Michael Geller's Blog

DENSITY Part 3: Little Mountain: A challenging Situation

2012-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last May, I wrote about the uncertaintly surrounding the Little Mountain property. http://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/so-whats-happening-at-little-mountain.html My blog posting was followed by a response from Ned Jacobs, a local community activist. http://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/ned-jacobs-response-to-my-post-whats.html

Yesterday I attended the latest Open House for the proposed redevelopment and left shaking my head.

My Conflict of Interest

Before proceeding, I need to declare a real and perceived conflict of interest. I was a member of a Development Team led by a very major Vancouver development company that was shortlisted by the Provincial Government to submit a competing proposal back in 2007/2008.

We made two proposals: one under the existing zoning, which could have proceeded quite quickly with approximately 950,000 sq.ft of woodframe housing, and another assuming a rezoning. Given that higher densities generally translate into higher sales prices, we proposed a plan comprising up to 1,460,000 sq ft which included the customary allowances for storage, enclosed balconies and amenity spaces. It included buildings up to 10 storeys in height along the westerly portion of the site, as well as dedicated roads and open spaces. The plan resulted in a Gross FSR of 2.0 and a Net FSR of 2.3. (This is discussed further below.) We noted that this was considered a reasonable upper limit on development potential noting that this was a competitive Proposal Call competition and the monies received were to be used to fund other social housing projects.

When it became apparent that the Province was seeking proposals that would result in greater densities and sale proceeds, my client withdrew from the process.

We subsequently learned that Holborn was the successful bidder. While details of their proposal were never made public, knowing what we bid, and from discussions with the other short-listed bidders, we surmised that they must have offered a very large sum of money.

This was not Holborn's only active development proposal in Vancouver. They also owned the Bay Parkade property and a prominent site along West Georgia where the Ritz Carlton Hotel/Residential complex had stalled. At one point, I was introduced to the young President of the company as someone who might be able to assist with their various projects. After a short meeting, no further discussions ever took place. I mention this since a prominent Vancouver journalist once shared with me that it was being whispered that my public concerns with the Little Mountain redevelopment project were rooted in Holborn's decision not to hire me!

In reality, I do not deny that my concerns relate in part to the fact that a number of very knowledgeable, experienced development companies spent a lot of money preparing very sound proposals for this property; but we were all 'blown out of the water' by the Holborn proposal which did not seem to be going very well. Furthermore, as noted in my team's submission, this is the first major redevelopment proposal for the 'regeneration' of an older Public Housing Project in British Columbia, something I worked on while with CMHC. It is therefore very important that it ultimately be successful, in order that other such regenerations can be allowed to proceed. So far, this is not happening either.

Little Mountain: a challenging situation

I first suspected that the redevelopment of this property would be challenging during the Request for Proposals (RFP) process when proponents learned that there would be no further input from the City other than that set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that had been approved by Council. As a result, we had no indication as to what density and building heights the City might consider appropriate, other than a general understanding that the city would consider a density above 1.45 and building heights above 4 storeys.

At this point, I would like to return to the topic of density. As noted in my February 2008 Vancouver Sun story and Bob Ransford's recent Sun WestCoast Homes story, calculating what is an acceptable density can be very difficult. Not only should one consider FSR, there is a need to look at the number of units and people per acre, number of floors, floor to ceiling heights, etc.

Furthermore, in the case of a very large site, such as Little Mountain, one must carefully consider the Gross Density, which is a measure of the amount of building over the total site, and the Net Density, which measures the size of buildings in relation to the individual development sites after excluding the area of roads and parks. This after all, is how we measure density on most individual sites around the region.The density at Bayshore: To put this in perspective, the Bayshore development along Coal Harbour between Denman and Cardero Streets, with which I was involved for many years, comprises approximately 1,100,000 sq.ft of residential on approximately 9 acres of parking lots. This equates to an overall gross density of 2.79. This development has buildings ranging in height from 3 to 25 storeys with floor to ceiling heights between 8.5 and 9 feet. (I would add that by virtue of its location on the water, separated from other developments by major streets, this site can accommodate density better than a site surrounded by existing single family and low scale buildings.)

Olympic Village Density: I am told that the Olympic Village development has a similar density, but the building forms are much lower. My personal view is that Bayshore is a very attractive and comfortable development with adequate landscaping and parks. However, I find portions of the Olympic Village, which is comprised of mid-rise buildings up to 13 storeys, too dense, especially along the narrow streets. (Again, this site is also on the water, away from existing development, and should be able to accommodate a higher density successfully.)

Gross and Net Density: In the case of Little Mountain, the current zoning is 1.45 which is the density generally associated with 3 and 4 storey apartments. (By comparison, the 4 storey mixed use developments found along arterials such as Main or Fraser or Fourth Avenue range between 2.2 and 2.5 FSR) However, this is on the individual sites. The Little Mountain property is approximately 15.2 acres and will require dedicated roads and park/community areas. Allowing for roads and the city's normal parkspace requirement of 2.75 acres parkspace/1000 people, a net density of 1.45 equates to a gross density of approximately 1.1. If a reduced amount of parkspace is required, the corresponding gross density would increase.

So what's my point? In considering what is the appropriate density for this site, one must pay close attention to both the net and gross FSR figures. One should also consider the average unit size and resulting number of people per acre, the number of storeys and also the floor to ceiling heights and the amount of dedicated and non-dedicated roads, park and open space. (Dedicated spaces are those legally transferred to the city, whereas other roads and open spaces may form part of the strata parcels.)

Building height along Main Street: Other factors that I consider important include the height of buildings along the flanking streets, and the location of taller buildings within the site. This will influence how the density feels for passers by and surrounding neighbours. Personally, I question the appropriateness of the proposal for an 8 storey building along Main Street. Rather, I would argue that 4 or 5 storeys should be the maximum height permitted at this time. The final decision should consider the height of the ground floor and the extent of terracing of upper floors. ( I believe the 'Capers Development' at 2211 West 4th Avenue is an example of what could fit along this portion of the street.)

Building design and materials also affect sense of density: While this can be very subjective, I believe the neighbourhood 'fit' can also be influenced by building design and exterior materials. For example, buildings that are terraced or stepped back are often much more acceptable than buildings with flat facades. Similarly buildings with lighter colour materials often feel less imposing that those of say red brick, especially if there is little red brick in the neighbourhood. The site setbacks and landscaping can also impact how a project 'feels' for surrounding residents and passers by. In this case, while I don't know if the materials have been finalized, I would question what appear to be large buildings with significant amounts of darker brick.

Public sector conflicts of interest: Just as I declared my conflicts of interest, I think it is also important to examine the Province and City's conflicts of interest.

To start with, the higher the approved density, the more the developer can likely pay for the site. I say likely since higher densities may result in concrete rather than wood frame construction, which can increase the cost of social housing and market units. It should also be noted that mid-rise concrete construction of between 6 and 10 storeys is generally more expensive than a tower with a more repetitive building form.

Initially the Province was going to receive all proceeds from the sale of this property. These monies were to pay for new social housing, including replacement units on site, and projects on the14 City-owned sites. I now understand that the City is going to share in the proceeds from the land sale. Therefore, one may well question whether it is willing to accept densities that are higher than if it wasn't a direct beneficiary. (I know everyone in the City administration will deny this, of course, but...)

The situation is further complicated by the arrangements in place with respect to the on-site replacement social housing. Our 2008 proposal offered serviced sites to the Province at no cost, but we would not be financially responsible for the construction of the units. However at the Open House, it was noted that Holborn has offered to pay for the social housing units. I find this surprising, since the cost of building 234 units is likely in the order of $45M to $65M. Remember 252 social housing units at Olympic Village cost $110M (excluding any land cost.)

Project economics: At the Open House, there were panels illustrating financial analyses undertaken by Coriolis, a real estate economics consulting firm, on behalf of the city. They indicated a value of $60 to 65 million under the existing zoning and a rezoned value of approximately $95 to $100 million (based on the current scheme). While this seems somewhat low when considering the value per square foot of multi-family development sites around the city, one needs to know the estimated cost of providing the streets and park spaces to City standards, and other Community Amenity Contributions that may have to be paid.

For example, a major project such as this would normally require the developer to build a child day care facility. The cost is estimated at $8.8M to $10M for a 69 child facility. Yes, that's what the City estimates a facility meeting municipal and provincial standards would cost. (Now you know why very few new childcare facilities are being built in Vancouver, but that's another story.)

Province and Holborn should disclose the terms of this deal: In the past, a private developer would not normally be expected to disclose confidential business terms of a real estate transaction. However, in recent years, when an applicant seeks a rezoning, it has become customary for municipalities to request copies of Purchase and Sale agreements and other financial information, along with independent appraisals, to assess the economics of a project and the Community Amenity Contributions that will be payable.

In this instance, it would appear that the very high density being sought is in large part attributable to the financial aspects of the project. This of course is unfortunate. As the Director of Planning often points out, "first we determine an appropriate density, and then we look at the financial consequences of it." In this case, notwithstanding the benefits of higher density development, I don't think there are many planners and architects who would argue in favour of net densities much in excess of 2.0 FSR for this site in what is essentially a very low density neighbourhood. Yes, it is going to change over time. But as Arthur Erickson was fond of arguing, change should happen incrementally...new buildings should relate to the old, even though one knows bigger buildings may come along over time.

(As one of Vancouver's most prominent architects reminded me last night, we often enjoy looking at old photos of Vancouver when the Sylvia Hotel and Marine Building were the largest buildings on the horizon. Yes, today they are dwarfed by surrounding developments; but it was important that the changes occur incrementally.)

In this case, given how much the development seems to be driven by money, which will be spent on other social housing, I believe it is important for the Province and Holborn to make public the terms of their deal. Is there a base price that must be paid, regardless of the density achieved? What, if any is the additional payment tied to density? What are the financial implications of Holborn's deal with the Province with respect to the social housing units? Is interest accruing on outstanding payments? Is there an escape clause in the agreement? What are the other payment terms?

I would like to think that if the community and City knew the deal, we might all be in a better position to assess just how much more density can be justified, given other pubic interests.

In conclusion, as I wrote before, I still worry whether the Province and City are going to get the money that has been promised...an amount which was sufficient to out-bid many experienced and knowledgeable Vancouver developers. I also worry about the community fit; and I worry about the implications of this project for other rezonings around the city.

(In this regard, one might say to me "don't worry!" If the city approves something well in excess of 2 FSR, it might be easier to get 1.0 to 1.5 in other single family neigbhourhoods!)

So with all that being said, I will therefore watch with interest the next chapters in this very fascinating story.

DENSITY Part 2: We're beginning to get the 'Eco' -- but what's Density?

2012-01-29T06:48:00.000-08:00

Depends how it's measured; it doesn't have to mean taller

Michael Geller, Special to the Sun

Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008

'How much does your house weigh, madam?"

Buckminister Fuller, the famous architect who invented the geodesic dome, used to delight in asking this question at parties.

Of course, no one knew the answer, although people always knew how many storeys their homes had.

I was reminded of this by the EcoDensity debate taking place in our city.

This time, the issue is not weight, but rather density. Most of us do not know the density of our home or neighbourhood.

However, we generally assume that higher densities result in higher buildings. This is not necessarily the case.

Density, as a planning term, has a number of different meanings. It can be an expression of a building's size in relation to its lot, or the number of housing units or people in a particular area. It is not a measure of height.

In most Metro Vancouver municipalities, density is measured as the floor space ratio (FSR). To understand how it is calculated, let us look at an older home with 1,200 square feet on the upper floors, and an 800-square-foot, partly submerged basement.

If this 2,000-square-foot home occupies a 4,000-square-foot (33-by-120-foot) lot, it has an FSR of 0.5. The same house on a 6,000-square-foot (50-foot) lot has an FSR of 0.33. Newer single-family homes are typically built at the maximum permitted FSR of approximately 0.6.

A duplex or low-density townhouse zone has an FSR of 0.75. Apartment zones can vary significantly. Fairview Slopes was developed at 1.25; many new apartments are built at 1.45. Kerrisdale apartments are in the order of 1.7.

Other jurisdictions measure density in terms of UPA or units per acre.

In the Village of Anmore, the community is being developed at a density of 1 UPA. Most conventional single family neighbourhoods are in the order of 5 UPA, although more compact single-family neighbourhoods can be designed at up to 12 UPA. Apartment developments can be developed anywhere between 50 to 150 UPA, or more.

An apartment building with 100 small suites will likely place different demands on neighbourhood services than a similar size building with 40 larger suites.

For this reason, some jurisdictions measure density in terms of PPA or people per acre. A typical suburban development might accommodate 15 to 20 people per acre, while a dense urban area could easily accommodate 100 to 250.

Whether density is measured in terms of FSR, units per acre, or people per acre, higher density buildings are not necessarily higher buildings. We can double or triple the density of a neighbourhood without any significant increase in building height.

A major community concern is that additional density will require additional services and amenities. I agree with this concern.

However, by collecting Community Amenity Contributions from the builders of higher density developments, and demanding payments from developers undertaking rezonings, the city will have additional funds to pay for the upgrading and expansion of parks and community centres and the construction of new facilities.

Concerns about traffic and parking can be addressed through better transit, and creative off-site parking solutions.

Instead of building taller buildings, the focus should be on more compatible forms of densification, including rear-lane infill units; secondary suites in townhouses and apartments; duplexes, and more townhouses, apartments and mixed-use buildings along arterial roads.

The focus should also be on greener, more sustainable building designs that are more energy- and resource-efficient. While the development industry has some concerns with the city's proposed requirements, it agrees these new standards are not unreasonable given our collective desire to reduce our ecological footprint on the environment.

By building alternative forms of housing, we can create more affordable housing choices and livable neighbourhoods without altering the character of most single-family neighbourhood streets in Vancouver.

Over the next 20 months, city politicians and officials will have to move slowly, and test out these ideas on a "demonstration project basis" before any widespread application.

I hope we will give them the chance.

Michael Geller is an adjunct professor at the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

DENSITY! Part 1: Lessons from the South Shore of False Creek

2012-01-29T06:01:00.000-08:00

In the last couple of weeks I have attended Open Houses for two major developments in Mount Pleasant and on the Little Mountain property that are causing considerable concern in the surrounding neigbhourhoods. Before sharing my thoughts on these proposals, I decided to go back into my archives and dig up a couple of stories I wrote in February 2008 after returning from an around the world Sabbatical, during the very heated debate over EcoDensity. The first was published February 9, 2008 under the headline: "For me, EcoDensity is a 60-year adventure. It led to a meeting with the Vancouver Sun Editorial Board and another story which I'll post in Part 2. I believe these stories may be helpful in setting the stage for evaluating what should happen on these two sites, and other neighbourhoods around the city and Metro Vancouver.

For me, EcoDensity is a 60-year adventure

Once upon a time, in my capacity as an architect and planner in the Vancouver office of Canada Mortgage and Housing, I championed a green-for-its-time initiative that generated the same public declarations of apprehension and suspicion that Mayor Sam Sullivan's EcoDensity initiatives are generating.

By The Vancouver Sun February 9, 2008 Be the first to post a comment

Once upon a time, in my capacity as an architect and planner in the Vancouver office of Canada Mortgage and Housing, I championed a green-for-its-time initiative that generated the same public declarations of apprehension and suspicion that Mayor Sam Sullivan's EcoDensity initiatives are generating.

Then, as now, an affordable home that would permit a household to minimize its environmental footprint motivated those of us who supported the initiative. Then, as now, at least two fears motivated much of the opposition: a fear of dramatic and quick change to the character of the city, and a fear of the unknown. I thought those fears misguided then, and I think their EcoDensity equivalents misguided today.

The early 1970s were years of a major planning debate over the proposed redevelopment of city-owned lands on the south shore of False Creek.

Planners wanted an entirely new approach to urban residency taken on the industrial lands there. They wanted alternatives to the single-family-detached home built.They wanted mixed-use buildings constructed. They wanted richer and poorer to share the neighbourhood and pedestrian and automobile to share its byways.

Opposition came from a variety of sources. The Vancouver Board of Trade argued that family housing had no place in the False Creek redevelopment. "Housing on the city's False Creek lands should be based solely upon the needs of the executive-type city," a board statement said.

George Puil, then-chair of the Vancouver park board, thought the land should only be used for a park. A citizens' review panel also wanted the land used only for park. A city councillor thought the area was "not a sane site for housing."

A city planner resigned over the proposals. "I believe the city-owned land on False Creek to be among the very worst spots in the entire city to build a lot of housing on," his letter of resignation said.

Notwithstanding the significant opposition, city council eventually approved the development. I was appointed the federal government's "special coordinator", since I was one of the few people in the CMHC Vancouver office who thought the project could be a success.

As construction began, the criticism continued, and many people feared the community would become an instant slum. However, then-mayor Art Phillips and his wife, Carole Taylor, announced they would be moving into the first neighbourhood "above the corner store," and soon attitudes started to change.

As the first residents started to move in, a January 1977 Vancouver Sun story was headlined "Life in dreamland on the creek." And then-councillor Mike Harcourt declared: "False Creek is a success."

Over the years, the community has been heralded as a model for higher density, mixed income housing, and applauded around the world. As I look at the draft EcoDensity Initial Actions, I cannot help but think that in 30 years, if many of these proposals are allowed to proceed, they will also be applauded.

They address the need to reduce greenhouse gases by creating more energy and resource-efficient buildings, and more transit-oriented development.

They will result in new housing choices, especially near the 70 per cent of our city zoned for single-family housing. More options for secondary suites within buildings will result in new affordable housing choices in townhouses and apartments, which would create "mortgage helpers" in multi-family developments.

This idea was implemented at SFU's UniverCity community, with few negative consequences. New options for backyard laneway infill housing will also result in new housing choices. Again, it must be emphasized that this planning change would not happen everywhere, or right away. It will take time to develop a comprehensive plan and strategy with appropriate zoning. But one only has to look at London and other world cities to see how laneway and "mews" housing can add to the character of a neighbourhood.

New options for arterial midrise housing will also increase housing choices. However, having developed apartments and townhouses along Oak Street and West 41st Avenue, I am the first to caution that midrise buildings should not be permitted along all arterials.

As I reflect on some of my own developments, I believe the seven-storey Elm Park Place fits in well at the corner of West 41st and Larch Streets. However, it would be the wrong building form for further down the street between Carnarvon and Balaclava streets. Here, the three-and four-storey Lanesborough development is much more appropriate.

However, midrise buildings would be desirable in certain areas along arterial streets, especially near key intersections. Not only would they allow for more homes on a site, but taller buildings would be built out of concrete and steel, which many renters and buyers prefer to wood frame construction. I am sure city planning staff agree with this approach.

The Vancouver Planning Department is now undertaking a series of workshops on the proposed EcoDensity Charter and Action Plan leading up to a public meeting on Feb. 26.

I recently attended one of the sessions and was pleased to see a broad range of ages and interests in the room. Those in attendance were invited to fill in a feedback form to provide their views to the mayor and councillors. I spoke to a number of people after the workshop, and while a few told me they had not changed their minds, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that most were leaving with fewer worries about the EcoDensity proposals than when they arrived.

With Vancouver's escalating land and housing prices, many of the participants saw EcoDensity as a way for parents, children and grandparents to live in the same neighbourhoods in the years to come. In addition to saving our planet, what could be more important than that?

Michael Geller is an architect, planner, property developer and adjunct professor at SFU's Centre for Sustainable Community Development. He recently traveled around the world and shared his observations with Westcoast Homes readers.

Another journalist realizes it's time for some changes!

2012-01-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

We need to look at a greater variety of housing options

By Jon Ferry, The Province January 27, 2012 7:02 AM

Jon Ferry

Photograph by: Graphics, The Province

Why does the Lower Mainland have such high house prices? Well, lots of people want to buy homes here . . . for a grab bag of reasons.

It's easy to blame everyone from wealthy Asian buyers to greedy developers and eco-obsessed urban planners. But there is no single villain.

For years, Vancouver's been ranked by outside rating agencies as one of the world's most livable cities. And we've lived up to the hype. We've become the victim of our own success and are pricing ourselves out of the market.

However, my view is that slapping on foreign-home ownership restrictions, as many have suggested, would simply kill the golden goose. It would put at risk the investment of scores of Lower Mainland homeowners who've battled over the years to build up a real-estate nest egg.

That doesn't mean, though, that government should do nothing to help provide affordable housing, especially for young people with families.

We just need the political will and public interest to do so. And that's been rising fast. Everybody seems to know somebody who's either left or leaving town, driven out by high rents or humongous mortgages.

In fact, sky-high Vancouver housing prices were one of the reasons why my son, a young engineer, and his wife chose to move to Montreal, where they were able to buy a townhouse for half what they'd have to pay here.

They miss Vancouver terribly, and we miss them and our little granddaughter. But we realize the vast distance separating us is the penalty we pay for living in Lotusland, and my son pays for having a real job.

Vancouver is many things, but not a manufacturing hub. It's more tourist town than business city. As former Province paper boy Chris Perry says: "You simply can't make enough money as a working stiff to buy a decent house, without some kind of additional injection of money."

It's little wonder many working people feel priced-out, especially when those who aren't working seem to matter more to our local politicians.

