction, called the move 'NIMBYism at is finest,' noting that city residents are constantly calling on the province for more resources to get people off the streets but then reject providing housing for them.
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
City of Vancouver quashes approval for hotly-debated supportive housing project
The City of Vancouver has withdrawn its support for a supportive housing project in the Kitsilano neighbourhood that has been the subject of numerous court challenges. The B.C. Housing project on city-owned land, at Arbutus Street and 8th Avenue, was approved in 2022 under a previous city council after half a dozen contentious public hearings. However, a group of local residents called the Kitsilano Coalition filed a court challenge against the rezoning — which prompted the B.C. government to issue legislation in favour of the project and bypass the courts. But that legislation was subsequently found to be unlawful by the B.C. Court of Appeal, and now, the City of Vancouver has decided to end its legal defence of the project. That means the rezoning approved in 2022 is no longer valid, and the province and city will have to work on another proposal for the site. WATCH | City withdraws support from supportive housing project: Future of Kitsilano supportive housing development unclear 13 hours ago Duration 2:00 A long-embattled supportive housing development on Vancouver's Westside has lost the mayor's support. Earlier this year, Ken Sim put a pause on net new supportive housing in the city but said he wouldn't get in the way of projects already designated. As CBC's Renee Lukacs reports, that's now changed. "It's clear this location wasn't the right fit for the scale and type of housing that was proposed," Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement Tuesday. "While we won't speculate on the future of the site, we fully believe in the important role that both supportive and social housing play in Vancouver's diverse housing mix." The Kitsilano Coalition said it mounted its court challenge over public safety concerns, with members saying the housing site was next to a park and elementary school. Coalition spokesperson Karen Finnan said she believed the public hearing that led to the project's approval was flawed and not conducted in accordance with the Vancouver Charter. "We are grateful that the current council is looking to work with us instead of pushing back on us," she told CBC News. "And we would hope that the provincial government, as well, will reassess how they are managing issues of homelessness, mental illness and addiction." Other Kitsilano residents that spoke to CBC News, however, expressed support for the proposal, which would have created 129 single-occupancy units for people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes. "I think everyone sees that there's a huge housing crisis and homelessness crisis in Vancouver, and it's not gonna solve itself, right?" said Dina Dinat. "People have to actively create more housing and different kinds of housing to help vulnerable populations." Opposition councillor, minister disappointed Both an opposition councillor and the province's housing minister expressed disappointment with the cancellation of the rezoning, especially as there is very little supportive housing in Vancouver's Westside. OneCity Coun. Lucy Maloney said Sim's move wasn't surprising after his motion to freeze the construction of new supportive housing units in the city, and that the mayor was pointing the finger at other governments for problems he should take responsibility for. "We need to be showing leadership to solve the homelessness crisis," she said. "We need to be working with every level of government and across the region, but we also need to take responsibility for what we can do in the City of Vancouver." WATCH | Supportive housing freeze draws criticism: Vancouver pauses new supportive housing, sparking opposition and political risk for mayor's party 3 months ago Duration 2:02 Vancouver's opposition parties are hoping to pounce on council's decision on supportive housing. On Wednesday, in a six to three vote, councillors paused net-new supportive housing in the city. The housing is meant to support the city's most vulnerable residents, providing wraparound services for their unmet needs. As Chad Pawson reports, it could come with political risks for Mayor Ken Sim and his ruling ABC party. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon also expressed disappointment with the city's decision, given the support the province had put behind the proposal. "It's disappointing because we know there's people right now in that community sleeping in encampments, sleeping in parks, and we need to get people indoors to get them supports," he said.
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Province reacts to City of Vancouver dropping supportive housing development
The city of Vancouver has walked back from a supportive housing project in Kitsilano. It had previously defended the project which would have been situated at Arbutus and 8th Avenue. The mayor's office says it became clear the location wasn't a good fit for a development of the scale and type of housing that was proposed.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Million-dollar tax deadline has co-operative housing residents scrambling
A co-operative housing complex in Vancouver is speaking out as a deadline approaches to pay a million-dollar tax to renew its lease. Helen's Court in Kitsilano says it is not fair that the renewal will be subject to the provincial property transfer tax. As Chad Pawson reports, residents want the province to step in and exempt all co-ops from that tax.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
This Vancouver housing co-op is facing a $1M tax if it wants to renew its lease for more than 30 years
Social Sharing A Vancouver housing co-op is worried it may have to pay more than $1 million in tax if it wants to sign a new long-term lease — something its residents just can't afford. Helen's Court is located on city-owned land in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. It's home to about 100 people, who live in 44 units. Residents lease the land from the city and work together to maintain a lasting community. "It's affordable, stable," longtime resident David Diamond said. "The big thing is, we're a village, and I think that's rare. We all know each other, and it's self-governing, so we support each other, we take care of each other." The original 40-year lease for Helen's Court expired last year, and they have to sign a new lease by June 1. But here's the catch: if they want to sign a lease for more than 30 years, something co-ops often prefer to do, they'll be subject to the provincial property transfer tax (PTT). Diamond said residents were surprised to learn co-ops are subject to such a tax when they started negotiating a new lease with the city. "If we have to pay the tax, all kinds of things will happen," he told CBC's On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko. Right now, rent at the co-op goes up about three per cent annually to build up reserves for maintenance. To accommodate the PTT, it would have to go up at least seven per cent for several years. "We're going to make it unaffordable for some of our most vulnerable members," Diamond said. The co-op could sign a lease for 29 years, but at the end of the lease, there'd be no guarantee the co-op would continue — it would depend on whether future city leaders saw value in supporting co-op housing. "We're basically throwing potentially 30 years of the co-op's existence out the window by trying to avoid the tax," Diamond said. According to real estate lawyer Mike Walker, the PTT was introduced in the late 80s, originally as a luxury tax on properties. PTT depends on the fair market value of a property. An additional two per cent is applied for residential properties over $3 million. Only registered charities are exempt from PTT, which housing co-ops are not. "That was meant to get high-value, single-family homes, but now it's having, I think, the pernicious effect of applying to rental buildings, housing co-ops, non-profit buildings because their values are way above $3 million," Walker said. Helen's Court resident Carla Pellegrini said the co-op has been in touch with the province to find a way to exclude housing co-ops from the tax, but so far, they haven't received an answer. "We've tried to be patient and very diplomatic, but now we're up against this deadline to sign our lease, and we have to make a choice." More co-ops will face similar issue According to the City of Vancouver, there are 57 co-ops, which contain more than 3,700 housing units, on city land. Dozens more are situated throughout the province. In a statement to CBC News, the City of Vancouver said it realizes just how important housing co-ops are when it comes to offering affordable housing. While it agrees that applying PPT to co-ops erodes their affordability, it's not willing to cover that cost. However, it is supportive of lobbying the province to change the legislation. Walker said a lot of co-ops and non-profit housing operators will be affected by PTT in the coming years. "The people who put [PTT] weren't thinking about these extensions of leases," he said. "It's going to take a change to the legislation or the regulations." But he warned the government has to make the exemption crystal clear, so that for-profit developers can't take advantage of it. The province didn't respond to questions asked by CBC News about how housing co-ops fit into PTT. The Ministry of Finance said it is focused on bringing down housing costs and that it's always open to conversations about new projects.