"People from all over the country move here and get a room on the taxpayer," notes salesman Brett Carels. "Meanwhile, the average Joe can't afford to live in this city or to have a family."

Carels, 36, told me Thursday he's considering leaving Vancouver because, down the road, he doesn't see it as an affordable place to raise a family.

As I said, there are no easy solutions. But I have two suggestions:

1. Forget caviar dreams on a Costco budget. Reduce your housing expectations. Think Kia rather than BMW, and Arborite rather than granite.

2. Allow forms of housing other than traditional single-family homes and conventional condo buildings.

As Vancouver architect/planner/developer Michael Geller points out, there is no good reason why municipalities can't zone for cottage-style houses, non-strata row houses, "stacked" townhouses or other attractive and less expensive housing common elsewhere.

Sure, NIMBY-minded residents will worry this will lower their property values. But when they are older and find they can't keep up their hard-to-maintain, single-family houses, where will they go? Will they be forced out of the area, too?

Yes, Lower Mainland housing affordability is a huge problem. But, no, housing restrictions aren't the solution. Housing variety is.

jferry@theprovince.com

Housing Affordability Symposium Feb 2 & 3, 2012

2012-01-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

While there is a lot of talk and media attention surrounding housing affordability, too often there is insufficient attention given to specific 'Action Plans' that can address the problem. Below is information on a forthcoming symposium which is designed to lead to specific actions for governments, the home building industry, and others. Tsur Sommerville and I presented at the first symposium and have been invited back to present another song and dance on addressing the need for affordable housing at the macro and micro levels.

The event is being organized by the Canadian Home Builders' Association.

On February 2 & 3, 2012, the issue of market housing affordability will be addressed in person, not just in headlines. Bringing together the residential construction industry and members of government, the Housing Affordability Symposium will provide the forum to openly discuss barriers and solutions to improve market housing affordability in BC. More than an educational conference, this symposium provides interactive roundtable discussions amongst all delegates to address various issues related to community planning, maximizing housing stock, economic issues, and regulatory constraints.

JOIN US at HAS: Housing Affordability Symposium on February 2 – 3, 2012 to develop action-oriented strategies to lower housing costs and remove barriers to entry for all British Columbians. Let’s make market housing affordable and within the means of everyone.

British Columbians live in some of the most expensive real estate in North America. The high price of housing is no longer limited to just Greater Vancouver, but has extended to most of the populated areas across the province. In November 2010, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC along with industry and government partners hosted the first Housing Affordability Symposium. This event was ground breaking and brought together stakeholders from industry and all levels of government to openly discuss the issues and solutions to housing affordability in BC.

The results from the symposium and the roundtable discussions have been compiled into a follow-up report. This Action Plan will form the foundation for future discussions among all stakeholders. At this year’s Symposium we will re-examine and report back on the lessons learned, innovative solutions and how each of us has worked to Build a Better BC by addressing market housing affordability.

The Second Housing Affordability Symposium will follow up to the first event and provide issue specific workshops sharing ideas to balance housing costs requirements and community needs. This event will revisit the Action Plan, review our collective Progress Report results and provide additional roundtable discussions between various government leaders, industry professionals and other related stakeholders to result in a revised Action Plan to Address Market Housing Affordability.

Have your voice heard. Learn the issues. Build the solutions. Take action and register today for this critical event.

Further details can be found here. http://withinyourmeans.ca/

Registration for the Second Annual Housing Affordability Symposium Now Online

What's going to happen along Granville Street?

2012-01-19T18:12:00.001-08:00

Last week, I had lunch with Faaiza Lalji, an Urban Planning and Real Estate Development Student at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. I always enjoy chatting with Faaiza because as anyone who knows her can attest, she's a remarkably bright and inquisitive person who one day will be a major participant in the Vancouver real estate scene.

Over lunch Faaiza and I were discussing various new projects around the region and the subject of Granville Street came up. Not the downtown portion, but the area south of 41st where a parade of 'For Sale' signs has recently sprouted up. "What do you think should happen there?" she asked.

Rather than spend our remaining minutes focussing on this one topic, I promised to post my thoughts on my blog. So here they are!

For decades I have argued that Vancouver's arterial roads should be rezoned and redeveloped with higher density forms of housing. As some readers know, I have twice put my money where my mouth is, resulting in the redevelopment of Oak Street between West 42 and West 43 and West 41st between Balaclava and Carnarvon Streets. It has been gratifying to see a couple of new projects follow suit, although I can't say the same for the redevelopment on Oak Street immediately south of Oak Gardens, which to my mind is an awful development that should never have been approved by the City. My biggest concern with this project is its relationship to the street and the almost complete absence of vegetation between the buildings and the curb. (Why no oak trees along Oak Street?)This brings me to Granville Street. I cannot forget the visitor who once commented to me how exceptional he thought it was driving into Vancouver along Granville Street. What stuck him was the lush green lawns and hedges lining the street, especially in Februrary when the rest of Canada was white. He noted that the vistas along Granville were so very different from what what one usually found driving from the airport into the downtown of most other major cities.Recently there have been a couple of redevelopments along Granville. Granville Mews south of West 49th is currently under construction and replaces three single family homes on large lots with two rows of townhouses. Designed by Formwerks, the architectural firm I am working with in West Vancouver, the units have a traditional look and would not be out of place in nearby Shaughnessey. Most people are not even aware of this development that is offering a housing choice generally not found in the area. And there seems to be a strong demand with prices starting above $1million and good sales activity.

Nearby, Wall Financial recently received Council approval for what will be a very significant redevelopment of Shannon Mews. The Arthur Erickson townhouses will be replaced by a variety of apartment buildings, some of which are well above the three storey height of surrounding buildings. While I have seen the plans, I will wait to see how this will look. To my mind, the key will be to maintain the trees along the street, and to add new vegetation along the perimeter of the development.

Last year, at 49th and Granville, NSDA Architects received approval for a three or four storey seniors complex. I have worked with this firm on many occasions and will watch with interest to see how their development will transform the property owned by Ben Wosk for many decades. My hope is that the greenery at this major intersection will either be maintained or replaced.

At 16th and Granville another controversial project is currently under construction. Also designed by Formwerks, I think we have to wait until it's finished before casting final judgement. However, there is no doubt that much of the greenery that used to be at this important intersection has disappeared and we can only hope that new trees will be planted so that the building edge is not as severe as it appears today.

And this brings me to how I feel about the rest of the street. I still believe that many of the single family properties along Granville Street south of Shaughnessey should be redeveloped over time. But rather than continue with ad-hoc spot rezonings, I would like to see the city put in place a comprehensive plan and design guidelines that provide for variety along the street including semi-detached/duplex units, street row housing, and some low-rise apartments in appropriate locations.

However, whatever the building form, I think it is important that the sense of greenery be maintained. This might be accomplished through a greater landscaped setback than generally required, and specifically guidelines mandating a double row of trees, lawns and extensive planted areas, etc.

In this way we might increase the density along this well serviced transit arterial, while maintaining the 'green aesthetic' that both visitors and residents have come to appreciate along the street.

That Faaiza, is what I'm currently thinking. Now I'd like to hear from you and others....knowing that it will likely be a while before the City gets around to rezoning this important city street.

Remembering Sam Geller Born January 14, 1912

2012-01-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my father's 100th birthday. Given that he was in very good health at his 90th birthday party at the Richmond Golf and Country Club, I often thought he would make it to 100, and we looked forward to celebrating on this day. Sadly, there will not be a party, but a day of rememberance and recollection.

It was perhaps unrealistic to expect my dad to live to 100 since he was lucky to make it to 40! Born in England, he enlisted in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps as World War II began. After some exciting times in North Africa, he was relocated to Europe and after many close calls, taken prisoner in Italy from where he was transported to Germany. As a Jew he was lucky to survive in a German prisoner of war camp. But he did.

Everyone who knew my dad liked him. It was hard not to. A very gentle man with a great sense of humour, he was interested in everyone and everything. Although he always wanted to be a journalist, for many years he was a barber to the lawyers and judges who frequented the Osgoode Barber Shop, across from Osgoode Hall in Toronto. However, he eventually pursued his true passion....books....by selling his business and taking a low level position in the Scott Library at York University. Over time, he advanced through the library system and eventually was put in charge of the periodical section. This allowed him to read and enjoy French and German magazines in a much safer environment than in previous years.

After formally retiring at 65, he was asked to return to the Library where he worked until he and my mother moved to Vancouver in the mid 80's. They lived in Langara Gardens where he could swim everyday and enjoy a very comfortable life with his friends and family.

After my mother died in 1992, his life changed quite significantly. He and his best friend, another widower named Nat Cannon enjoyed the symphony and theatre and were active in a variety of Jewish community organizations and events. But sadly, many of his friends died and he was often off to funerals.

This prompted my daughter to ask him one day..."Grandpa, why are you always going to funerals?" "Georgia", he replied. "If you don't go to theirs, they won't come to yours!"

When I finished building Oak Gardens at 42nd and Oak, I suggested that he check it out. He had no interest in leaving Langara Gardens but he liked one of the ground floor one bedroom and den suites with a west facing patio. Over lunch at Kaplans delicatessan he decided that perhaps he should move, since he could walk to Louis Brier where he volunteered and the Jewish Community Centre where he partook in various activities and spent time in the library.

Moving into Oak Gardens changed my dad's life, since he was often the only unattached man in a building with about 30 unattached women! He soon learned bridge and other card games and was never lonely. He put on a lot of weight!

When he turned 90 we had a big celebration. My dad was a keen follower of municipal politics and one of his favourite politicians was Philip Owen. He was therefore quite delighted when the Mayor showed up at his party and presented him with a signed book on the history of Vancouver. When my dad protested that there were not to be any presents, the Mayor assured him this wasn't a present.

All of my dad's friends from Oak Gardens were there and some were quite astonished to see the Mayor. "Sam", one of them said. "Is that the Mayor? What would he be doing here?"

Two years later he had a fall, and that was the beginning of the end. Concerned that he was no longer capable of living on his own, my sister and wife urged him to move to the Weinberg Residence, an assisted living facility next to the Louis Brier Home and Hospital. He didn't want to move, but agreed to try it out for a month or so, while keeping his apartment.

Sadly, he died two weeks after moving in from a sudden heart attack. At the time, Sally and I were at a wedding in Alberta and it was a very difficult trip back. As is the Jewish tradition, the funeral took place a day later. It was followed by a reception at Oak Gardens.

In going through his apartment after his death, we understood why he might have died so quickly. There in a bedroom drawer were hundreds of pills that he was supposed to take, but hadn't. At the Weinberg Residence he was being too well looked after. They made sure he took all his pills!

The administration was very sad to lose such a very easy going resident, especially since I had been very involved in the development of the building and served on the Board.

A year after his death, the unveiling of his headstone took place. On it was written in memory of Sam Geller, a husband, father, brother, and grandfather. A true gentleman.

Last November, his friend Nat Cannon turned 100. He and his family celebrated at the Weinberg Residence where he now lives.

Dad, I'm sorry you're not around to celebrate your 100th birthday today. We would have bought you an IPad!

The Mayor's Task Force on Housing Affordability: the story behind the story

2012-01-11T06:49:00.001-08:00

So often we read stories in the newspaper without any idea how they originate. For example....

At the Inauguration of Vancouver's new City Council, the Mayor announced the creation of a task force to examine how the City might address housing affordability. This was was followed by the announcement that Olga Ilich, a developer and former UDI President and BC Cabinet Minister would co-chair. I was curious to know who the other co-chair would be until I was told this would be the Mayor.

Following the announcement I was often asked if I had been invited to serve on the Task Force. I hadn't been, but would serve if selected, adding that this initiative could lead to some significant results if it focuses on what the City can do, rather than on what the Feds and Province should do. I also thought it would be important to have balanced representation with experienced people from the broader housing industry.

I didn't give the Task Force much further thought until last week when I received a call from the Georgia Straight's Carlito Pablo. While I don't know him well, he is someone I have often spoken to over the past few years on housing and real estate matters. He wanted to know if my name had been put forward for the committe, or if I had submitted my resume. He added that the deadline was Friday January 6th.

I was very surprised by his call since I wasn't aware potential Task Force members were expected to nominate themselves. Certainly no one from the City had advised me of this, and presumably other potential candidates were equally ignorant. However I told Carlito that I would put my name forward, along with those of two other people who I thought could make a significant contribution....Cameron Gray, the city's former 'Director of Housing' and Bob Ransford who has written about housing for the Vancouver Sun for the past ten years, and who I believe has a very good grasp of the issues.

I added that I feared that by talking to him, I was likely reducing my chances of being appointed to the Task Force, and that he could quote me!

After hanging up, I reviewed the committee's Terms of Reference and submitted two letters; one confirming my interest in serving, and one recommending Cameron and Bob.

I subsequently received an acknowledgement of my letters along with the suggestion that if Cameron and Bob wanted to serve, they had to submit their own letters and resumes.

My understanding is that due to travel plans in February, Cameron has decided not to apply, but will offer to serve as an advisor and share 'institutional memory', if asked. Hopefully Bob will submit his credentials.

While Carlito didn't quote my fear I might reduce my chance of being selected by talking to him, below is the story he wrote. Now you know the story behind the story! At least my version!

Experts step up as potential appointees to Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability

Comments (2)

By Carlito Pablo, January 4, 2012

Michael Geller wears many hats. A number of them are related to housing development. He’s an architect, planner, real-estate consultant, and property developer. He’s also on the adjunct faculty of SFU’s Centre for Sustainable Community Development.

Geller believes that he can help ease the housing situation in Vancouver. That’s the reason he’s putting forward his name as a potential appointee to the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability.

On December 13, council unanimously approved the terms of reference for this task force that is cochaired by Mayor Gregor Robertson, a former NDP MLA, and Olga Ilich, a developer and an ex–B.C. Liberal cabinet member.

Robertson and Ilich will select experts from various fields based on submissions from the public. The deadline for recommendations is Friday (January 6).

A former federal government manager for social housing, Geller knows what to do if he gets tapped for the group.

“The first thing I would say is let’s focus on what the city can do, not focus on what the province and the federal government should do,” Geller told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

Geller said that he will also submit the names of other experts like Cameron Gray, a former director of the city’s housing centre. He also plans to recommend Bob Ransford, a former director of the Vancouver-based Urban Development Institute and ex–federal Conservative strategist.

So what's wrong with a white picket fence...at the Olympic Village!!!

2012-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

I know....I know...many of us want a house with a white picket fence...but at the Olympic Village?

Last night former Vancouver City Planner and urbanist Frank Ducote shared this wonderful photo that he took of one Olympic Village resident's effort to turn his house into a home.

Should it stay or should it go? Can't wait to see what the City decides!

Remembering Milton Wong

2012-01-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

I was very saddened to learn last night of the death of Milton Wong. I knew that he had been ill with cancer since Easter, but was always optimistic he would beat the disease and return to community life. Sadly, this didn't happen. Milton Wong was a remarkable man and he'll be mourned by people from all walks of life.

I'll never forget the first time I met Milton. It was an event on the North Shore of False Creek celebrating his role in the creation of Vancouver's Dragon Boat Festival. He was joined on the stage by his beautiful family and I vividly remember thinking what a lucky man he was.

I got to know him much better in his role as Chancellor of SFU. We both started at SFU in 1999 and over the next six years spent quite a bit of time together. Milton was very interested in community planning and building and took a keen interest in the creation of UniverCity. He was particularly interested in sustainability, and played a significant role in advancing the discussion about sustainability both within the university, and also within the broader business community.

When I returned from my around-the-world Sabbatical in 2007, Milton was one of the first people I met with. He and Michael Clague, Gerry Zipursky, Joe Wai, Ray Spaxman, Mike Harcourt and others had created a new entity called Building Community Society (BCS). The goal was to bring together a group of professionals and the various interests in the Downtown Eastside to develop a comprehensive plan and development strategy to improve the neighbourhood and the lives of the people living there. I was invited to join the group and for the next eight months we met on a regular basis. While I eventually left the group to run for City Council, a very dedicated Milton continued until his illness. At BCS he demonstrated his trademark patience and ability to bring consensus to controversial issues.

I mention these three things because they exemplify the breadth of Milton's interests and commitment to community.

He started the Dragon Boat races and the Laurier Institute because of his interest in both multi-culturalism, but also 'inter-culturalism'.

SFU became a canvas for a variety of interests, from programs in sustainability to a new school in Africa. Here he loved to mix with students, faculty and staff and the broader community. Today the Milton and Fei Wong Theatre is a key component of SFU's School for Contemporary Arts in the Woodwards Building.

He had a real passion for Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside and this was demonstrated by both his commitment to BCS and his collaboration with Joe Wai in the restoration of a building housing Modernize Tailors, the family business. He loved to reminisce about his youth in Chinatown and I believe this was a major factor in his efforts to improve the lives of people in these neighbourhoods.

And all of this was just a fraction of his life and interests. I don't need to talk about his financial acumen and career. But this was really a means to an end.

I was always impressed by the fact that although Milton was a wealthy man, he lived for many years in the same house on Cambie Street. It was a very nice, comfortable house, which had been added onto over the years; but it was modest when compared to where people of similar wealth might live. Milton loved his house and his life there with Fei and his family.

(Although after we combined two penthouses at SFU to create a very nice residence for the university president, he did approach me to see if there might be a similar opportunity to create something like that for him and Fei. That discussion didn't last very long!)

In a way, Milton was a lot like another former SFU Chancellor.... Jack Diamond. Why? Because both had the ability to walk with kings and with the common man. Both were revered by an incredibly broad range of people; and both were very generous, often doing things anonymously. I know this will be evident when a memorial service is held for him later this month.

While Milton lived a very full 72 years, he died much too young. There was so much more he wanted to do and I hope that his vision and passion for Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside will live on in the work of others.

I am so glad that I got to know and work with Milton, and my thoughts go out to Fei and his family, and all those who worked very closely with him for so many decades. Rest in Peace, Milton.

From today's Vancouver Sun....Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:43:00.000-08:00

Looking homeward

Much has been written about the ongoing residential challenges facing a growing Metro Vancouver. Today, as we say goodbye to one year and prepare to welcome another, guest columnist Michael Geller ponders some solutions

By Michael Geller, Vancouver Sun December 31, 2011

'Our house is getting too big, but we're not yet ready for an apartment."

"My girlfriend and I both have good jobs, but can't afford to buy in Vancouver."

"I'm ready to downsize. I'm just not ready to downgrade!"

As we look to 2012, we can expect to hear more of these comments from baby boomers and seniors ready to sell the family home, and younger singles and couples struggling to purchase their first home. Most analysts do not foresee housing prices coming down over the next 12 months, but governments and the homebuilding industry can help both first-time buyers and "last-time" buyers satisfy their housing needs and aspirations in a number of ways.
These include creating new forms of housing, new types of financing and new approaches to zoning.

Many long-standing Vancouver residents are ready to move out of larger single-family homes - if only they could find what they want. For some, this might be a smaller house and lot near transit or where they currently live. They no longer need separate living and dining rooms; instead, a large open kitchen, dining and living space will suffice. Instead of a larger master bedroom and smaller second bedroom, many seek two good-sized ensuite bedrooms, knowing that the day may not be far off when one of the bedrooms is "his bedroom".

Across the U.S., an increasing number of smaller homes are located in what architect Ross Chapin calls "pocket neighbourhoods'. They comprise a collection of cottage-style homes designed around a common green and communal building. Cars are kept to the perimeter and neighbours socialize, while still enjoying the privacy of their homes. I foresee a significant demand for this type of housing in the Lower Mainland, especially since the Vancouver Foundation recently identified neighbourhood isolation and loneliness as major community issues.

Of course, not everyone wants a single-family house, even a small one. Many seek a low-maintenance townhouse. While some are prepared to try condominium living, they often prefer not to be part of a strata association with the attendant problems that can sometimes arise. Instead, they are attracted to the idea of individually owned "feesimple" townhouses.
This is one of the most generic forms of housing in the world; however, few are being built in Metro. This is partly due to restrictive zoning and subdivision bylaws, and other municipal regulations. I hope this will change in the coming year as consumers begin to appreciate the benefits offered by this type of housing.

However, given the high cost of land in Vancouver, these townhouses will not be inexpensive. As a result, it will be necessary to create higherdensity forms of "ground-oriented" housing, especially for younger households seeking an alternative to apartment living. One popular option in Metro Toronto these days is known as "stacked towns".

Stacked townhouses have been around for many years. Many of the low-rise buildings along the south shore of False Creek and nearby Fairview Slopes comprise townhouses stacked above the other. There are also new stacked townhouse developments in Burnaby and North Vancouver. However, in recent years, most developers have chosen to build lowrise apartments instead.
Many of Toronto's stacked townhouses are quite affordable since they are often "back-to-back" with shared side and rear walls. This results in an efficient, cost-effective building form, with every suite having its own grade access. While there are many stairs, there are no interior corridors to build or maintain.

One of the barriers to home ownership is the substantial down payment often required. In the U.K. and the U.S., a "hybrid" form of ownership known as "shared equity" or "shared ownership" has become popular for those who cannot afford a large down payment. It essentially allows someone to purchase a percentage of a property, and increase their ownership as their financial situation improves.

Another interesting option, especially for older singles and couples, is a "life lease". It provides a lifetime right to occupy an apartment with a single upfront payment, and small ongoing maintenance payments. The amount of the upfront payment depends on various factors, including age and life expectancy, and the redemption value of the unit at the end of the lease. The Performing Arts Lodge at Bayshore in Coal Harbour is a successful example that combines life leases and subsidized rentals for retired performing artists.

To meet the demand for small-lot detached housing, townhouses and stacked townhouses, municipalities are going to have to increase the availability of suitably zoned land. To accomplish this, I would like to see governments plan and "pre-zone" land, rather than require developers to come forward with often contentious "spot rezoning" applications. Municipalities should also establish fair development charges to fund new community amenities, rather than negotiate payments on a caseby-case basis. While this may take considerable political will, the result will be greater planning certainty and a broader array of more affordable housing choices.

Will this all happen in the coming year? Of course not. But given the housing demands from a growing and aging population, I am hopeful that governments and the homebuilding industry will pursue many of these alternative housing choices, financing, and zoning arrangements in 2012. We could all be the beneficiaries.

Happy New Year.

Michael Geller is a Vancouver architect, planner and property developer. He also serves on the adjunct faculty of SFU's Centre for Sustainable Community Development. He can be reached at geller@sfu.ca

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Looking back at my 2011 Predictions

2011-12-29T13:27:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2011, Vancouver's 125 Birthday, I set out 12 predictions for the coming 12 months. Did they come true? Well of course not! But some did, to a certain degree

Here they are if you want to take a look

http://www.gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2011/01/12-predictions-for-2011.html

Andrew Michael Geller 1924-2011 Architect of Happiness

2011-12-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

I was shocked this week to receive a Google Alert for Michael Geller architect announcing my death!

In fact, this time it wasn't me, but an American architect named Andrew Michael Geller did pass away at the age of 87. Although I once wrote to him, sadly he didn't write back. However, retired Vancouver architect Herb Auerbach once worked with him and thoughtfully passed on a link to an extensive New York Times obituary.

I wrote to him because we had a few things in common, other than our name. Both of our forefathers came from Odessa (indeed, most Gellers who I have met have roots in Odessa). But more significantly, we both had a longstanding fascination with affordable prefabricated housing.

In my case, on-the-ground projects are limited to two CMHC seniors' housing developments made with factory produced modules. However, readers of this blog are familiar with my ongoing desire to create factory produced laneway cottages and housing for the homeless, based somewhat on my 1971 Architectural Thesis.

Andrew Geller, on the other hand, had many of his projects, especially prefabricated cottages built, including a model that was set up on the 9th Floor of Macy's in New York. From the excerpts below, readers may also detect a couple of other similarities in our personalities and attitudes towards the establishment!

Andrew Geller, an architect who embodied postwar ingenuity and optimism in a series of inexpensive beach houses in whimsical shapes and who helped bring modernism to the masses with prefabricated cottages sold at Macy’s, died on Sunday in Syracuse. He was 87 and lived in Spencer, N.Y.

Mr. Geller designed the “typical American house” shown at the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. The model shown in Moscow led to a line of vacation houses, sold in the 1960s under the name Leisurama. One of the houses, complete with picture window and carport, was displayed on the ninth floor of Macy’s in Herald Square; people came in to buy house-wares and walked out owning houses. (A basic model required a down payment of $490, followed by monthly payments of $73.) Some 200 Leisurama houses were built.

“Geller posed something of a threat to the status quo. He was incredibly prolific, experimental, friendly, never took himself too seriously, could be irreverent, and even had dared to live a normal family life in suburban Long Island. He was successful in his own right, well outside the inner sanctum of the design world. He wasn’t practiced in the priestly double-speak of the architectural establishment. He didn’t care. He had the nerve to be playful, make jokes, have fun, be funny, breezy, light, even joyful. He’d made up his own rules and didn’t care much what the mainstream thought of him. “

“Geller could be an irritant, a speck of sand in the establishment’s eye. They were hoping he would just fly away, disappear somehow, but he didn’t. His freshness and originality kept popping up again and again, being “rediscovered,” until he was able to claim his own level of notoriety and acclaim.”

Rest in peace Andrew Michael Geller, Architect of Happiness. I'm so sorry we never met.

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

A lot of people assume that because I am Jewish, Christmas may not be a special time of year for me. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being born in England, where they do Christmas well, I have always celebrated Christmas. While the past two years were spent in the Caribbean, this year we are home with a growing family and friends coming for a traditional Christmas dinner.

Christmas is also a special time for my children who have grown up with both latkes and decorated trees at Christmas. (When a young Claire filled out her application for Crofton House School, she was required to fill in her religion. Not sure what to write she asked her mother who said say what you feel. She wrote "half Jewish-half normal".)

Like most people, I regard Christmas as a religious festival, but one with corporate overtones. Over the years, I have enjoyed regularly designing and sending out Christmas Cards as a way of keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. In the late eighties, after the failure of our proposal to rezone the Spetifore Lands, I somehow got the idea of creating a card out of the newspaper headlines related to the project. I was subsequently retained by Tanabe, the Japanese company that purchased 1000 acres along the Sea-to-Sky highway, to prepare plans and obtain approvals for what what would become the Furry Creek community. That year's card featured the first three holes of the golf course layout, and an appropriate message inside:The following year, the card featured yet another project, Langara Gardens. Having successfully rezoned the property in the late eighties, we were unable to get approval for another three towers. Sitting in the dentist's chair that year, I heard the song "Santa Claus is coming to town". This gave me the idea for that year's card, which even was featured in the Vancouver Province and Courier.I did have to point out, of course, that NIMBY's would not likely be able to stop the 600,000 people moving to the Lower Mainland over the next 10 years, "so you better watch out!"Subsequent cards rezoned City Hall for a Santa's Workshop...celebrated Clinton's efforts to create peace in the Middle East...And one year when we were late, even tried to help friends and colleagues keep track of New Year's Resolutions. ( I have often thought, if you make a mistake, at least make a feature of it!)In 1997, I had a few requests from Santa, some of which have now come true, and some of which still haven't...Merry Christmas!

My ABC's of Appreciation

2011-12-23T11:33:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of the holiday season, and recycling, I am pleased to reprint last year's Holiday Greeting Card. While we didn't have the Olympics, Lesli Boldt replaced Jim Green on the Civic Affairs Panel, and I didn't get to Shanghai this past year, it's amazing how little else did change over the past year. I'm still appreciative of the other A to Z's

Geller Properties at Dundarave Festival of Lights

2011-12-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

Once again, Geller Properties Ltd. is happy to participate in the Dundarave Festival of Lights, on the West Vancouver waterfront, at the foot of 25th Ave. http://www.dundaravefestival.com/

And once again, I want to thank my daughter Georgia who joined me in the rain to help decorate the tree. This year, she brought along her mother as well who kindly tied the little houses and ornaments to the tree with specially purchased connectors.

While some might have expected a Jew to decorate his Christmas tree in blue and white, (the colours of the State of Israel) we decorated in blue and green since to my mind, these are the colours that best represent 'sustainability'. And this seemed appropriate since Hollyburn Mews, Geller Properties' current project in West Vancouver is seen by many as a good example of a modern day sustainable development.

Located next to the Seniors' and West Vancouver Recreation Centres, one block from Marine Drive, close to shops, other community amenities and transit, the location could not be much better. The homes will incorporate a variety of sustainability features both inside, and outside. Construction is just getting underway and completion is expected in 13 months.Thanks to all the organizers of the Dundarave Festival of Lights for inviting us back to participate. Let's hope our little houses can withstand another winter so that they can be put back on another tree next November.

Geller's 2011 Holiday Greeting

2011-12-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Priority Number One: Housing Affordability

2011-12-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday, the new Vancouver City Council was sworn in, and in his inaugural address, the Mayor focussed on his goal to create affordable housing for all. He proposed a 'blue ribbon Task Force" to examine various solutions, including 'leveraging' city owned lands. Coincidentally, last week, I was contacted by Carlito Pablo of the Georgia Straight who was interested in my thoughts of the city's ambitious plans to create affordable housing, including the use of city lands for below market condominiums. His story can be found here. http://www.straight.com/article-554696/vancouver/city-land-condo-use

Today, three stories by Pete McMartin, http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/want+affordable+housing+somewhere+else/5829419/story.html Daniel Fontaine http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Columnists/DanielFontaine/2011/12/07/19093016.html and Charlie Smith http://www.straight.com/article-558036/vancouver/housing-gamble. appeared in various publications. I was pleased to speak to all three during the preparation of their stories

Both McMartin and Fontaine correctly noted that as long as we continue to try and make Vancouver more and more attractive and yes, the Greenest City in the World, it will place additional pressures on housing affordability. (While some like to say green housing doesn't cost more, there is no doubt that really green housing does cost more!)

Both wrote that Detroit has very affordable housing; but we don’t want to become Detroit.

Frances Bula also wrote about the Mayor's objectives on her blog. http://www.francesbula.com/uncategorized/challenge-to-creating-low-cost-housing-who-benefits/comment-page-1/#comment-135957

The following notes are based on comments I posted on the Fabula blog in response to what she and her readers wrote, a well as in response to the McMartin and Fontaine stories:

Unlike my dear and mysterious friend Glissy, and Randy Helten, I am happy to acknowledge that the election is over and it’s time to move on. That being said, I do think it is important to learn from some of the decisions made in the past (by all administrations) particularly related to the Olympic Village and STIR.

I think David Hadaway has raised some good issues when it comes to public sector development, and non-profit housing development.

He’s probably right that the city is not likely to create a revitalized Housing Corporation and undertake direct development of significant amounts of non-market and market housing. I say ‘revitalized’ since the city does have a Housing Corporation (remember Morris Jerroff?) which built a few projects with CMHC money in the 70′s. (I know, since I approved the loans!)

However, for decades Toronto successfully played a significant role in direct housing development. Unfortunately, some of the recent ‘scandals’ with their Metro Housing Corporation may have altered the public perception of this as a way to go.

We should, however, look at how Toronto has overseen redevelopment of Regent Park, and then compare that with the Little Mountain project. While it may be too late to restructure the redevelopment of Little Mountain, I think the Toronto Community Housing model offers lessons for the regeneration of other older public and social housing sites, and any significant city owned lands.

In this regard, I must note that while much is made of ‘levering’ city lands, I’m not aware of just how much Vancouver city-owned land can be developed over the next three years.

I am aware of some ‘social housing sites’ that the city can acquire from Concord and others, and smaller sites scattered around the city, but I’ll be interested to see just how much land is readily available in the near future.

As an aside, I know of some land that can be redeveloped 30 years from now eg: South Shore False Creek, but that is another story! However it is an issue that needs to be discussed now.

(Maybe we can redevelop portions of the park between the two main South Shore False Creek housing enclaves since they were supposed to be housing until George Puil and others argued the whole site should be a park! )

David Hadaway may be wrong when he says the city is unlikely to stimulate non-profits and other enitities, like the British Housing Societies to become more active in housing development. To this list I would add Community Land Trusts and Community Housing Trusts, and unlikely bedfellow arrangements between non-profits, charitable groups and developers.

I think there is a potential role for non-profits and charities that have land (often it’s a parking lot or unused portion of their land) that could be redeveloped, especially if parking requirements can be reduced.

I agree with those who rightly note that ‘affordable’ means different things for different groups. I’m glad we will be focussing on more than just the homeless since, as Patricia Canning recently reminded me, for some time I have believed that housing the homeless has hijacked a broader discussion on housing affordability in Vancouver.

As the Mayor rightly notes, there are a lot of people who are not homeless, who may have good incomes, but are having a real problem finding acceptable, affordable housing. (His children may soon fall into this category; my children are in this category; and no doubt many Fabula readers fall within this category.)

One way to address affordability for a broad spectrum of people is to increase supply for all kinds of housing, but especially ground oriented family oriented housing for sale; and rental housing.

To do this, we are going to have to rezone suitably located single family blocks around Vancouver, especially since according to the recently approved Metro Growth Management Strategy, we are no longer allowed to redevelop industrial lands for housing. (Personally, I believe it will be possible to combine new housing with industrial development, but that too is another story.)

Both Frances and Wendy are right to raise the thorny issue of who should benefit from various forms of city subsidies.

Yes, we want to help the poor, but I’ll always remember my former boss and mentor at CMHC who was troubled by the ‘poor’ moving into government subsidized low income housing such as the False Creek Coop, who he considered ‘the deliberate poor’!

They were not the downtrodden, unfortunate souls who had been dealt a bad hand, or experienced difficulties due to marital abuse, disabilities, family tragedy, etc.

No, they were well educated, healthy people who had made a deliberate choice to take on low paying careers …they were academics, musicians, writers, artists, and others happy with low paying jobs. He was very troubled when they got to move into some of the best new government subsidized housing on well located city and provincially owned lands.

In summary, there are a lot of people in the city who have had considerable experience in the public and private devlopment of various forms of market and non-market housing. People like Cameron Gray, Michael Goldberg, David Podmore, and Al Poettker immediately come to mind. I hope they and others who like me have experienced both successes and failures will participate in future discussions on how best to translate the Mayor's broad policy objectives and goals into detailed, practical action plans.

What in the world are CAC's, and how are they determined?

2011-11-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while during a commercial break on the CKNW Bill Good Show, I suggest that it might be a good idea to briefly discuss Community Amenity Contributions (CAC's) and how they are determined. In suggesting this, I know that in a matter of seconds, Frances Bula will reply that this is not something the public either understands or is interested in, and I know she's right. But I keep going on about the matter since it is something of great importance to every real estate developer or land owner who wants to rezone property in Vancouver, and an increasing number of neighbouring municipalities.

CAC's are how municipalities are financing growth. They are contributions made by developers who are successful in obtaining rezonings. The current city policy is that they be approximately 75% of the increase in land value upon rezoning. I think this is wrong, for reasons set out below.

I am not opposed to the city demanding money from developers who successfully rezone land. However, I believe the amounts should be predetermined, based on the cost of providing services, and what will be economically viable....to the extent that they are not so great that they disuade a developer from seeking a rezoning.

Why do developers seek rezonings? Because, and I say this advisedly.....the city oftentimes does not zone land for its most appropriate form of development, so that developers will be encouraged...that word should be in quotations....to come forth with rezoning applications, during which he/she and the city can negotiate the appropriate CAC. I refer to it as "let's make a deal".

While the City of Vancouver is confident that it is legally acceptable that CAC's be 'extracted' in return for rezonings, other jurisdictions are not. Therefore, they require the developer to sign a letter that says the CAC's are a voluntary 'gift', not an extraction! I'm not making this up!

So today, Brent Toderian, the very articulate and forceful Director of Planning spoke to the Urban Development Institute. There was a large audience. Prior to his talk, I suggested that I hoped he would include the topic of CAC's in his talk, and he assured me he would.

His presentation was very good, and when it was over, the moderator asked for questions. Not surprisingly, no one asked a question, so not surprisingly, I did. (In fact, Brent assured his table that I would be the first person to ask a question!)

I asked Brent why the city thought it was a good idea for CAC's to be based on appraised land lift, rather than related to the cost of providing services. (Had I had the time, and wanted to make a speech, I would have added that it is oftentimes difficult to determine the 'lift', and this creates much too much uncertainty for all parties.)

Michael, Brent replied, if the CAC's were tied to the cost of providing services, they would be much higher, and not affordable. A very cute answer!

So tonight I sent Brent an email, which I am reprinting below. I'll welcome any comments.

Brent, as I mentioned after your talk, I thought it was a very good presentation that you made to UDI today. I really look forward to comprehensive plans for the DTES and the city as a whole.

I do want to very briefly explain why I keep harping on the question of whether it's better to base CAC's on land lift, or a predetermined CAC that is both reflective of the cost of providing amenities, while still acknowledging the economics of new development.

Following the session, one of the city's appraisers who was in attendance sent me a note. He said (with a gleam in his eye) that he agreed with the city's position, noting that "if you get the right appraiser, the city's approach can work to the developer's advantage".

My response to him was that this was why I was so concerned. I don't want the city to continue to pursue a system, the success of which is partially dependent on who is the developer's appraiser!

As I mentioned to Larry Beasley following the session, sometimes it takes three appraisals before the city and developer can agree on the CAC amount. Larry said, well that's just an issue of 'process'. It isn't. It's a problem because in many of the situations being encountered with new rezonings, we really don't know what the fair market value of land is upon rezoning. As I asked Larry, what is the value on a square foot basis for a mid-rise building on Cambie Street? What is it? Do you know? We don't know. Grover Elliot doesn't know. Burgess Cawley doesn't know. Altus doesn't know. None of the appraisers really know, and won't know for a few years.

I will argue that this will also be a problem for the first back to back stacked townhouses on rezoned single family land in Mt Pleasant; street rowhousing off Dunbar; or coach houses for sale in various parts of the city. None of us really know what land will be worth for these specific uses upon rezoning. Indeed, in my West Van project I honestly don"t know if the coach houses are worth more per square foot than duplexes. And for what it"s worth, the appraiser doesn't really know either.

So that's why I don't think appraisals are really the way to go.

And as for my suggestion that the CAC's be based on the cost of providing services, I obviously wouldn't suggest that the entire cost be covered. Indeed, as we have discussed, if the CAC is too high, the land won't be rezoned. This nearly happened in West Van and is currently happening in Oakridge where I understand single family homes are proceeding on lands that should be multi-family.

So let's keep the discussion going. Cheers Michael

The Election is Over. Time to really talk about 'Affordable Housing'

2011-11-25T16:44:00.001-08:00

A week ago today, while Vancouver area politicians and backroom politicos were trying to squeeze out a few more votes, the following article appeared in the Vancouver Sun. Now that the election is over, it's hopefully time to focus on how best to create affordable housing in our region.

Over the coming months, I plan to promote a number of different ideas, especially higher density single family housing, and a variety of lower density multi-family forms. In the meanwhile, here are some thoughts on what the politicians were proposing. Now that we know the outcome of the election, it's time to get to work and realize some of the campaign promises!

Affordable housing a difficult goal

Municipal governments can't bring it about on their own, so election promises on the issue will be hard to keep

By Michael Geller, Vancouver Sun November 18, 2011

In the leadup to Saturday's municipal election, two topics have been dominating the daily news: Occupy Vancouver and affordable housing. As someone who has spent four decades in the public and private sectors designing and building affordable housing, I would like to offer answers to often asked questions.

What is "affordable housing?" Although this term is bandied about, it is generally misunderstood. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. defines affordable housing as that which consumes no more than 30 per cent of disposable income. On this basis, most Vancouverites are in need of affordable housing, although for many, the need is much more severe.

Can municipal governments create affordable housing? Recently, a reporter asked me to comment on the Non-Partisan Association radio ad in which mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton advocates creating a city where her children can afford to live: "Can municipal politicians really do much about affordability or is Anton just blowing smoke?"

The price of housing is a function of supply and demand and municipal politicians can affect both. Ironically, as Vancouver becomes more attractive and livable, more people will come here, thus pushing up prices. In theory, if supply increases, prices should come down. However, as many have observed, while thousands of condos have been built around the region, they too are expensive, especially compared to other North American cities.

So why is new housing so expensive? It is important to look at both the cost to create housing and the price at which it is sold. Cost components include land, materials, labour and soft costs (financing, municipal fees, etc.) However, another factor is developer profit, which is often a function of development risk.

In recent years, a Vancouver requirement that developers rezoning land pay community amenity contributions equal to 75 per cent of any increase in land value has increased development risk. Consequently, while certain developers remain in Vancouver hoping their relationships and negotiating skills will result in approvals, many others are leaving for Surrey, Burnaby and other places where the approval process is more certain. Meanwhile, as the number of new projects is limited, developers can and will charge higher prices.

What has Vision Vancouver been doing about this? Mayor Gregor Robertson has focused on two housing issues: sheltering the homeless and increasing market rental housing through the Short Term Incentives for Rental (STIR) program, which has fasttracked approvals and in some cases granted density bonuses or waived amenity contributions. Some projects are successfully underway. However, others have stalled because of community opposition. Some believe this is due to the program being rushed without approved density-bonus guidelines in place. Ironically, this failure has led to the creation of a new political party in Vancouver, Neighbourhoods for Sustainable Vancouver, which advocates more community involvement in decision-making.

All agree that STIR can create market housing, but not social housing. Surprisingly, while the Vision Vancouver council voted to retain very expensive social housing at Olympic Village, it has not insisted on the inclusion of social housing within some recently approved large projects.

Are emergency shelters a good idea? Vision Vancouver has reduced street homelessness. However, this has generally been achieved by opening new shelters. While they are a quick solution, they provide a very low standard of accommodation at a very high price, in the order of $2,800 per person per month! Many housing experts believe that in future, more cost-effective solutions must be pursued.

What is the NPA's housing platform? The party argues the best way to create rental housing and more affordable ownership housing is to rely on the private sector to increase supply without developer giveaways. It also argues for more certainty in the zoning process by requiring the public sector to zone land, rather than obligate private developers to come forward with rezoning applications. I agree with these approaches. However, on their own, they will not result in affordable housing for lower income households that will continue to require subsidies from other levels of government. Alternatively, the city could encourage the private, public and non-profit sectors to collaborate on a reduced number of social housing units without government subsidies.

What about council candidates Adriane Carr and Sandy Garossino's propositions? Carr (Green party) has advocated that the city should encourage the federal government to reintroduce tax policies to encourage investment in rental housing. No one can argue with this. Indeed, the reason so many rental buildings were built in the past was due to federal tax incentives no longer in place. Carr has also advocated a review of property tax policies as they relate to changing areas like Cambie Street. She's right again. Otherwise, Cambie merchants and homeowners will be forced to vacate their neighbourhood.

Garossino (independent) has raised questions about the impact of foreign investment on the cost of housing in Vancouver and the need for some controls. While this warrants further discussion, it is not something the city can address on its own; nor do I advocate any such controls.

In conclusion, municipal governments can play an important role in delivering more affordable housing. However, they cannot do it on their own. They need to collaborate with the private sector and other levels of government. For this reason, I do not believe the promises to build thousands of new affordable units, nor should you.

Instead, on Saturday, I will be voting for politicians who have a realistic understanding of the issues and the appropriate role of a municipal government. I will also support those candidates who will spend money wisely. Otherwise, an increasing number of people may be sleeping in tents three years from now.

Michael Geller is a Vancouver architect and developer. He is a former CMHC program manager for social housing.

Election Post Mortem

2011-11-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was an evening of mixed emotions. On one hand, some of the candidates around the region who I wanted to see win, didn't. On the other hand, most did win. To those who won , my sincerest congratulations. To those who didn't win, thanks for putting your name forward in the expectation that you'd be undertaking a lot of work,and taking a lot of abuse, for very little compensation!

I was quite happy not to be a candidate this time around, and was flattered to be asked by The Vancouver Sun, CKNW and CBC radio and television to participate in their election night coverage. Quite a change from '08 when I watched the results coming in with my family and friends, jockeying for the 10th spot, only to be defeated by the hard working former Councillor Ellen Woodsworth. Sadly for her, this year she knows how it feels to just come close!

A number of people have asked me what I think went wrong for the NPA. While I was not part of the campaign team, I did speak regularly with some of the Council candidates, and offered a few ideas and suggestions with respect to the housing and development platform. I also questioned some aspects of the campaign.

In reviewing the outcome, it is obvious two things happened. Yes, NPA lost the election; but Vision also won the election. As the very successful NPA fundraising chair Rob Macdonald pointed out, Vision was much more organized since it had been preparing for this election for three years. The NPA, on the other hand, has been relatively inactive for most of this time.

I discovered this in fall '09 when I suggested the party should organize an event on the one year anniversary of the previous election to review what had transpired in the intervening 12 months. The NPA declined for lack of resources. I therefore decided to organize my own retrospective event with the assistance of Gordon Price and Bob Ransford. With participation by ThinkCity, Frances Bula, Jim Green and others, many thought it was worthwhile, and NPA subsequently announced that it would organize similar events on various themes in the future. Unfortunately, they never happened.

One reason these and other events didn't happen is tied to the fundamental question of whether the NPA is an ongoing political party, or a political organization that gets together once every three years to nominate candidates.

Immediately after the last election, I received a lovely handwritten note from May Brown who suggested that if the NPA was to compete with the extremely well-organized Vision, it would have to become a well-organized party too. I know she shared this opinion with others within the NPA, but no real organizational structure was put in place. There wasn't even an Executive Director! While there was a later conversation about whether to change the name and party structure, nothing really happened until earlier this year when the campaign got underway.

This year's campaign
Led by the respected Peter Armstrong, and aided by Macdonald's fundraising expertise, and the Pace group's Norman Stowe, NPA was first off the mark with campaign radio ads. While I was expected to defend them on my weekly CKNW Civic Affairs Panel discussions, I and many others were troubled by the negative, attacking tone from the start. When I privately questioned NPA operatives on this, I was told that the first half of the campaign had to be negative, but the second half would be more positive, focussing on what the NPA was going to do. "When you're so behind in the polls, you have to go negative" I was told.

While I was uncomfortable with the ads each time I heard them, I was surprised to see the messaging seemed to resonate with many voters who enjoyed the campaign team's mocking of bicycle lanes, front yard wheat and backyard chickens. I did think it was right to criticize the city's proposal to set up and operate a "Rent Bank", but as Frances Bula pointed out on CKNW, at the time this was not a serious proposal.

Throughout the campaign, many NPA supporters told me they too were uncomfortable with the negative messaging and wanted to hear what an NPA Mayor and Council would do, rather than the constant whining (yes they often used the word whining) about Vision's past activities. In response, Suzanne Anton started to point to the streetcar proposal, the relocated Art Gallery, and the Red Tape Commissioner as positive initiatives.

In fact there were Vision decisions that I thought the NPA should have and could have criticized, including decisions related to the Olympic Village Social Housing and marketing, the limited success of the Greenest City initiative when it came to new jobs, the administration of the STIR program, and some of the questionable development approvals. However, the criticism had to be accompanied by what the NPA would do better.

Do I think a different kind of messaging would have changed the outcome? I don't know. Probably not. As Sam Sullivan and others have noted, incumbents always have a significant advantage in any election. What I do know is some very good candidates who should have won, didn't. Most notable are Sean Bickerton, who worked so very hard for three years on behalf of his community, and Mike Klassen. While each offered a very different style, I wanted to see both elected. I do congratulate Affleck and Ball, and am pleased an increased number of Park and School Board candidates were successful.

(Not to take anything away from Affleck and Ball's victory, I do think it's time to reconsider the design of ballots so that the ABC's do not have such an advantage. I propose different ballots with the names rotated, so that each candidate has his or her name on top approximately an equal number of times.)

Slate voting is for dummies
As readers of this blog know, I do not advocate slate voting. Indeed, even while I was an NPA candidate, I voted for Vision candidates Deal, Meggs and Louie. This year I declared I would be voting for strong Vision candidates and I did. They all won!

I also supported the Green's Adriane Carr and Stuart Mackinnon. Sadly, the very dedicated and caring Mackinnon was not successful, but Carr was. While I do not know her well, and some people questioned why I supported her, I'm expecting her to be a positive addition to Council.

I also supported Sandy Garossino who by many accounts was a very bright, community spirited person. I didn't expect her to win, but predicted she'd get 25,000 votes. She got just over 20,000. An impressive showing for an independent.

So what comes next?
So now the hard work begins. The mayor has reiterated his promise to end homelessness by 2015. I personally don't think you can end homelessness, but there is a lot that can be done. This includes addressing mental illness and addictions. While the focus has been on opening more shelters during the past three years, I'm hoping for a more comprehensive strategy in the coming years.

I am also keen to participate in future discussions on how to deliver affordable housing. Last Friday the Vancouver Sun printed an Op-Ed I wrote on whether municipal governments can really address housing affordablility http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/Affordable+housing+difficult+goal/5731584/story.html

Another key housing issue is how best to encourage alternative forms of housing in Vancouver. These include townhouses and stacked townhouses that could appeal to young families seeking an alternative to apartments. Many empty nesters and seniors, wanting to move out of single family homes, are also seeking new housing choices. These could include smaller lot singles, duplexes, triplexes, and clustered housing in their neighbourhoods. I also advocate laneway housing that can be sold, not just rented, similar to Hollyburn Mews, my project about to get underway in West Vancouver. I'll be writing more about this in the months to come.

So it's time to get to work. Again, congratulations to those who won election Saturday night. And to the 65% of residents who didn't bother to vote, that's your right. But I don't want to hear you complaining!

Please read this before you vote!

2011-11-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, just before Election Day, after listening to all the promises being made during the election campaign, someone sent the following story to me. I thought it summed up the election campaign very well. I also think it applies equally to this year's campaign, given the promises made about affordable housing, ending homelessness, etc. Let me know what you think.

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.
The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.
I decided we would have an election for a class president.
We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.
We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.
We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids.
I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support.
I had never seen Olivia's mother.
The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first.
He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place.
He ended by promising to do his very best.
Everyone applauded.
He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.

Her speech was concise.
She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."
She sat down.
The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream."
She surely would say more.
She did not have to.
A discussion followed.
How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?
She wasn't sure.
Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it.
She didn't know.
The class really didn't care.
All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten.
Olivia won by a land slide.
All candidates running for office offer ice cream.
Fifty percent of the people react like nine year-olds.
They want ice cream.
The other fifty percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.

Slate Voting is for Dummies: Part 2

2011-11-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

So here are some more names of people I plan to vote for, or am seriously considering as we approach Election Day 2011...

Park Board

In addition to supporting Stuart Mackinnon, Gabby Kalaw and John Coupar, I also plan to vote for Constance Barnes-Vision Vancouver. I first met Constance during the '08 election and she was always very gracious, despite the fact that I was 'on the other team'. I'm told that she's hard working, honest, passionate and worthy of re-election.

It's difficult for me to support other Vision candidates since I'm disappointed with many of the Board's decisions over the past three years, especially the decisons with respect to Bloedel Conservatory and the Children's Farm.

Over the past few years I have got to meet other NPA candidates for Park Board. Dave Pasin is a hard working, community spirited guy, as is Casey Crawford and Jason Upton. I believe both are deserving of close attention and would be good additions to the board. I have known of Melissa de Genova since she was a young girl. If you want a youth advocate, she certainly fills the bill.

Over the past week I have been communicating with a very interesting lady who's an Independent Candidate for Park Board. Her name is Freyja Pri Toor and her website is

http://www.PriforParks.com/ I have never met her, but based on her website and past experience, she strikes me as a very qualified independent candidate. I may well vote for her.

I met Jamie Lee Hamilton during the past election and we have kept up a conversation on various issues. The Queen of Parks would love to be on Park Board, and I'm happy to try and help her realize this ambition.

School Board

I still need to learn more about other School Board candidates. While I have briefly met Fraser Ballantyne and Stacy Robertson of the NPA, I would welcome advice from those of you who know them and other good candidates.

Council

In my first blog posting I supported Sean Bickerton, Mike Klassen, Sandy Garossino and Geoff Meggs for Council. Based on the comments I have received, it would appear that not everyone is as keen as me to have Meggs on Council. So here are some other choices.

I have always been impressed by the dedication of Vision Councillor Heather Deal. I also like her as a person. A biologist who once worked with the David Suzuki Foundation, she strikes me as a very committed person who would be prepared to work collaboratively on a mixed Council. I will be voting for her since I'm hoping and expecting it will be a mixed Council.

Andrea Reimer is a Vision Candidate for whom I also have a high regard. While we have often disagreed on issues, she's been prepared to sit down and discuss our differences. We come from such different worlds. Depending on what happens over the next week, I may well save a vote for her.

I've got to know Raymond Louie a little bit over the years and think he's been an effective councillor. I appreciated the fact that he modified the laneway housing zoning bylaw to allow single storey laneway cottages on deeper single family lots; something I wanted to see. We haven't had many other dealings in recent years but I'll be considering his name when I'm in the voting booth.

I will be voting for Adriane Carr of the Green Party. While I don't know her well, I admire her longstanding commitment to serving the public. Over the years we have met at various planning and sustainability events, since she has a background in these fields. She strikes me as open minded and caring, and I was impressed to learn from a Cambie Street merchant that she was one of the few people who took a genuine interest in the property taxation issues he and other merchants are facing. Ironically, the same person told me Mayor Robertson displayed absolutely no interest in their plight....I say ironically since the Mayor was at one time so publicly associated with these merchants!

I have known NPA candidate Bill McCreey for 35 years. He was a member of TEAM when I arrived in Vancouver in the 70's. He was a good architect in his day, with many innovative ideas. While we haven't always agreed, and I know that he can be argumentative and abrasive at times, he's somebody who would be a good addition to Council. Given that so many decisions relate to architecture and planning, I think it makes sense to have an architect on Council. I'll be voting for him.

There are a number of other strong and qualified NPA candidates. I don't know George Affleck but he has an extensive background in communications and media. Elizabeth Ball has served on Council in the past and is committed to furthering the arts in Vancouver. I'm told she's going to win again! Joe Carangi is a very interesting guy. While he's a lawyer, you wouldn't know it on first meeting. He comes across as 'Joe Average' and fancies himself as the people's candidate. While I think it is important to have professional expertise on Council, maybe it is OK to have someone who just wants to represent the little guy. That's what Joe wants to do.

By all accounts, Ken Charko is an accomplished businessman who has decided to put something back. A number of my acquaintances speak highly of him, but I just don't know him well enough to 'endorse' him at this stage. Hopefully I'll learn more in the last week of the campaign.

Jason Lamarche is not someone I'll be supporting, and not just because of his recent problems over past internet activities. I was put off my his very first video interview and I don't think he's ready for Council.

The last two candidates Francis Wong and Bill Yuen are two very affable and dedicated members of the Chinese community running for the NPA. Bill is a former School Board trustee and Francis has been active in Chinatown. I would like to see them both on Council.

And oh yes, before I forget, like the 'strategic alliance' did in their pamphlet....

Mayor

Suzanne Anton. I know she's not perfect, but none of us are perfect. However, she has a passion and a comfort with people that Mayor Robertson rarely exhibits. She really wants to be Mayor, whereas I often think the people behind Robertson want him to be Mayor more than he wants to be Mayor.

I must say, on a personal level, I find Gregor Robertson to be a very pleasant guy. But he seems vacuous to me. I just can't get a sense of who he is or what he really wants.

Suzanne on the other hand is very clear about what she wants to see happen. I don't always agree with her, but she does listen and is prepared to change her mind. Some have accused her of 'flip-flopping' a bit unfairly, in my opinion. But as a number of media commentators have noted, she has developed quite a bit over the course of the election campaign, and if she wins, I think she will become a good Mayor. I support her unreservedly.

So I hope this is helpful in providing some additional information about the candidates. If you haven't already done so, please check out Part 1 of this posting since it includes the names of those candidates I would most like to see on Council, Park and School Boards. I look forward to your comments.

Remembering Sam Geller on Rememberance Day

2011-11-11T07:24:00.001-08:00

Today all of us are no doubt remembering family members and friends who fought in one of the wars. I am thinking of my father Sam, who as many of my friends and family will attest, was greatly influenced by his experiences as a Communications Officer for the King's Royal Rifle Corps during World War II.

But first a story about my daughter Georgia. When she was quite young she learned about Rememberance Day at school, and the tragic loss of life during too many wars. That Friday night when my dad came over for dinner she shocked and amused all of us when she asked: "Grandpa, did you die in the War?"

Today, as a recently graduated doctor, she is much more conversant with the difference between life and death!

My dad was not the type of person who would relish fighting with another person. However, as a young man in England, he like so many others, considered it his duty to go off to war. Fortunately, he was put in charge of communications, rather than be compelled to fight on the front lines. But unfortunately, that didn't stop him from being captured in Italy and taken to the Prisoner of War camps in Germany.

While my father was not a particularly provocative sort of person (I acquired this trait from my mother!), for whatever reason he chose not to hide the fact that he was Jewish while in the POW camps. As he often mentioned to my many friends who enjoyed listening to his war stories, this never was an issue until very close to the end of the war when the commander of one particular camp requested that all the Jewish prisoners be gathered in a separate area.

My father's commander then approached the German in charge of the camp and said something to the effect that they knew that what was being contemplated was completely wrong and in violation of the Convention. He added that they all knew the war would soon be over, and if anything happened to the Jewish prisoners, he would ensure that the Camp Commander was charged and punished to the full extent of the law.

As my dad told the story, the Germans backed off and a few weeks later the Camp prisoners were freed by the Americans.

After the War my dad returned to England to discover that his mother had been killed during the bombing of Bristol where they lived. He married and eventually moved to Canada in 1952.

Everyone who knew my father always commented on what a happy, positive person he was. He had a wonderful sense of humour, and rarely had a unkind word about anyone. I often think that while he never achieved great fame or success, he lived a wonderful life because he never really expected to survive the war. As he put it, after the POW camps, everything was gravy!

In his later years he was a proud member of the Shalom Legion and would annually participate in Rememberance Day activities. He died in July 2004 at the age of 92. 'A true gentleman'

Slate Voting is for Dummies

2011-11-09T15:45:00.001-08:00

Since the advanced polls open today, at the urging of my wife whose friends often ask "who's Michael going to vote for?", over the next ten days I plan to share the names of the muncipal candidates that I'm planning to support in Vancouver. In later posts I will complete my list of preferred candidates.

As will be evident from the heading to this post, although I am a failed NPA candidate from the 2008 election, and am assumed by some to wear red, white and blue underwear, in fact I don't feel a particularly strong allegiance to the NPA at all. Indeed, I will be supporting candidates from a number of parties, as well as at least one independent candidate. I believe it is smart to vote for the best candidates in terms of their intelligence, life experience, and willingness to make tough decisions. While some might question why I would support someone with whom I don't always agree, I think it's important to have a balance of views represented on Council. For this reason, I think 'slate voting', especially when the slate tends to vote together on most issues, is for dummies.

So here are some of the candidates I really want to see elected to Vancouver Council, School and Park Board. There are others, who I'll save for a later post.

Park Board:

1. Stuart Mackinnon-Green Party I met Stuart during the last election, and while I don't know him really well, and certainly don't always agree with his positions, I think he's the most decent and dedicated person I know running for public office. He has a challenge, since he hasn't raised much money, and the Greens have been somewhat shunned by Vision. However, I would like to think that people who know him will support him, and his name recognition will help him get elected. Moreover, running for the Park Board under the Green banner seems a natural, doesn't it?

2. John Coupar-NPA I met John during his campaign to save the Bloedel Conservatory. He was very effective and he strikes me as a bright guy with a head on his shoulders who would be a good addition to Park Board.

There are some other very good candidates for Park Board who I'll write about in my next election posts.

School Board:

1. Ken Denike-NPA: It would be a tragedy if Ken did not win. He's a very smart, thoughtful person who brings a great deal of experience to the Board. Given that he survived the 2008 NPA wipe-out, one might assume he's a safe seat. But, nothing should be taken for granted.

2. Sophia Woo and Sandy Sharma-NPA I put these two ladies together since they are both representatives of the 'non-caucasian' population seeking election for the first time. I got to know Sophia last election, and she's a very intelligent person. While she's sometimes difficult to understand at first, don't let that put you off. I have met Sandy on a few occasions and frankly, I would like to see her win because she is an intelligent, South Asian woman who can represent a growing segment of the population with oftentimes particular educational needs.

Council:

1. Geoff Meggs-Vision I think Geoff is the smartest person on Council who's running for re-election. While we've had some heated debates and differences, it would be a shame if he didn't win again. I disagreed with him over his handling of the Olympic Village file, and am not as enthusiastic as he is about removal of the viaducts. However, he has extensive experience in government and politics and I will truly be sad, as a taxpayer, if he doesn't win.

2. Sean Bickerton-NPA I met Sean during the last election, and he's a very intelligent and decent person. He represents a number of constituencies that should have a voice on council, most notably the arts and culture community. While we don't always agree on different issues, we can easily respect our differences. He knows that he has much to learn about many of the matters that come before Council, and politics; I hope he'll get an opportunity to learn on the job!

3. Mike Klassen-NPA I first met Mike when I returned from my Sabbatical and gave a talk on lessons for Vancouver from around the world. He somehow encapsulated what I said, and tried to say very well, and I instantly developed a respect for him. As a co-author of CityCaucus.com he was for all intent and purposes, along with Daniel Fontaine, the 'official opposition' during the past three years. While I often find Mike a bit too partisan and intense, and enjoy him most when he can 'lighten up,' he would be a great addition to Council. And as one former Cabinet Minister recently said to me, he deserves a seat on Council for the excellent job he did leading up to the Olympics on letting people know what was happening around the city. A very community spirited guy.

4. Sandy Garossino-Independent Sandy Garossino, along with Sean Bickerton played a major role in stopping the expanded casino in Vancouver. While I didn't necessarily agree with this at the end, I couldn't help but admire her during the campaign. She's now raising some questions that are uncomfortable for many of us about the role of Asian investment in Vancouver's housing market. She has also proposed a more cautious approach than me with respect to Occupy Vancouver. Anyone who has listened to her will know she's a very intelligent, articulate person with an understanding of the law and business. We don't really know each other well, but people I know who have worked with her think very highly of her. I am hoping she'll be the first independent to be elected to Council in a very long time.

So ...Apologies to any candidate who might lose votes as a result of my 'endorsement'. However, I truly believe you are all very worthy candidates and I hope you will have the support of a sufficent number of voters to win a place on Park and School Board and Council.

In a few days, I'll add a few more names to my list.

North Shore News Story re: Community Amenity Contributions

2011-10-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

West Vancouver developers say amenity contributions need revision

By Tessa Holloway, North Shore News October 26, 2011 Be the first to post a comment

WEST Vancouver staff plan to propose a change to the way they calculate "community amenity contributions" after the election, following complaints from developers.

CACs are fees paid by developers to cover community impacts caused by building a denser development than would be allowed under previous zoning, and pay for a range of improvements to public space or community services.

West Vancouver is one of several municipalities in the region to calculate CACs based on the increase in the value of land caused by a rezoning, except for the area around Ambleside where it's calculated on the amount of extra square feet in a development.

Michael Geller, the developer behind the recently approved Hollyburn Mews multi-family project in West Vancouver, is one of the few developers to raise the issue publicly, arguing the process is unfair and unpredictable, stifling development. Staff say they have heard private concerns from others as well.

"It's often difficult to determine what the increased value is going to be," said Geller. This happened at Hollyburn Mews, where the original CAC was reduced after the market and the estimated sale price of the new homes dropped between 2008 and 2010.

"Secondly, this process creates an inherent uncertainty. If you don't know how much you're going to have to pay the municipality, how do you know how much to pay for the land?"

He also argued the system encourages rezonings as a source of revenue, something that encourages higher density.

Vancouver was the first city to calculate benefits as a portion of uplift, but the practice has since spread across Metro Vancouver, and to West Vancouver about three years ago.

Geller said he doesn't object to paying for community benefits, but wants a predictable process. He said basing the fee on the cost of new services required because of the rezoning, similar to a development cost charge, would be more sensible.

He even said cities can lose out in revenue under this formula, as in one extreme case, where a project in Vancouver's west side resulted in Geller paying no money in CACs because the land after rezoning wasn't worth any more than he paid for it.

Bob Sokol, West Vancouver's director of planning, said that's unlikely to happen in West Vancouver as the municipality takes into account more than just the selling price. "Our policy is generally that we should benefit from the uplift in value, so what we would say is you wouldn't necessarily consider the initial value of what the developer paid for it, we'd be looking at adjacent properties," he said. "Which a developer would argue would be unfair because they're essentially paying for the uplift twice. But that's the policy."

That said, he accepted staff has heard complaints on more than one rezoning, and that there are difficulties for staff. In particular, calculating the sale projects for many developments is hard because there are often few comparable projects in West Vancouver, as was the case for Hollyburn Mews, and market value is variable.

Sokol said staff are considering applying the rules for Ambleside to the entire district, which would see all developments pay a set fee for any additional square footage a rezoning allows. That would make fees more predictable and easier to calculate, he said, but in the end would be determined by the new council.

But it's also a dicey political issue. The amount, as well as how it was calculated, has been a hot debate topic in the last several developments to come before West Vancouver council.

However, councils aren't legally allowed to turn down a development purely over CACs - there have to be other reasons as well, said Sokol. That means developers also have to sign a form agreeing that the contribution is voluntary.

"Which everybody knows is blatantly false," said Geller. Councillors have come to expect CACs, he said, arguing no project could pass without it.

tholloway@nsnews.com

Cambie Street Corridor and Community Amenity Contributions

2011-10-28T10:47:00.001-07:00

Anyone driving along Cambie Street between King Edward and West 57th, or reading the Real Estate Weekly, cannot help but notice that many of the single family properties along both sides of the street are for sale, or have been sold. According to newspapers, and recent CBC Early Edition reports, single family lots worth $1.2 million have sold for $3.4 million. This has included one ten lot assembly.

Experienced Vancouver developers have watched the situation with a mixture of amusement and surprise. They know that it is a mistake for anyone to buy a Vancouver property based on its potential rezoned value, since the City of Vancouver has a policy of charging a Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) whenever a property is rezoned. In other words, anyone paying $3.4 for a $1.2 million property may also have to pay another million to a million and a half dollars to the city as an amenity contribution.

I do not entirely object to this approach. I think it is reasonable for new development to make a contribution to offset the cost of providing additional amenities. What I do object to, however, is the manner in which the CAC is calculated, and in some instances, the amount of the CAC. The current system creates great confusion and uncertainty which is starting to stifle the type of redevelopment many of us want to see.

A couple of people have told me they don't really understand my concerns, and what I am proposing with respect to the determination of Community Amenity Contributions. In case you too are confused, here's a brief synopsis:

1. As discussed on CBC this morning, the city's current approach appears to be a negotiated CAC payment that takes into account the value of the land before rezoning, and the value of land after rezoning. The city's goal is to receive approximately 75% of the land 'lift' in cash or amenities. Sometimes the values are determined based on Purchase and Sale Agreements; sometimes they are based on appraisals; and sometimes they are negotiated with the City's real estate department

2. One of the drawbacks with this approach is that in some instances the city might not receive any CAC payment if it is determined there is not any increase in value upon rezoning. This was the case with the Lanesborough development in the 3000/3100 block of West 41st, where I did not pay any CAC's since the city's real estate department deemed I had paid too much for the land. In fact, my arrangement with the vendors was to pay them the rezoned value.

3. I am NOT advocating that we return to an approach based on Purchase and Sale Agreements. Nor am I advocating that we retain the current system which determines value using different approaches. On the contrary, I am advocating that the CAC be a pre-established amount on a square foot basis, (that is more reflective of the cost of providing services, not increase in land value) that is published and clearly understood by purchasers and sellers. I understand that this approach is currently in place around SEFC and other parts of the city. I think it is preferable since it creates more certainty, noting it is oftentimes very difficult to assess the rezoned value of a piece of property, years in advance of any development, or when the project is innovative and untested. This certainly was the case with my recent development known as Hollyburn Mews in West Vancouver.

4. Whether the CAC is paid in cash, or provided in amenities within the development is something that the city can negotiate with the developer. However, the value of the benefit will be predetermined

5. In establishing the CAC rate, the city will have to give regard to a number of considerations including: the cost of providing additional amenities; what is reasonable given the desired density, form of development and affordability; and finally, the value of the land under its current zoning. This latter point is important since if the residual value of the land for multi-family (after paying the CAC) is lower than for single family development, the desired redevelopment will not occur.

6. By way of example, the city might desire a CAC for the Cambie Corridor at $50 per square foot. However, if this results in a residual land value that is lower than the value as a single family lot, most owners will not bother with a rezoning. If it is $20 per square foot, then rezonings may be more likely. The challenge is to come up with a CAC rate that is sufficient to partially cover the cost of new amenities, but not so high as to deter rezoning and redevelopment

As the city seeks to encourage the transformation of single family lots to various forms of higher density multi-family development, it will be necessary to remove some of the uncertainties related to CAC's. I believe fixed CAC's, along with new forms of 'pre-zoning' are the way to go. This will hopefully help avoid the confusion and misunderstanding that has resulted in some people paying millions of dollars too much for the Cambie Street properties, which could well affect the timing and success of future redevelopment.

What to do with your pumpkins?

2011-10-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

While I should be writing about the unfairness of calculating Community Amenity Contributions based on 'land lift' rather than the cost of providing services; or Occupy Vancouver and the Mayor's comments that the city can't act since it's provincial property, when it has been city property since 1974 when the City acquired the property on a 99 year land lease through a land exchange with the Province..... instead I would like to share some Halloween images.

Unfortunately, too many other obligations will prevent us from having a halloween party this year. However, here are a few pumpkin carving ideas along with some ways to dress up your pumpkins. I hope you are inspired!

Some Changes at ITC Construction

2011-10-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Over the past four decades I have worked with a lot of genuine and authentic people in the development and construction industry. However, as most people who have worked with me are well aware, I have always had a very special relationship with two people in particular....Peter Rezansoff and Tony McGill of ITC Construction (formerly known as Intertech).

I first met Peter and Tony when they worked for Stanzl Construction and I worked at CMHC in 1974. At the time we worked together on a large seniors' housing project in the West End and many of the buildings forming part of the first phase of South Shore False Creek.

In 1981 Peter and Tony joined The Narod Group and we worked together on Mariner Point in False Creek, and a number of projects on Fairview Slopes. We started to work on the Price Waterhouse Centre at Seymour and Hastings, but Narod's Receiver put an end to to that!

In 1983, Intertech was formed and was selected by Richard Henriquez to build his very innovative Sylvia Hotel expansion and Apartment Tower. Shortly thereafter, we started to work together on a long list of projects. These included the Discovery at 1600 Howe Street; 888 Pacific Avenue; all the apartment buildings and hotel renos/expansion at Bayshore; Elm Park Place at West 41st and Larch, and The Cornerstone at UniverCity.

To meet Peter and Tony, you would never believe that together they created one of the largest residential construction companies in Western Canada. They are so very unassuming. (In fact, the only photo I could find on-line is the one above of Peter playing the accordian) People who have worked with ITC often comment that it feels like a family business, and not just because Peter's daughters and Tony's nephew work there. Many of the staff have worked there for decades and the loyalty of the employees was no doubt one of the reasons that the company has been selected as one of the 50 best managed companies in Canada for seven years running.

Yesterday I received a Press Release announcing some changes at the company. Given my longstanding relationship with ITC, I have decided to reprint it below. I want to wish Peter and Tony all the best in their new roles. I also want to wish Doug MacFarlane, the new president all the best, although both he and I know Peter and Tony are not going to fade into the woodwork....if you'll pardon the pun.

NEWS RELEASE

New Leadership for One of Western Canada’s Largest Residential High Rise Builders Vancouver, B.C. – October 12, 2011 –

After nearly three decades in the construction business, the founders of ITC Construction Group, Peter Rezansoff and Tony McGill, are passing the torch to the next generation. Management changes will see current ITC executive vice-president and COO Doug MacFarlane become president and CEO and the founders become directors of the company.

ITC got its start building high-rise condominiums in Vancouver’s West End and has played an integral role in shaping the city into North America’s most livable and lived-in-city. Over the years, it has developed a reputation for being able to execute projects by finding the right solutions. ITC’s ability to deliver projects consistently on budget and on time has made it a valued partner for developers during economic downturns.

ITC is known in the industry as the ‘developer’s builder’. The company has been at the forefront of the move towards more sustainable and compassionate housing. It was one of the first builders to embrace green principles on a major scale, including pioneering the use of geothermal heating and cooling. ITC has also helped build affordable rental housing in Vancouver’s downtown east side.

“Strong ethical leadership, innovative solutions and experience have positioned ITC to move forward with the best management team in the company’s history,” Peter Rezansoff says.

He becomes chairman of the board of directors, which includes co-founder Tony McGill, former Bentall Corporation chairman John D’Eathe and former managing director of Global Enterprises, ATCO Group, Michael Shaw. Summary of new appointments: ·

Doug MacFarlane has been appointed president and CEO. He has been in a leadership role with ITC for the past 15 years and was responsible for the long-term strategy and day-to-day operations. He has a diverse background with experience in residential, commercial and civil construction. Al Stowkowy has been appointed Executive Vice President Alberta Division. The former COO and president of Stuart Olson will lead the company’s Alberta operations from the Calgary office. ·

Brad Burnett has been appointed Director of Business Development, Alberta and BC. Brad has more than 12 years experience in estimating, contract negotiation and cost analysis in both the Vancouver and Calgary construction markets. He is also a Gold Seal Certified Estimator.

Established in 1983, ITC is one of the most recognized multi-residential construction companies in Western Canada. It has been recognized as one of Canada’s 50 best managed companies for seven consecutive years, one of British Columbia’s top 100 companies and one of B.C.’s top three general contractors. In addition, ITC has received numerous awards such as the VRCA Landmark Award for the Woodward’s Project and Contractor Gold Award for Millennium Water in 2010.

The company has expanded into the Calgary market where it is the most active high-rise condominium builder in the city. The company maintains a regional office in the Calgary, where its projects include the Stella, Nova and Luna Towers, as well as Louise Station. ITC is also making inroads into the US Pacific Northwest market.

To learn more about ITC check out http://www.itc-group.com/itc

Sandy Garossino: an Independent Candidate for Vancouver City Council

2011-10-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, Sandy Garossino announced her decision to run for Vancouver City Council.

I do not personally know Ms. Garossino, but she strikes me as a thoughtful, intelligent and community spirited person. I am interested in learning more about her positions on the variety of issues that come before a City Council.

Her challenge, however, is to get her message out to me and the broader public. Having participated in the last municipal election as a Council candidate, I can tell you that far too often, the media focus much too much on the Mayoral candidates, to the exclusion of the Council candidates, even those running for the major parties (let alone independents).

Indeed, the fringe Mayoral Candidates often get more opportunity to speak to larger public gatherings than Council candidates for the established parties.

Today most of us know very little about the council candidates, other than the incumbents. (To be truthful, we know very little about a few of them as well!)

And while some candidates may become ‘world famous’ on Frances Bula's blog, or a few other political blogs, we won’t get to read about most of them in the daily newspapers or hear or see them on radio or television.

To get exposure as an independent candidate is probably even more challenging, unless you have a lot of money to spend, or are surrounded by people who excel at social media. I suspect that Ms. Garassino may hope to have a bit of both.

During the last election there were a couple of strong independent candidates. But most of us never learned about them, or paid much attention to them, until it was too late.

Ms. Garossino has a head start as a result of her name recognition associated with the casino. This will be a positive for some voters, and a negative for others.

However, she will have to wean voters off their addiction to ‘slate voting’, and convince them that they should vote for the best candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

For my part, I intend to do just this. I’ll be voting for a Green Candidate for Park Board, and some Vision Candidates for Council, in addition to many of the NPA candidates. I will happily support worthy independent candidates for Council, Park and School Boards, but need to learn more about their positions.

I offer Ms. Garossino, and any other credible independent candidates, along with the party candidates for Council, Park and School Board my best wishes in getting their messages out.

Laneway Housing Tour Redux

2011-10-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

On October 1, Heritage Vancouver organized another Laneway Housing Tour to allow participants to see a new flock of laneway housing around Vancouver. Six houses were on display, however two 'beautifully crafted lane and coach houses' by Lanecraft were not finished. While this allowed visitors to examine how these little houses are built, they could not fully appreciate how the new houses will relate to the existing older house on the lot, or other houses and garages along the street.That being said, the other houses were most interesting and allowed visitors to appreciate what works, and what doesn't work when it comes to the city's laneway housing program.

As a general comment, I believe that laneway houses can be designed to fit into a neighbourhood, provided the narrower (33') lots have a minimum 120 foot depth. There is no doubt that it is easier to create a successful laneway unit on a corner lot, or lots that are 50 feet or wider.However, what the tour did not offer was a chance to see single level 'cottage-style' laneway houses, which is what I believe many potential homeowners want to build, and what many neighbours would be happier to have in their neighbourhood.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that this is the type of housing I would like to build, especially using pre-fabricated modular housing. Unfortunately, such units are likely to protrude further into the rear yard of 33' lots; however they could be built on lots 130' in depth or more.The following are some images of what I saw travelling around the city. In many instances, the exterior design of the new houses relates well to the existing homes. However, in many instances, the houses do seem to 'feel' too large, especially when the garage is integrated into the new house. This is generally done because the zoning regulations require that the second floor cannot be more than 60% of the ground floor including garage. This is what makes the units 'one and a half' rather than 'two storey' in height. However, from looking at these photos, I would say that most people would describe many of these houses as two storeys.A couple of other comments.

As I noted when I last wrote about laneway housing, it is obvious to me that many homes are being designed so that the garages can become living space in the future. Well this might seem clever, I fear that it could compromise the success of the program as residents are required to park on the street, rather than in a garage. (As many readers may recall, while I urged Vancouver City Council to require a second parking space for lots with laneway houses, this idea was rejected. As a result, some lots could have three units...a main house, a basement suite, and a laneway house, with no 'off-street parking'.

Secondly, I found that some of the interior plans are much more successful than others. As I discovered on the first tour, some of these 500 square foot units have gigantic refrigerators and stoves when smaller, more compact appliances are available and might be more appropriate. To my mind, the more successful units offer one large living/dining/kitchen areas, rather than two smaller areas.

Some of the houses on the tour had the living area at grade and the bedroom(s) above; others havebedroom(s) at grade, and the living areas on the upper floor with an outdoor space over the garage. Both seem to work for the younger renter; however, neither is really suitable for an 85 year old granny who might want to live in this type of unit on a property owned by a family member.I hope this is helpful to those of you who are interested in building a laneway house. I am pleased to announce that Laneway Cottages Inc., which I created two years ago to build laneway housing in Vancouver will soon start designing and building houses in the city, working with an established modular housing company, and Trasolini Chetner, an established westside builder, who is also building my Hollyburn Mews project in West Vancouver. One advantage of modular building is that it can be completed in weeks, rather than months.... Contact me for more details at geller@sfu.ca.

Hollyburn Mews Update as of September 7 2011

2011-08-24T20:25:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to report that good progress continues to be made on my Hollyburn Mews 'infill' project on Esquimalt Avenue, next to the Community Centre in West Vancouver. We have now selected a contractor, Trasolini Chetner who is well known in Vancouver for its construction of high quality single family and multi family homes. More information about past projects can be found at http://www.blogger.com/www.traschet.com

I am also pleased to announce that the project will be financed by the North Shore Credit Union. It of course is well known to all North Shore residents for its community focus which is one of the reasons why it wanted to be involved with this neighbourhood project.

We are now in the process of finalizing the Disclosure Statement, without which we cannot begin the sales program. The pricing of the individual homes is also underway by Elaine Biggan and Tony Breen of Prudential Sussex who will be handling the sales for me.

The warranty provider will be WBI, an affiliated company of Wilson M Beck Insurance Services, a leader in the construction insurance and bonding industry in BC. The warranty will be fully underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co of Canada.

There are two types of units available for sale: a coach house of approximately 18oo square feet which includes two levels plus a full finished basement; and a duplex of approximately 2170 square feet also with two levels and finished basement. Each home will have two 'master bedrooms' each with its own ensuite bathroom. The main level will have a large open kitchen dining living area and powder room. The basement level will be configured to suit each buyer, with space for a media or 'recreation' room, office,and/or storage and mechanical space/workshop area and small wine cellar.

Although we are not yet in a position to start selling, a list of individuals interested in purchasing a home at Hollyburn Mews is now being compiled. If you would like to be on the list, please email me.

From my discussions with potential purchasers, it is evident that there is a strong demand for well designed, new ground oriented housing in West Vancouver catering to those who would like to 'downsize' but not 'downgrade'. Currently there are no other comparable developments underway. It is unfortunate that I am only building nine duplexes and coach houses, since one duplex is already reserved for Joel Slone, the builder who started this imaginative development five years ago, and another larger duplex is also on reserve.

Everyone wants to know when construction will get underway. Unfortunately, the timing is now in the hands of the very busy West Vancouver Building Department. However, our Building Permit drawings have been submitted, and I am hopeful that a permit will soon be issued to allow the orderly 'deconstruction' and demolition of the houses and site preparation, to be followed by permits to allow the excavation and construction. All being well, work will be underway this fall and the homes will be completed and ready for occupancy by Christmas 2012.

For more details and regular updates watch this space, or contact me at geller@sfu.ca.

Buying a condo? Should you get an inspection?

2011-08-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

This week, one of my lovely daughters decided to buy a five year old condo in Mount Pleasant. She put in an offer and her knowledgeable realtor included some' standard' conditions including reviewing the minutes of the Strata Council, and having the unit inspected.

Since I didn't know any inspectors who specialize in older multi-family buildings, I put out a call on Facebook and Linkedin for suggested names. I received a variety of responses and upon further consideration, realized that this might be a topic worthy of a post on this somewhat neglected blog.

Firstly, here are some of the Facebook comments I received:

Read the minutes carefully. Spidey senses should tingle with mentions of unexplained problems being investigated -- balcony repairs meant (for us) wood rot.

Hopefully she will check out the functioning or dys-functioning of the strata council

Ed Witske if he is still around. The best there ever was. Realtor's hate him

nothing you can do about inspectors. The banks require you to get one to apply for a mortgage. And the courts exempt them when things go bad. There's a clause (in fine print) on all inspectors reports that states, "this is only their 'opinion', and therefore, is not binding in a court of law" So why are you needing an inspector? We know this by personal experience. Sorry I am not helpful.

Hansen Home Inspections was very good for single family, not sure of multiple residence

I've learned, after several disappointments with inspectors, to use a trusted contractor -- the guy we bring in to do our renos. And we always ask to examine a sampling of the plumbing and behind the cladding -- our own expense and we put it all back together.

Just call one of your friends who is an envelope engineer and find out how much she should set aside for future repairs. When I called for my son several years ago it was the only thing relevant.

‎Sean Moss: 604.729.4261 / homeinspectorsean@gmail.com

I always refer my clients to the local inspectors ASTTBC certified through BCIT: http://www.bcipi.com/findinspector.php

British Columbia Institute of Property Inspectors

www.bcipi.com

Always good to use someone with a background in engineering on multi-family inspections. They may cost a bit more, but their skill and level of accountability is much higher. It's also a good idea to talk to the resident manager about what's really going on in the building. Make sure the inspector get's up on the roof, and into the mechanical rooms. It's usually important to book that with the Strata manager well in advance. Many buildings now charge a fee for that service.

So now what to do?

As I thought about it, I realized that any real issues would likely lie outside the unit...the condition of the roof; the exterior wall construction; etc. Did she want to pay for someone to check out the entire building? Since it was a relatively new concrete 'loft' building form, with a 'rainscreen' masonry and metal panel exterior, I was not concerned with the potential for wood rot, or some of the other envelope problems that so many lower mainland buildings experience.

Upon inspecting the building, I noticed that it was in need of a good cleaning. However, I then found notices in the elevator that the building was to be power washed the following week. We did review the Strata Minutes and did not find any serious cause for concern. I also looked at the budget. The building is managed by Crosby Management, a large and capable firm. While I was concerned that the replacement reserve budget was modest, sadly this is the norm in British Columbia where we do not mandate higher replacement reserves which is the case in other provinces.

We spoke to some of the residents, all of whom loved living in the building. Most of the suites are owner-occupied which is often a good sign...while rentals were permitted, the number was restricted.

I contacted the developer, a friend of mine, who told me that he understood that the residents loved the building and he wasn't aware of any problems.

In the end, we decided not to arrange for a complete inspection. Hopefully we will not regret this decision. However, I do have a suggestion for everyone living in condominium buildings and those considering the purchase of a condominium.

Every Strata Council should arrange for an independent inspection of its entire building from time to time, that can be shared with suite owners and prospective purchasers. This would seem to be a benefit for everyone. While there is no doubt that such inspections would likely identify issues to be addressed, my experience is that it's better to attend to them sooner, rather than later...sort of like the Fram Oil Filter advertisement.

I would like to think that most responsible Strata Councils would do this. And if they don't, or don't want to make an inspection report available to potential purchasers, then maybe that's a building to be avoided. And if this impacts the market value of the units, then perhaps the owners will reconsider the need for a regular inspection report.

What do you think?

My editorial on the Housing Plan at CityCaucus.com

2011-07-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Talk Housing to us, but tell us what you really mean

27 Jul 2011

Post by Michael Geller in Editorial

15 comments

What on Earth are Vision trying to say in their latest confusing policy pronouncement?

Ask Vancouverites what is the most pressing issue facing our city and many will respond that it is the cost and availability of affordable housing. For this reason, the city’s recent Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2012-2021 that went before Council on July 26, 2011 is a very important document.

As a former official with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and a housing planner and developer with a longstanding interest in ‘affordable housing’, I was particularly interested to read what the city was planning for the coming decade, and next three years. While the document offers some lovely words and obtuse statements, there is a paucity of details to help the reader fully understand what the city planners and politicians really have in mind.

So, for those of you who have not taken the time to read the report, or may never have the time or inclination to do so, I would like to share a few observations. In setting out these thoughts, my intention is not to criticize those who wrote the document or directed its preparation. Rather, I would like to offer some perspectives that will hopefully lead to better and more cost effective housing policies, and more coherent strategic actions.

I should note that I did attend one of the city’s numerous ‘consultative’ workshops related to rental housing and homelessness leading up to the preparation of this report. It was not a terribly satisfying experience, since rather than have a genuine opportunity to offer ideas, I felt that I was there to hear what the city housing planners had already decided. I was not alone in this observation. Downtown Eastside Community activist Jean Swanson, with whom I worked 35 years ago during my tenure at CMHC, felt the same way. Although she seemed to really enjoy the food being served during her session.

The report to city council includes a lot of numbers, totaling 38,900 units over the next ten years. Yes, 38,900! However, of these 7,900 are non-market housing (supportive and social housing); 11,000 are Market Rental Housing including ‘purpose built’ and secondary market (basement suites, laneway housing, etc.); and 20,000 are Condos and Affordable home ownership. While this seems like a lot of units, some analysts point out that when one looks at the number of non-market housing units already underway, (thanks in large part to the efforts of the past administrations), and other exemptions, the number of non-market units being proposed over the next three years, is actually less than what was proposed in previous housing strategy reports.

While I question whether the city should be subsidizing 11,000 market rental housing units, and am curious how and where the 20,000 condos and affordable home ownership units are going to be built, of greater interest is the underlying intent behind many of the somewhat obtuse strategies set out in the report.

For example:

One of the strategic directions is to refine and develop new zoning approaches. What does this mean? I have heard that some city housing planners and politicians have been considering the creation of ‘rental zones’ in the city, where only rental housing would be built. Is this what is intended? I do hope not.
Another strategy is to pursue a new business model to enhance affordable housing delivery. Now what does this mean? During the last municipal election, Cllr Geoff Meggs and I were invited to debate the merits of setting up a City Housing Corporation as one way of facilitating the delivery of affordable housing in the city. Is this what’s intended? If not, what is being said between the lines?
Another strategic direction proposes maintaining and exploring opportunities to improve Rate of Change regulations…The Rate of Change bylaw was introduced in the 80’s during the tenure of former City Councillor George Puil as a means of protecting the older rental housing stock in the city, especially in neighbourhoods like Kerrisdale and the West End. In some respects it has succeeded. However, in others it has failed in that many of the properties have been allowed to deteriorate. And while they provide more affordable rental housing, especially to longstanding senior residents, soon some of these buildings may be uninhabitable. While I agree with the need to improve the regulations, it would be helpful if the city planners shared what they are thinking. Will it be possible to demolish and replace some of these units under certain circumstances? I do hope so.
The document seems to support the continuation of the STIR program, and other similar programs. While I am the first to admit that this program has encouraged a few developers to build market rental housing, rather than just condominiums, I am not convinced the results are worth the expense. Indeed, in many respects, the program has done more harm than good. Personally, while I support reduced parking requirements, fast-tracking applications, and reasonable density bonuses for rental housing, I do not support the kind of subsidies the city has approved to date. I would rather see limited City dollars directed towards the creation of affordable rental housing, not market rental housing.
There is another idea in the report that does worry me…the establishment of a Rent Bank by the city and other partners, to prevent evictions due to tenants’ short-term financial crisis. While I can understand the underlying benevolent intent, I must question the appropriateness of the city participating in such a venture, given the potential financial and administrative costs, let alone the propriety of such an undertaking. When I questioned this idea during a recent CKNW Civic Affairs Panel, fellow panellist Frances Bula seemed to defend the idea noting that both the City of Surrey and Toronto had established similar Rent Banks. While I would like to learn more, this does not seem like a good reason to undertake such a potentially questionable idea.
Another proposition in the report is to make City lands available at a reduced cost for affordable housing. Personally, I can support this idea, since it is similar to an initiative undertaken at SFU’s UniverCity community. However, at SFU, there was considerable debate about the notion of equity, and who might qualify for such housing. In the end, it was decided that the housing would only be available to faculty and staff, especially those with children. According to an interview with Cllr Louie in today’s Vancouver Sun, the city has some ideas about how such a program might be implemented. However, they are not set out in the report. I think it is important that the city share with us which sites might be made available, the potential costs to the city, and how it intends to address the question of equity.
Finally, this document is significant for what it doesn’t include. For example, there is absolutely no reference to how best to deal with the ‘20% social housing sites’ that have been set aside by Concord Pacific and Marathon Realty, that remain undeveloped due to a lack of capital and operating funds. To my mind, this is a very pressing issue since it not only addresses supply, but also the desire for socially mixed communities, something which compelled the city to retain at great cost, the very expensive social housing units at the Olympic Village (which also is not mentioned anywhere in the report). I believe there are solutions that would result in affordable housing on these sites, at no cost to the city, which I would be happy to share, if asked.

In conclusion, this is an important document. However, to be truly meaningful to the taxpayers of the city and potential partners in future endeavours, it needs to be fleshed out with substantive details, specific examples, and more complete financial implications. I would urge the authors to now revise the document by adding a 'for example' at the end of every strategic action. Then we all might better understand what the authors and City Council have in mind.

Please don’t keep us in suspense.

+++

Walk 21...an international conference focusing on the pedestrian

2011-07-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Recently we have talked a lot about public transit and cycling as alternatives to the private automobile. But the best alternative is something that is very healthy, easy to implement, relatively safe, and extremely cost effective....walking.

From October 3 to 5 , an international conference will be held in Vancouver to examine how best to create highly walkable and livable communities. Delegates will be coming from all over the world to share experiences about creating successful pedestrian oriented environments. I am pleased to be a participant in the conference and will talk about a number of communities with which I have been involved which were designed around the pedestrian.

I'll be writing more about this in the coming months, but in the meanwhile, here's some information about the conference, since the early registration deadline of AUGUST 2, 2011 is approaching.

This conference will offer a diverse and stimulating breakout program presented in a number of engaging formats including walkshops, Pecha Kucha and multimedia. The first draft of the breakout program is now posted for viewing and individual presentation summaries can be read by clicking on the link below.

Early Bird Deadline is August 2. Save money on your registration fee by registering by August 2. The organizers expect a sold-out event, so don't wait. Register Now!

Walk21 is a conference series that features the best urban design, health promotion, and best practices for making spaces and cities more walkable, comfortable and convenient. Drawing from a range of regions, this year's selection will emphasize "Transforming the Automobile City."

Dr. David Suzuki will be a plenary speaker on Monday, October 3. As we all know in Vancouver, Dr. Suzuki is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is the recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environment Program Medal, and UNEPs Global 500.

For more details on how to register, go to http://www.walk21.com/vancouver/

I have a feeling this will turn out to be a very special and worthwhile event. A number of local, well known and accomplished urbanists and planners are involved in its organization. Stay tuned for more details....

Stratford International, London Athletes’ Village and the Open Championship

2011-07-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Stratford International train station has been built to serve those coming to the 2012 London Olympics. The London Olympic Athletes’ Village, (which will be the subject of a future post) is now under construction immediately adjacent to the station and visible from its gleaming and relatively vacant lobby.

They call it Stratford International Train Station. But according to those who work there, there’s nothing international about it at all….indeed, the Eurostar Chunnel Train that goes to the continent runs through the station, but does not even stop!

Apparently a German company is exploring the feasibility of offering a service from the station to Germany, but so far, nothing has been decided. According to one South Eastern Railway employee with whom I spoke, this will ultimately be an international station, but not in the immediate future.

I had the opportunity to use the new station last week when I took a high-speed train to Deal, Kent to visit Keith Tapping, a former CMHC colleague who is now retired in England. Many in Vancouver will remember Tapping as a brilliant and benevolent man who as Assistant Regional Director to King Ganong, and subsequently BC Regional Director, oversaw the redevelopment of Granville Island, False Creek, and the approval of thousands of housing units around the province. Tapping had a particular interest in the creation of social housing, especially for the homeless and those living in the Downtown Eastside.

Those who worked closely with Tapping, including Michael Audain, Mike Harcourt and Shirley Chan, have many stories about him. My favourite relates to a time after I left the corporation and he had returned to Vancouver from Toronto to be the Regional Director, considered by many to be the top job within CMHC. Keith had invited me to lunch at O’Douls, one of his favourite haunts at the time. After many stories and glasses of Johnny Walker Black Label, around four o’clock I suggested to Keith that perhaps it was time for him to return to the office. “What if the President calls and you’re not there….you could be fired” I suggested.

Tapping turned to me and said the President would never fire him regardless of whether he was in the office or not, adding “He’s promised my job to too many people!”

Visiting Keith is always a highlight of my trips to England. While we tend to repeat the same stories to each other every time we get together, it doesn’t matter. However, it is always a bit sad to reflect on just how vital CMHC was during the decade Keith and I both worked at the Corporation, relative to its fairly minimal role in housing across Canada today.

This year, Keith picked me up at the station and knowing that I enjoyed golf, immediately drove over to Sandwich, a nearby town where the Royal St. Georges Golf Course is located. This is the location for the 2011 Open Championship which begins today.

We took a quick tour of the course as they were setting up the stands, tents, signage and other paraphernalia. (At one point, Keith took a wrong turn and we seemed to be driving down one of the fairways!) To see the course with few people around on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, it looked very unimposing, and it was difficult to believe that a week later it would be the centre of the golfing world.

So as I sat and watched the first round (with a 20 year old amateur tied for the lead), it was quite special, having been there just a week ago.

And all being well, I’ll see Keith next year, although whether I go during the Olympics, when the train station will be packed (and Royal St. Georges will be back to normal) remains to be seen.

OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES IN VANCOUVER July 14 at 6:30 Beth Israel Synagogue, Oak Street

2011-07-11T07:54:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year, I received a phone call from Serge Haber, President of the Jewish Seniors' Alliance which provides a range of serves for seniors in Vancouver's Jewish community. He told me that funding was limited and there was a danger of having to cut back in services. Since my late father Sam Geller was an avid supporter of the Alliance, he hoped I would help out financially.

I said I would, but suggested that others would support the group as well, especially if it could be fun. I immediately thought of oldjewstellingjokes.com, a website I had come across featuring rather ordinary older Jews telling jokes on line. I thought why not have an evening when members of the Alliance and the broader community would be invited to come and hear some of the classic Jewish comedians whose material is now on-line, as well as tell their favourite jokes. We would bring in some deli and something to drink, and hope that people would make a donation.

I offered to help put together some material, and invite my friend Alvin Wasserman to co-emcee with me. And this is how the idea for this Thursday's Fun(d)raising evening was born.

If you are wondering if this is an event for you, you don't have to be old...hey you don't have to be Jewish...you just have to enjoy good humour and the company of people who have some great stories to tell. So far about 150 people have RSVP'd and it's not too late for you to do so...just email office@jsalliance.org or phone 604 732 1555

Thanks also to Omnitsky's, Eppie's Kosher and the Jewish Independent for offering to help sponsor the event.

By the way, here's one of the more memorable stories from oldjewstellingjokes.com told by a somewhat frumpy older Jewish woman.

"So tell me Sadie, do you still get horny?" " Occasionally" she replies. "So what do you do?" "I suck a lifesaver".

And after a long pause...."So who drives you to the beach?"

From Spain to UK via Eritrea...yes Eritrea

2011-07-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July we decided to leave Spain for a few days in London before heading home. We decided to fly Seville-London on EasyJet, one of a number of discount carriers that offer good prices between UK and the Continent. However, with EasyJet, everything is extra....baggage? Extra! Golf Clubs? Extra! Coffee? Extra!

If you can book well in advance, you can get some incredible deals...if you book a few days in advance, like we did, not such great deals...but lots of flights and fairly reliable service.

As we were checking in there were five very attractive young black girls, all wearing pink T-shirts indicating that they had been attending a 'hen party'. I must say, I was quite impressed that five girls would go to Seville from UK, just for a party. But that's the way it is in Europe...everywhere is quite close...Poland is two and a half hours away!

There is no assigned seating on the plane, and having wandered around the airport, we were amongst the last to get on. It turned out that the only remaining seat was in between these five ladies, and I apologized for taking it.

As often happens, we started to chat, and while I hadn't given much thought to these girls' backgrounds, as soon as I started to chat with two of them, I realized they weren't who I thought the might be, judging by their matching T-shirts and outward appearances.... if you know what I mean.

They immediately struck me as very sophisticated and worldly, and I soon discovered thatwhile some were born in UK, they were all professional women whose families had originally come from Eritrea. One was a doctor, one a lawyer, a pharmacist, a psychologist and a marketing manager. I told them I knew very little about their country, and they assured me I was not alone.

While I associate the country with the poverty of Africa, they surprised me by suggesting that they don't really think of themselves as Africans....given the longstanding association of their country with Italy. I did some research and in fact the country has had a very different history from some of the neighbouring countries. That being said, it has suffered in many ways, and I was particularly surprised to see that the country ranks 178 out of 178 when it comes to freedom of the press.

They encouraged me to visit their country.... assuring me that there was much more to it than the poverty and strife we often associate with nearby Somalia and Ethiopia...and I promised to consider a trip. The reality is that although I have now been to 73 countries in the world, I have never been anywhere in Africa....

The flight went very quickly. I was fascinated by the discussion, and promised to post my observations . One final comment...we got on to the topic of getting married, and how their families might react to them marrying men who were not from Eritrea. What would they think of one of them marrying a Jew I asked...

That would not be so bad....one replied. However, her parents would be quite upset if she was to marry a Nigerian!

All I could think of is that the world is not always how it appears to be! Best wishes to the young lady who's getting married....and to her four lovely friends.

Some advice for Spanish Tourism Officials

2011-07-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

I hate to have to tell you this, but far too many of your tourism offices offer very little value to English Speaking Tourists. At first, we thought it was a one off situation, but after a while we realized there's a serious problem. In your effort to get multi-ligual staff you are often losing out on people who know something about your cities, and people who can understand English. The problem was particularly acute in Seville which has so much to offer English speaking tourists. In one centre, getting information about activities and things to see was as difficult as removing teeth from a patient in a dentists chair. My general question of "is there anything more we should know about interesting things to do in your city invariably ended with "no".

In Seville, I asked one young girl in a facility near the Cathedral how best to view the EXPO 92 site...she knew nothing about it. I'm not making this up. One of the most significant initiatives in Seville in the last century and she really knew nothing about it....and the reason I'm calling her out, is that when we arrived in her office, she was playing cards on her computer. She should have been learning English, or more about the city.

I went back to the office after lunch to see if I could get some basic information. Another person, Carmella, was fantastic, and full of valuable information including where best to see Flamenco with the Sevillians, and what else to do at night. But she was an exception, not the rule. I subsequently learned that everyone went to Carmella since she was so knowledgeable.

We arrived at the Train Station in Granda with the intention of going to the Alhambra Palace. Hundreds of thousands of people must be in the same situation...but was there ANY information availble telling you how to get there? Nada! There's no tourist information whatsoever in this and most other train stations. In this case, there was not even a board telling you which bus to take, and where to get it, how it will cost, where to buy tickets, or how much a taxi will cost. I just don't understand why this problem is allowed to exist. Hasn't anybody ever pointed it out before? I'll send this along to the Spanish Tourist folks, just in case.

While we have been to Spain a few times, and I don't speak any Spanish...we manage, But our holidays would be so much enriched if the ladies in the tourist office, (and yes they almost always seem to be ladies) had a better grasp of things. It would be so easy to train them...I'd love to be given the opportunity~

By contrast, we arrived home in Vancouver and travellers are greeted by extensive tourist facilities. If I have any criticism, it's only that we may have gone overboard. But the airport authority and tourism vancouver have done a good job....in fact an excellent job. They could teach the Spanish a few things!

Cycling Safety in Spain

2011-07-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

One of the things that attracted me to Seville was an article in the Lonely Planet travel guide describing the efforts the city is making to becoming a leading 'green' city in Europe. Many streets now ban cars in the historic centre, and a new Tram Line was recently built along the main avenue of the city. There are also many bike lanes and a bike sharing program in place, and they are used...no doubt due to the climate, the cost of owning a car, the relatively flat terrain, etc.

But there were a few things that struck me about Seville's cycling infrastructure which I had seen in other international cities, including London from where I returned yesterday, and which I think are worth pointing

1. Unlike Vancouver, the bike lanes are both on the streets and the sidewalks. Where it is not feasible to add them to the street, the sidewalk will suffice, and I think it does work...while cyclists tend to go slower, I think that's ok too. It cuts down on accidents but still allows a vaible alternative to the auto, or walking to function. Now in many places, the sidewalks are wider, but in others, they are similar to what we have...but it all feels much safer....for all.

2. There is little, if any space taken up by landscaped barrier systems like those installed along Hornby and Dunsmuir. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen anything quite like this anywhere in the world. Instead, Seville uses lines and changes in pavement colour, and subtle metal markers in certain places to let the cyclists know where they can go.

3. There are posted speed limits on cycling routes...generally 10 k/m which is reduced to 5 k/m in certain areas. I'm not sure I have seen speed limits posted for cyclists in Vancouver. Please tell me if this is city policy.

4. Perhaps due to the safer conditions, cyclists don't always wear helmets. I noted this in my 2007 Vancouver Sun article. Indeed, I suggested that if we could improve bicycle safety, we might be able to reconsider our helmet requirments. One advantage of this would be to increase the number of cyclists...I really believe this...and facilitate more effective bike sharing programs.

Of course I was chastised by doctors and cyclists who had survived major accidents only because they were wearing helmets. However, my point is that if cyclists are restricted from travelling so quickly, then many of these more serious accidents may not occur. And I also believe that the total environmental and health benefits of far more cyclists will offset the occasional serious accidents that will happen because people are not wearing helmet

If I'm wrong, then why aren't helmets mandatory in most of Europe and South America, just to name two continents. And please don't tell me they are not quite as advanced as us or caring about the health of the people....if you believe this, you haven't been to Seville or Gothenberg, or Buenos Aires or Santiago. What I do know is that there are more healthy people who are cycling, and reduced carbon gases in many parts of the city.

Sensational Seville

2011-07-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

While most people think of Barcelona and Madrid when they think of Spanish cities, or perhaps Valencia if they are a fan of Calatrava, Seville does not get quite as much attention. But it should. Because for those who have spent time there, it is one of the most sensational cities in Europe.

Seville has a very different feel than the other cities...perhaps it's the more southern climate, the Moorish influence, or the fact that at one point in time, Seville was perhaps the wealthiest city in the world. It shows in the oppulent buildings and the historic areas that can best be described as mazes. Despite our best efforts, we were always getting lost in Seville, especially around Santa Cruz, the former Jewish Quarter near where we stayed, and in the streets of the other historic areas.

Seville has the Real Alcazar Palace, which was built over many centuries, and the largest Gothic Cathedral in Europe. Both are spectacular. It also has fascinating neighbourhoods such as La Macarena and Triana, which are best described as 'edgy'. In fact, much of Seville is edgy.

It is also a progressive city which is trying to be 'green'. It has a pedestrianized centre which bans automobiles, and a recently constructed tram line that links into the underground Metro system...priority is given to taxis and buses...there's a bike share program and an extensive bike path network.The more recent development of Seville has been influenced by two world fairs...the 1929 Exposition and the 1992 World Fair which I will briefly describe in another post.

One of the highlights of the city was experiencing Flamenco and wandering around the various tapas bars including El Rinconcillo, founded in 1670 and still in operation, where we spent part of our last night. Here and elsewhere in the city, it is customary to keep tab by writing the price of food and drink in chalk on the countertop...something I had never seen before. Like the toothpick system, it seems to work!With its lively narrow medieval streets, grand squares and magnificent buildings with diverse architectural styles, Seville is one place we do hope to return to one day. We were there 5 nights but needed more time to really get to know the place and do some serious shopping. (There are some fabulous stores selling leather goods, custom made shirts and outrageous ladies dresses...We'll go back for more flamenco and to try out more Andalusian food...although we may pass on the fried calamari....we seemed to have just a bit too much this time around!

ps there's just one thing I'm not too sure about...this newly completed architectural structure that creates a covered space, and incorporates some Roman ruins...it may make a wonderful ruin itself one day!

A day at the Alhambra Palace

2011-07-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

When Sally turned 60, she said she wanted to see the Taj Mahal for her birthday present. While I wasn't partucularly keen about travelling to Índia...I agreed to go and take her there for her birthday. It was a trip we will never forget

For some time, Sally has also harboured a desire to see the Alhambra in Granada. I suspect one of her friends told her that it was something she had to see. While we had not planned to go to the south of Spain, rather than spend our last week on the Costa Blanca, we decided to book a train ticket to Seville where we would stay for a few days, and from where we could do a day trip to Granada.

And so at 6:15 on Canada Day we set off from our hotel near Santa Cruz for the Seville train station and boarded the 6:55 train for Granada.

While the trip was not quite as challenging as getting to Agra, the weather did seem almost as hot, and after a few hours discovering some very nice parts of Granada's downtown, and some tapas for lunch, we set off for Alhambra.

Whie it was not quite as exquisite or elaborate as I had expected, it was very impressive. The complex was sarted by the Moors in the 11th century and seized by the Christians in January 1492 (a year during which quite a lot happened in Spain). The Christians under various rulers have made many changes and carried out numerous additions to the complex. While Napoleon is reported to have tried to destroy the Alhambra, it has somehow managed to remain remarkably intact over the centuries.

Alhambra is a lot like an architectural history textbook with many styles on display. But it also could be a textbook for landscape architects since the landscaped grounds, with the many water features are outstanding.

It took about three hours to tour about. We could have spent more time but the temperature was in the very high 30's and having gone to bed late the night before, and not having slept as well as we would have liked for fear of sleeping in, by 5 pm we were getting weary. So we returned to the very lively and attractive streets of Granada for some sangria and air conditioned shopping. (I know...what a terrible thing to have to admit....one of the most beautiful places in the world and we left to go for sangria and shopping.)

I now write this from the train as we head home. We'll arive at midnight, making for quite a long day. But like our trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal, I suspect this is another day we won't forget for a long time. And it wasn't even Sally's birthday!

Leaving Xabia or Javea

2011-07-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of towns along the Costa Blanca that have been ruined by tourism....Xabia or Javea where we spent 13 nights doing a house exchange is not one of them....While there are a significant number of tourists each year, and a good number of people from other parts of Europe with second homes in the town, Javea has somehow managed to keep its charm and character.The town is divided into three main areas: the Port (where we stayed) with a pebble beach; the Old Town perched on a hill; and Arenal, a more traditional seaside area with a sandy beach (our least favourite of the three). Each has its own distinctive character.One of the most significant heritage sites is a 16th C church in the Old Town. I mention this to give some sense of the age of the place. However, a much more interesting church was built in the 1970's in the Port area, and is designed to reflect the sea going character of the place. While it is squeezed into the existing street fabric, it's a very striking building, both inside and out...quite remarkable.We stayed in a very modern new house in a very desirable area just up the hill from the Port and its parade of seafront restaurants. We didn't need to drive...we could walk down the hill to the Port or into the Old Town...which was fortunate since we not only exchanged houses, but we exchanged cars and I did not want to take any chances drinking and driving....although the Spaniards do it, they also have very stringent regulations.In addition to the beaches, restaurants and fine shops, there was a delightful golf course where we met some very friendly and helpful people...Thanks especially to Brian whose restaurant recommendation was superb.So goodbye to Javea...we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and can highly recommend it as a good place to visit, or indeed live. We didn't meet one person with any regrets about moving there! And why should they have regrets? It's paradise.

It's not just the buildings that are unusual....so are some of the foods!

2011-07-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

One of the great delights in Spain is the food....some of the things we know about...paella, various hams,wonderful seafood, etc. However, there are a lot of things we don't always expect to go together...like anchovies and coke! I really like anchovies, and as you can see from these photos, I ate a lot of them, prepared in various ways...but for some reason, I just couldn't imagine washing them down with coke!There are also many things that we see in the market, and on our plates in restaurants that are completely....well if you'll pardon the pun....foreign! Here are some of the things we ate, or thought about eating during our stay in Spain..

Can you tell which are the flamenco eggs? the musaka?

One last thing...we discovered something here we had never seen before.. in some restaurants, including one where we ate on our last night that was founded in the 17th century....they keep track of your bill by writing the prices on the counter with chalk...if you look carefully you'll see the price of my aged manchego cheese with what looked like seville marmalade, but which tasted quite differently!

Newer Buildings along the Costa Blanca...ugh!

2011-07-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

While it is easy to be impressed with the charming medieval towns and villages along the coast, not all the towns and cities are beautiful. Sadly, many of the older fishing villages have been...well, let's say transformed, thanks to package tours from throughout Europe. What one finds in these towns is often very ugly, although I must confess I was fascinated by some of the newer developments going up. For those of you who don't know what Alicante and Benidorm and Calpe look like, and are not quite sure whether you want to find out, here are a few images.

One thing you will appreciate after looking at some of the newer developments is the impact of Vancouver's condominium bylaws that restrict what one can do to the outside of their unit!

Touring the Costa Blanca

2011-07-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons we decided to return to Spain was because we had so much enjoyment exploring the Costa Brava outside of Barcelona last summer. It seemed that each town was a little bit more beautiful than the one before, and some of the medieval towns were absolutely marvellous. While we did not know whether we would find the same quality of towns on the Costa Blanca, on a number of occasions we set off in our large comfortable Saab looking for memorable places. And we found quite a few.

One such place was Xativa, about 50 km south of Valencia. An ancient mountain town, and supposedly the first place in Europe where paper was used, it was also where two of the Borgia popes were born. A large castle dominates the old town, and not wanting to wait for the little train that takes you up, we set off for the top by foot.

However, I’m ashamed to admit we quit about half way, blaming the 30 degrees plus weather, and the bottle of wine we had with the assorted fried small fish and an excellent seafood rice ‘soup’ we had for lunch.

The whitewashed buildings and narrow streets we discovered near the top of our climb reminded us of Cadaques on the Costa Brava, and places like Mykonos and Kefelonia where donkeys replace cars as a mode of transportation up the long, winding streets.

Perhaps the highlight of Xativa was its main street lined with giant plane trees…it was remarkable, and I wondered which civicly minded individual had convinced his (it was most likely a man) peers that this would be a worthwhile investment. I can hear him now….”I want to make Xativa the greenest town along the Costa Brava….” . Well, he certainly succeeded as you look down the main street.

Another memorable town was Elche or Elx, south of Alicante. In the white and ochre tourist office, set in a central park, we learned that the town is known as one of the shoe manufacturing capitals of Spain...

and has twice received UNESCO World Heritage Site designations, once for the magnificent palm trees that were planted by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago, which now are seen throughout the town; and also for the Mystery of Elx, a medieval mystery play dating back to the 13th century, that is performed annually.

One of the advantages of a house exchange is that you can often invite friends to come and stay. This year we were joined by Sally' longtime friend Maxine, and a couple I got to know when I worked for Building Design Partnership in the late 1960's...John and Lynne Townsend. When John was staying with us, he wanted to take us to Altea, known for its leather markets

Unfortunately, after a long day of sightseeing, culminating with a visit to the very awful Calpe, the ladies in the car wanted to return home. But we did subsequently make it to Altea and I’m glad we did. While we didn’t find the leather market, we did find a delightful white pueblo town, with narrow streets and lively attractive squares. Nearly all of the buildings were painted white, and were well cared for. It was a very delightful place. Another remarkable place was Guadelest, a 'must' on most tourist itineraries in the northern Costa Blanca. We drove to this medieval town along a very narrow, winding 10 km road…for quite a while we were the only car on the road...and didn’t really know what to expect when we arrived. What we were not quite ready for were the hordes of people who had arrived by the busloads to explore this outstanding place.

Nor were we ready to view a magnificent bright turquoise lake that was visible from the top of the town. Sadly, the souvenir shops have overtaken the place, and they seem to be selling some very ridiculous things….while I quite like some of the metal work, who would ever think of buying a rubber front door mat that says ‘welcome’ in a place like this?

(I did enjoy this white lady, who was one of many 'statues' we came across while touring the Costa Blanca...yes Jackie, I did give her a few coins before taking her photo!)

While many of the places we visited along the Costa Blanca were not as impressive as the towns and villages we discovered last year along the Costa Brava, these four towns were definitely 'must sees'....I just wish we had spent more time in each of them...well all except Guadelest....which sadly is being over run by souvenir shops which dominate the place...sort of like the T-shirt shops in Gastown!

Two Weeks After the Vancouver Riots, a report on Javea's street 'violence'

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just noticed this is my 423rd post. That's a lot of time spent on the computer when I should be out enjoying myself! However, I do get a lot of enjoyment sharing the things I find when out travelling around.... perhaps because I don't keep track of just how few people actually read them!

Children’s sculptures set on fire in Javea

It's two weeks since violence erupted on the streets of Vancouver following the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. I therefore felt compelled to report on what happened in the streets of Javea on the evening of June 24th, 2011. Huge crowds jammed the Old Town and the streets were littered. On two separate occasions, men set fire to what appeared to be elaborate children’s cartoon sculptures in two of the town’s public squares.

But unlike the Vancouver situation, this was not unplanned violence by uncontrollable youths.

On the contrary, it was the finale to the Fiestas of Sant Juan, the patron saint of carpenters, although the tourist office referred to it as Sant Joan, and one guide book referenced Saint John the Baptist. What I do know is that it was the end of a two week long annual celebration that had included, amongst other things a chess competition, a cycling race, music performances, bull running, parades, children’s games and workshops followed by sardines and colas, a serenaders’ contest, the mounting of children’s effigies, a giant community paella, flower offerings, the burning of old junk…. all culminating on Friday night with an elaborate float parade featuring hundreds of young girls in very ornate dresses followed by the burning of the children’s effigies at 10pm and midnight in the town squares!

Like Vancouver, there was violence and the hurling of objects here too. Except here it was young girls on the floats throwing candy to the crowds….I know since unfortunately one piece hit my new camera in the lens, and decommissioned it for a while.

As the parade passed through the town, a uniformed sanitation crew swept up the litter in the streets…but this time the litter consisted of streamers and confetti thrown from the floats by the young girls and boys to the adoring crowds lining the streets.

The burning of the effigies was a sight to behold. We just couldn’t believe what we saw. A crew of pyrotechnic engineers draped the children’s sculptures with explosive fuses and firecrackers. Then they doused the cute little characters with what looked like olive oil, although it could have been a real fire accelerant…the kind used by arsonists. As dozens of watching photographers took photos, a small group of specially selected girls collectively lit a fuse tied to a nearby tree, and the next thing we knew, firecrackers were going off and the sculptures were ablaze. The crowd cheered.

The evening continued with the burning of a giant effigy in the main town square at midnight, followed by rock concerts and more firecrackers and fireworks. But having played 18 holes of golf at the Javea golf club from high noon onwards, and walked miles into the town, we decided to give the finale a pass, and instead returned to one of the many waterfront restaurant for some amazing tapas including fried small squid, grilled razor clams, sausages in sherry, potatoes piri-piri, and grilled asparagus with goat cheese.

While I need to do more research on the traditions associated with the Sant Juan/ Joan Festival, suffice it to say, this is a major event for the town…the families spend a lot of money renting the elaborate dresses for the girls…and perhaps not knowing anything else, the kids love seeing their cartoon characters set alight…no doubt believing that the evils represented by the effigies will have been eliminated, at least for a short while.

While I was pleased to read that Vancouver recently had a weekend of festivals, I do hope we can develop more as time goes by, since there is no doubt, based on the Javea experience, and that of other towns and cities throughout Spain, they result in great family events and traditions, which in the case of Spain, have been happening for centuries.

I’m just sorry we will miss all the Moors and Christians mock battles that happen in mid-July!

No Bullshit!

2011-06-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

In Javea, where we are staying for a few weeks, one of the summer festivals involves the running of the bulls. While this is something I have watched on TV, I never experienced the exhilaration of standing in front of a charging bull until Friday night when we happened to come upon a street lined with unusual barricades. We followed them to a large dirt area along a main street in the historic city centre where a large crowd had gathered. Everyone was drinking cheap beer and I soon had a couple in an effort to join in.

After a few minutes I decided to enter into the ‘bull ring’ to see what was happening. As I stood there taking photos of the crowd, I suddenly realized there was a large bull charging about. Not sure whether to try and get a good photo or take cover, I almost waited a little bit too long…and suddenly found myself running for cover as my wife looked on with a mixture of disgust and horror.

A few days later I returned to show Maxine and the Townsends, visitors from UK what we had discovered, only to find there were lots of bulls running around the enclosure. This time I kept my distance.

2011-06-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

During our four days in Valencia, we often found ourselves wondering why Vancouver did not copy some of the things that we found so appealing about the city. Some are small things, others are more significant. However, all would seem possible with some changing attitudes on the part of our civic officials and the citizenry. Here are a few things I would like to see in Vancouver

More waterfront restaurants

While we like to boast about our extensive new waterfront walkway system surrounding Coal Harbour, English Bay and False Creek…the fact is, compared to parts of Valencia’s waterfront, it is really quite boring. While we can count on one hand the number of waterfront restaurants that were allowed either inboard or outboard of the walkway/bikeway, portions of Valencia’s waterfront, like many other waterfronts around the world, are literally lined with restaurants.

Now I realize that it is probably too late to modify much of the existing south and north shores of False Creek, as well as Bayshore and Coal Harbour. But it is not too late to create new, vibrant restaurant and retail precincts on the remaining Concord Pacific waterfront and the undeveloped city owned lands next to the Olympic Village in South the seawall. While we are at it, we might want to change some of our ridiculous liquor laws too, so that people can enjoy these restaurants and cafes.

More Restaurants serving Tapas and Pintxos

Walk into many Valencian restaurants and you are invited to help yourself to a wide array of small ‘nibblies’ served on thin slices of crusty bread, along with other snacks held together by toothpicks. You take want you want, but save the toothpicks, since this is how you are charged. In some restaurants, the price varies by the type of toothpick…in others the price is the same. In some places, the food is beautifully arranged; in others it is more basic. However, this is a wonderful way to start a meal, or indeed, to create an entire meal…although often there are other ‘tapas’ to be had to complement the pintxos.

More plazas, public spaces and public art

Throughout Valencia streets have been closed off or laid out in such a way as to create numerous small public spaces, often lined with restaurants and outdoor seating areas. While we are starting to think about this in Vancouver, often as temporary arrangements, it is time for us to be bolder and create more permanent installations. While many people are enjoying the new food carts around town, we could be doing so much more.

More Festivals

Valencia and the surrounding region are known for various festivals that have developed over the ages and become a major part of the region’s annual life. In March, the city celebrates Las Fallas in which giant papier mache sculptures are erected in the crossroads and squares and subsequently burned on St. Joseph’s Day; near the end of April, two costumed armies march into the city of Alcoi and stage mock battles; throughout the region there are festivals featuring bull running in summer; and on the last Wednesday of August in Bunol, thousands of participants pelt each other with ripe tomatoes.

Now I can appreciate that we might not want to copy any of these particular festivities, but notwithstanding the problems associated with the final game of the Stanley Cup finals, I would like to think we could do more in Vancouver. One possibility might be something like Caravan which was and may still be celebrated in Toronto where each major ethnic group celebrates its culture in different neighbourhoods around the city.

Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciencies

2011-06-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

I do not think I have ever seen any modern building complex that is quite as fantastic as the futuristic complex of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. It comprises five astonishing buildings…four by Santiago Calatrava and one by Felix Candela. They include a science museum, a concert hall, an aquarium, an Imax Cinema, and L’umbracle, a giant pergola of parabolic arches which is reminiscent of a Calatrava designed space in downtown Toronto. There’s another building still being finished, which has been used for a tennis match!

As I wandered around, I could not help but think about how Calatrava and Candelera could convince public officials to spend so much money on what can only be described as architectural and engineering extravaganzas. Some of the structural gymnastics are literally breathtaking, and I also could not help but think how much money could have been saved if only one or two extra columns could have been allowed to be added in a few places!

But like the Frank Gehry museum that has put Bilbao on the map, this complex has done a lot for Valencia and its civic pride. But not only to I wonder how civic officials could decide to spend so much on this complex, I also worry how they are going to pay for all the upkeep that will be required…since already one can see that repairs and maintenance are required. This is particularly worrisome since according to one newspaper story I read, the Valencia region is verging on bankruptcy and struggling to pay its bills.

But it is a fantastic set of buildings, as these photos hopefully illustrate.

Valencia: new friends, unemployment and fascinating urbanism

2011-06-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I did not know very much about Valencia, Spain’s third largest city, and the Costa Blanca before accepting an invitation from Manuel and Maria Jose to do a house exchange in June and July 2011. However, in summer 2007, Sally and I had a chance encounter with an attractive young couple from Valencia on a canal boat in Amsterdam, and we agreed that one day we would meet up again, either in Vancouver or Valencia.

During the intervening years we exchanged greetings, and they sent a postcard with a most fantastic looking building by Calatrava. I saw this building again in the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 World Fair, along with other quite remarkable looking buildings. All of these small things helped Sally and me to decide to return to Spain for another house exchange, even though we had visited Barcelona, Costa Brava and Madrid last summer. After all, we loved Spain last year, and with the worsening economic situation, we suspected the country would welcome our tourist dollars.

We did meet up with our Valencian friends again for a lovely lunch. Luis Puchades Rufino is in the renewable energy business. He now works with Ludan, an Israeli country doing projects around the world. I urged him to explore opportunities in Vancouver, given our desire to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. (I must say, I have to smile every time I write this, not because I don’t think it’s a noble goal…it is…but having spent quite a bit of time in Europe and knowing how far behind we are in Vancouver when it comes to energy and resource consumption, I know this will not happen.)

Nuria would enjoy Vancouver too since her job is to look after the extensive gardens that can be found throughout Valencia. Again, if one measures ‘greeness’ by the amount of park space and plantings, Vancouver has a long way to go to catch up to Valencia. A former river that was re-routed following a devastating flood is now a major ‘green spine’ running through the city. There are also extensive plantings along the road, and the city has somehow managed to protect agricultural lands and wetlands adjacent to the city centre.

Travelling around the city I found a very eclectic array of buildings built over many centuries. While mid-rise buildings dominate, a number of dramatic new high rises have recently been built. However, with the economic slowdown, much of the new office and hotel space appears empty, and a lot of property is for sale. Luis and Nuria told us that Valencia is in a very bad financial situation with 22% unemployment…yes 22%, which perhaps accounts for the number of public work projects we saw going on around town.

Thanks Luis and Nuria for encouraging us, in a very subtle way, to visit your amazing city and treating us to a most enjoyable lunch…next time, it’s our turn in Vancouver!

Greetings from Valencia and Costa Blanca

2011-06-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

After, the flurry of activity related to Hollyburn Mews, Sally and I decided to return to Spain for a few weeks, to enjoy the wonderful food, wine and culture....not to mention the fabulous towns and cities. We are participating in another House Exchange, this one in Javea, a coastal town about an hour and a half from Valencia.

Fortunately, I brought a few cameras with me, and am so glad I did, since some of the sights in Valencia were literally breathtaking, especially the new precinct designed by Santiago Calatrava, and the various regions of the city. I am going through the photos and trying to organize my thoughts, and will start posting shortly.

However, I must conclude for now by noting that there are certain days in one´s life that are unforgetable. One such day was in summer 2007 when we were in Jaiselmer India, and read on an old computer in a very, very hot internet cafe that our daughter had been accepted at UBC medical school....moments before heading off on a camel safari during which we became stranded in a wind and hailstorm in the desert.

Another such day was yesterday, when we awoke at 4:30 am or so, to catch the end of game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, only to discover on Twitter that the game was over...Canucks had lost 4 to 0, and riots were starting in the streets of the downtown. We eventually went back to sleep, rising around 10 and walked over to the Calatrava ´city´, that was very close to our hotel in the new commercial area of the city. We managed to arrange a personal tour and were absolutely blown away by what we saw.

Later that day, after a wonderful long lunch in the beachfront area of the city, we headed off to bus station, from where we took a 2 1/2 trip to Javea.

Here we were picked up by a friend of our house exchange partner, who brought us to this magnificent villa, overlooking the ocean. We can walk down to the port area of town, which is lined with restaurants and very lovely looking shops and numerous real estate offices...since this is where many Europeans have purchased and built very beautiful and substantial villas on the hills overlooking the Mediterranean.

While I am very saddened by what happened in Vancouver, and the thought that the punks who seemed to get so much enjoyment from doing damage to our city continue to live with us....yesterday was a day we will always remember....now we look forward to a few weeks of relaxation and exploration in this magnificent part of the world.

More later.

North Shore Newspaper Accounts of Hollyburn Mews Decision

2011-06-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

WV council approves divisive townhouse project
By Tessa Holloway, North Shore News June 10, 2011 4:02 AM

The official community plan and zoning bylaw amendments for the Hollyburn Mews project passed second and third reading at West Vancouver council Monday night following the second day of a long and divisive public hearing process.

About 20 more speakers addressed council on Monday on top of the more than 150 submissions made to council prior to that meeting, with a split almost right down the middle between those who support the rezoning of three lots to include three duplexes and laneway houses and those who are adamantly opposed.

Council split much the same way as speakers that evening, with Couns. Shannon Walker, Trish Panz, Michael Evison and Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones supporting the project and Couns. Bill Soprovich, Michael Smith and Michael Lewis voting to slam the brakes.

The OCP amendment has been altered to cover the entire block in response to concerns the proposal constituted spot rezoning, and several neighbours of the existing site at 2031-2091 Esquimalt Ave. have expressed interest in laneway houses on their properties. The amendment also includes special reference to neighbourhood character, and any new project would require council approval.

"I understand the trepidation of the neighbours but I think this is a good solution," said Walker. "It allows council and the design committee to participate in the design to ensure the form and character of the houses that are presented fit in the neighbourhood, but it will also give us time to contemplate how this current project, if passed, fits into the neighbourhood."

Councillors opposed to the project said there was too much public angst about the rezoning to go ahead, and that any change to a single-family neighbourhood should have full support of area residents.

Evison said the development process was poorly planned and that the district should lead a process that will start smaller and assuage residents' concerns.

"There's something wrong with our process. This process doesn't work," said Lewis. "This has turned out to be the most divisive thing I've seen in my community in my term on council, and I'm really concerned about that. So that tells me something's not working here."

Many of the speakers, including supporters and detractors, came from far outside the neighbourhood affected. Several people said they wanted to see more projects like this in the district, with many seniors describing their desire for smaller homes with modest yards close to transit and amenities. Others, including a letter written by British Properties resident and businessman Jim Pattison, said they were afraid this project would be replicated elsewhere.

That's why Kathleen Glynn Morris showed up. Though she lives much farther west on Marine Drive, she said she was concerned about the erosion of single-family neighbourhoods.

"If people buy a single-family home in a single-family neighbourhood, then I don't think that it's fair after the fact to change the atmosphere of that community," she said. "Communities are what make this district."

Walker didn't buy that.

"I don't think developers are going to be banging on our door because if they look at the process, they're not going to want to come here," she said, noting how many meetings and changes have occurred to the project since it was first proposed as townhouses in 2006.

Others, including Evison and several speakers, noted the towers located a few blocks away and the location near Marine Drive.

Basil Davis lives in the affected neighbourhood and said there was no better location in the district.

"If this is passed over we might as well totally forget it and accept the fact that we're going to have nothing but monster houses, and we'll just have to put up with it," he said, one of three homeowners who live in the neighbourhood who spoke in support Monday.

Still, others in the neighbourhood wrote in opposition or signed a survey in opposition organized by Fulton Avenue resident Christine Cassidy, who also campaigned against the district's own laneway housing pilot project. When she spoke, her voice cracked with emotion.

"We don't need it, we don't want it," she said.

The proponent, Michael Geller, a Vancouver-based architect and developer, spoke to council and assured residents the project will look exactly like the images presented, and said he would work with staff to add two visitor parking spaces following concerns about cars. He said construction could begin in August, pending final approval of the bylaw and the granting of the necessary permits.

The project includes a community amenity contribution of $116,000.

While he admitted to being nervous as councillors took sides and residents spoke in opposition, he said he expected many would change their mind once they saw the project.

"This has happened many, many times over the years. Often afterwards people find they support it and like it," he said following the meeting.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/business/Split+council+approves+divisive+townhouse+project/4924549/story.html#ixzz1OskALT4I

Score one for infill housing in West Van
By Trevor Lautens, Special To North Shore News June 10, 2011 4:02 AM

Morality Officer Lou Kingerley of the Hamilton Police Service once asked a sad little waif who came to his professional attention: "Are you pregnant?"

She shyly whispered: "Well, I'm just a little bit pregnant."

West Vancouver on Monday became just a little bit pregnant with infill housing -- its enthusiasts/apologists Couns. Michael Evison, Trish Panz, Shannon Walker and Stanley Cup-level tiebreaker Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones in earnest denial that it would set a precedent, but would help the needy West Vancouver old folks (ha), and would contribute to saving the environment, and town hall's watchdogs would keep keen eye and tooth monitoring the effect that Michael Geller's stuffing nine homes into three Fulton Avenue lots will have on neighbourhoods, near or far.

On the Geller plan, Bill Soprovich, oldest councillor in the world or at least in the only important part, West Van, reminisced about "the little magic things of living" in West Van. Hey, Sop, you've just handed the ad guys a perfect sales line, like for paradisical sunny islands marketed as unspoiled to eager spoilers!

Panz favoured "moving forward." Guaranteed to paralyze most brains.

Also supporting Geller, Evison rejected claims of violation to the official community plan, declaring that clause H3 "allows something a little bit different."

Walker, whom I'd peg as a possible future mayoral candidate and who has the calm assurance helped by being the daughter of Chuck, whose Walker Place on Bellevue was assessed last year at $16 million, disbelieves that "the neighbourhood is under siege." She also wittily turned aside the view that developers would be heartened by Geller's successful application: "If (they) see the difficulties they won't be encouraged."

Opposed to the little-bit-pregnant team backing Geller's project were Couns. Soprovich, Michael Lewis and Michael Smith, all with long private business experience and unlikely candidates for closet socialism, and who, Constant Reader may well have guessed, this observer likens to white knights protecting the fair maiden's virtue.

Lewis: Odd, the people in favour "don't live in the neighbourhood. . . . The interests of the people in the immediate neighbourhood trump that of a real estate developer." Or should.

Smith: "We have failed in the fact that this community is divided. . . . We have to seek the right path, and this isn't it. ... The process (has been) driven not by council, but by a developer." He dissented, "reluctantly."

Citizen speakers at this second act of the public hearing were an interesting study. Maggie Pappas submitted that Geller's units would be "just what I want," repeating "affordable" or "affordability" several times. Down-sizers who think such small homes are affordable should check what they give up against what they get. After the dust has settled on the sales, legal, moving and utility re-connection costs, prepare for shock.

Another woman, frighteningly modern, in a household of three, repeatedly and proudly invoked these units' attraction for "The New Single Family" (and she pronounced the capitals).

George Pajari cited "inconsistencies" in two reports from the same consultant just two weeks apart, and urged another postponement of the public meeting until staff produced a substantial, written report.

A fascinating deposition: Opposed. The proposal pits neighbour against neighbour. Has a negative impact on West Van's character. Signed, Jim Pattison. Yup, that Jim Pattison, West Van's most famous and respected multi-billionaire.

But all was for nought -- a charade from the start, in my view. With councillors divided 3-3, Mayor Goldsmith-Jones, chief executive officer whose vote Geller would have good reason to bank on, let his ambitions slide in as easily as Roberto Luongo waves in the puck on one of his bad nights.

tlautens@telus.net
Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/news/Score+infill+housing+West/4924553/story.html#ixzz1OslJwhPc

If land re-zoning is allowed for the Hollyburn Mews proposal – which includes a duplex and a coach house on each of three lots – then the value of the land will increase. But by how much?
Laneway housing project splits West Van residents

By Rebecca Aldous - North Shore OutlookPublished: June 08, 2011 12:00 PM Updated: June 08, 2011 2:22 PM
After five years’ worth of planning, two packed meetings and 153 letters to the municipality, West Vancouver council has paved the way for an infill housing development.
The Hollyburn Mews proposal slates a nine-unit development on three lots in the 2000-block of Esquimalt Avenue — with a duplex and a carriage house on each property.
To allow for the additional housing in the single-family neighbourhood, the project required an Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment and rezoning of the three parcels. Monday night, council granted them a third reading.
“I am going to support this and I don’t expect this to be easy to support,” Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones said after a slew of supporters and opponents addressed council.
Proponents argued the need for alternative housing to keep the young and old in West Van; opposition warned the same amendment that allows this project could open the door to spot-zoning throughout single-family neighbourhoods.

The OCP was created to ensure a sense of predictability and restrict densification, said Coun. Bill Soprovich, who along with Coun. Michael Smith and Coun. Michael Lewis voted against the OCP amendment and rezoning.

“We are on a slippery slope,” Soprovich said, adding the project sets a precedent.
The majority of people are supportive of alternative housing, but West Van needs to have a proper process in place for such projects, Smith said, noting there is pressure on Ambleside and Dundarave for these types of developments.
Alternative housing projects aren’t going to pop up over night, Coun. Shannon Walker argued. Yes, Hollyburn Mews is a small step toward a more diverse housing range, but it has taken a long time for the proposal to move forward, she said, noting its been five years since the original draft. Although the entire block is now designated for denser housing, only the project’s three lots have received the rezoning required for carriage homes, she said. “I don’t think the neighbourhood is under siege.”

Last month, what caused a roadblock for Hollyburn Mews were questions regarding the project’s estimated dollar increase as a result of the rezoning. The rezoning would allow for more units on the lots than the original designation, essentially increasing the value of the properties. This process is called uplift, of which three quarters of the new value is paid to the municipality as a community amenity.

In three separate reports, dating back to February 2010, three different values were given as an appropriate uplift — $65,000, $595,000 and $155,000. The vast range created a stir, with Smith and Soprovich adjourning May’s public hearing to allow councillors the opportunity to review the variance.

In its latest report, the municipality indicated $155,000 as the most appropriate uplift. Hollyburn Mews’ proponent, Vancouver-based architect Michael Geller, has since made a voluntary community amenity contribution of $116,000, which meets the district’s policy target of 75 per cent of the uplift.

Geller will also dish out $55,185 for district infrastructure and give $7,800 to Metro Vancouver, said Bob Sokol, director of planning, lands and permits. Hollyburn Mews will contribute a net increase in property tax of $3,700, he added.
Addressing council, Geller said these lots are unique. They are close to the community and seniors’ centre, which makes them suitable for such a development, he noted.

raldous@northshoreoutlook.com

"40 Years On" at SFU

2011-06-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

My daughter Claire, the Social Worker, (although generally more 'social' than 'worker'), with Gord Price of the SFU City Program who organized the evening, in matching hats.

Architect Norm Hotson, a classmate at U of T from 1965 to 1969, with whom I have worked on many planning projects, Gord Price, Brent Toderian, Brent's partner Rene, and me at reception following the talk.

I know that it was a very indulgent thing to do...to invite 200 friends and colleagues to come and listen to 40 years of reminiscing on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of my start in architecture, planning and development. But hopefully it wasn't too dull, and I was so very delighted to see many people who have played an important part of my career and life...

Michael Audain, who I met in 1975 when he was an advisor to the BC Minister of Housing and has remained a life-long friend and colleague; Neil Griggs with whom I worked on the initial phase of the redevelopment of False Creek South Shore; Craig Waddell, formerly a prominent Vancouver architect who designed the now back in vogue Shaughnessy Place One, and went on to become President of Narod Properties...(he along with David Mooney brought me back to Vancouver in 1981); Peter Horwood a Narod colleague and now manager of Bridges Restaurant; Bruce Buchanan, former President and Vice-Chair of BC Packers who essentially set me up in business by inviting me to continue with the rezoning of the BC Packers waterfront lands in Steveston; Former Mayor Philip Owen who was involved with many of my milestone projects...Architects Norm Hotson and Tom Staniskis with whom I have worked on many projects.....and so many more.

I was also pleased to see current Director of Planning Brent Toderian who told me he gained some fascinating insights into past planning decisions, and the actions of past and present city planners...one of whom actually led the community opposition to our 1998 Langara Gardens proposal to build 350 rental housing units at no cost to the city!

It was great to have Stephen Mikicich, a senior community planner from West Vancouver in attendance, since he has been deftly guiding the Hollyburn Mews project through the West Vancouver community process. I was delighted to be able to report that it was approved on Monday night. And Robert Renger, with whom I worked so very closely in the creation of UniverCity.

The fact is, no good developments happen unless there is a genuine partnership and collaboration between the private sector....and the public sector. Trust me on this one!

Finally thanks to Gordon Price of the SFU City Program for helping to make the evening happen. As always, I was more interested in his comments than my own. We are lucky to have him in our city. And thanks to my family, who asked me not to thank them last night...especially my daughter Claire who showed up in matching Gord Price hat. (My other daughter wasn't in attendance since she's riding her bike down the Adriatic Coast.

And thanks to the almost 200 people who did attend, whether out of interest or a sense of obligation! It was a very special evening and I was delighted to have you there to share it with me

The presentation was videotaped, and can be found at http://www.sfu.ca/city/city_pgm_video037.htm

Hollyburn Mews Approved by West Vancouver Council

2011-06-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

On a night when the Canucks lost 8-1, Hollyburn Mews won 4-3 at West Vancouver Council. While I was disappointed it was not a unanimous vote in favour, I am very appreciative to Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, and Cllrs Michael Evison, Trish Panz and Shannon Walker (in alphabetical order) for their eloquent words and supporting votes.

To Cllrs Michael Lewis, Michael Smith and Bill Soprovitch, I again pledge to do what I can to create a beautiful development that will ultimately meet with a wide level of community support. Hopefully this will lead to other future examples of 'gentle densification' in appropriate locations around the District.

While I was surprised by the words of some of the people who spoke or wrote in opposition, it was very heartwarming to hear many of the people who came out in support. While I knew a few of them, most were unknown to me. Indeed, when many got up to speak, I tried to guess whether they would be in favour or opposed. Often I was wrong!

There were a few notable surprises last night. I must call out the 25 year UBC Law Professor who tried to convince Council that it was improper and perhaps illegal to be amending the Official Community Plan, as being requested to do. That's right. Speaking as if he was addressing a judge and jury, he talked about the sanctity of an OCP and how in his respectful opinion, Council did not have the authority to do what it was being asked to do....or something to this effect. I'll have to check the meeting tape to get this right, but all I could think of was I hoped this fellow was not teaching students at the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning.

The fact is, he was talking nonsense. Of course a municipal council has the authority to amend an OCP following certain appropriate procedures, and that was exactly what was happening.

He was not the only lawyer to oppose the project. At the previous night of Public Hearing, a letter from high profile lawyer Bill Baradino was read into the record. He too talked about the sanctity of the OCP and why it should not be altered without consent from the entire municipality.

There were two other surprising presentations. One was from a former senior officer of Intrawest who questioned whether adequate research had been done to verify there was a market for the proposed development. That's right! I mean, we're talking about nine smaller homes...1150 to 1625 square feet plus basements, two houses away from the Seniors' Centre; a block off Marine Drive; close to transit, shopping, parks...and he's urging Council not to approve the project since there's no proven market. (I'm not making this up.)

Nor am I making up the letter of opposition from a prominent West Vancouver businessman named Jim Pattison. Now, before I make too much of this, I need to confirm that it is from the same Jim Pattison who has delighted West Vancouver residents with his impressive display of Xmas lights, and is one of the most successful businessmen in Canada. But if it is, I need to find out why he would ever write such a letter! After all, how often does Jimmy Pattison oppose an OCP Amendment to permit a nine unit rezoning?

Council approved two different things...an OCP Amendment for the entire block; and a rezoning for the three lots upon which I was proposing to put six duplex units and three coach house units...all for sale. Those councillors voicing support noted that there has been very considerable discussion for decades in the community about the need for alternative housing choices. They expressed concern over the divisions in community opinion, as evidenced by the more than 150 pieces of correspondence, and many speakers in support and opposition. However, they spoke in favour of 'staying the course', both to provide new housing choices, and to create an 'on the ground' demonstration that will allow the community to assess one such approach.

Those councillors in opposition noted this had been a very divisive project and worried about the precedent that its approval might set. One wondered whether such decisions are best settled by referendum, rather than a vote of Council.

While voting against the proposal, the dissenting Councillors were oftentimes complimentary about the proposal before them. Councillor Smith noted he was "reluctantly voting against it, despite Mr. Geller's innovation and creativity". Councillor Soprovitch urged me to direct my extensive planning expertise towards a District-wide review of the opportunities afforded by all single family neighbourhoods, rather than focus on just this one block.

In response I can say that I will be pleased to work with staff and Council to futher explore how best to introduce 'gentle densification' into West Vancouver. While I agree with Councillor Smith that it may be appropriate to complete and evaluate this project and others within the block before considering other similar propositions, I agree there is a need to develop a more comprehensive, longer term plan that identifies which single family neighbourhoods might be first allowed to change over time.

This of course is not just a West Vancouver challenge. This is something that also needs to happen in Vancouver and other municipalities.

But for now, I will focus on Hollyburn Mews. I need to complete the working drawings, bank financing, contractor selection, and arrangements with West Vancouver to allow this development to proceed by September. I have already started to assemble a list of potential purchasers, and will continue to do so.

A few final thoughts.

Firstly, thanks to everyone who came out to speak or took the time to write a letter in support. Thanks also to my friends and colleagues who offered good advice on what to say and do, and not do. Thanks to the District staff who have been unbelievably diligent and careful to ensure that everything was done right.

In a previous post I noted that while this is a very small project, especially when compared with others with which I have been involved, and the projects many of my colleagues are undertaking, it is quite significant, especially within the context of West Vancouver. Last night it was noted that of 17 different proposals for 'infill development', only one single house proposal is still alive. Hollyburn Mews is the very first approval of its kind in West Vancouver, and to the best of my knowledge, the first infill proposal to replace an older home with a duplex and laneway coach house for sale anywhere in Metro. As I told the Council last night, I know a lot of eyes will be following this project, and that is part of its appeal for me. I promise to do what I can to make it a success.

Hollyburn Mews Public Hearing to Resume Monday June 9th at 7pm

2011-06-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hey. Isn't there a hockey game on Monday night? Yes there is, which is why I am a bit concerned that the opponents to Hollyburn Mews may outnumber the supporters when the Public Hearing resumes Monday night. But hopefully, Council appreciates by now that while there is a very organized and vocal opposition, primarily due to the potential 'precedent' this proposal may create, there is also very significant broad community support for this project.
The fact is, as the population ages, as one participant in the Community Dialogue on Neighbourhood Character and Housing so correctly pointed out, "the community has to change to stay the same"!

Moreover, Council is in a position to address the primary neighbourhood objection; namely this project will lead to a rash of undesirable rezonings in single family neighbourhoods elsewhere in the District. While saying yes to this modest proposal, it can say no to future OCP amendments until the community has the opportunity to evaluate whether this is an appropriate approach to 'gentle densification'. As an aside, this proposal, if approved, would add about 4,800 square feet of density...that's right...about the size of one of the newer West Vancouver single family houses.

In other words, if approved, this proposal will allow staff, Council and the community to evaluate an 'on the ground' demonstration, and then determine whether similar future projects should proceed.

But only Council can determine when and where.

One of the issues that resulted in the adjournment of the Public Hearing was uncertaintly over the appropriate amount of the Community Amenity Contribution. Over the past year, three different letters of opinion have been prepared by the appraiser, each for a different amount. Hopefully the latest staff report will clarify the situation.

The fact is, I have agreed to pay a CAC and DCC totalling approximately $171,000 for approximately 4,800 square feet of addtional area. This equates to $36 per square foot, which as most people involved in planning and development know is a very generous contribution.....especially since given the recent rise in single family lot prices, the value of the lots today may well be higher than the value after rezoning (assuming the rezoning is approved).

Details of the proposal can be found on the West Vancouver website at http://www.westvancouver.ca/Level3.aspx?id=27980 Esquimalt Avenue Infill Proposal. If you agree this is a worthwhile proposal that should be approved, please write to the mayorandcouncil@westvancouver.ca and share your thoughts.

Or, if you suspect Boston is going to win on Monday night, and you don't want to watch it happen, come to the Public Hearing at West Vancouver Council, starting at 7pm and avoid the disappointment. Some of us will be going to watch the first two periods in the nearby Recreation Centre...After the Council meeting we'll go to the pub, regardless of the outcome!

For more details, always feel free to contact me at geller@sfu.ca. Thanks for your interest in Hollyburn Mews.