CBC The National October 10, 2018 - Putin's Paradise with Chris Brown

Seven years ago this week I was working in Moscow and had a call from Chris Brown at CBC. He had heard I was giving a talk to the Strelka Institute and wanted to know if they could film it. Of course I said, thinking they never film my SFU lectures, but they are interested in what I have to say to Russians. As you will see if you watch this news storey that appeared on CBC's The National, not only did they film a portion of my lecture but Chris and I got to wander around the city and explore how the city had been transformed.

While I do not want to celebrate anything Putin does, (I despise what he's doing in Ukraine and elsewhere) but there is no doubt that he has created some very attractive areas in Moscow. While I was in Russia to discuss what lessons they can learn from Vancouver, as I tell Chris there are lessons we can learn from them when it comes to creating beautiful lively pedestrian streets.

You can watch Chris Brown's presentation here. https://www.cbc.ca/news/national-moscow-urban-renewal-putin-1.4847400 and here https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.4858141

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CTV Interview regarding Vancouver's forthcoming Official Development Plan - October 8, 2025

Yesterday morning a got a call from a very delightful Demetra Maragos, a journalist with CTV. She was doing a story about the City of Vancouver's recent request for feedback on its forthcoming Official Development Plan. While I was aware that Vancouver had approved an overall development framework called the Vancouver Plan in July 2022, and was now required to prepare an Official Development Plan by June 2026, until I received Demetra's call, I wasn't aware that the draft ODP had been issued for review.

If you were also not aware of this, you can find the latest document here: https://syc.vancouver.ca/projects/odp/draft-vancouver-odp-eng-full.pdf It is a 104 page beautifully illustrated document with a lot of information. 

This morning I received notification that CTV has published the short TV spot that aired last night on the 6pm news. It includes my comments along with those of Tom Davidoff. 

I should note that my comments were somewhat abbreviated and while it appears I am suggesting the city is listening to developers more than the public, this was my poorly worded way of noting that given both the provincial government legislation and the recent Council decision regarding the Broadway Plan there will no longer be a requirement for Public Hearings if a future project is in accordance with the new ODP. 

I therefore urged CTV viewers to study this document and share their comments with the city. Although I must confess, I suspect most residents will not take the time to do this. Indeed, I suspect most architects and planners won't do this either. But you should!

Below is the CTV segment on this matter and here is the link to the video. https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/city-of-vancouver-asks-for-feedback-on-official-development-plan/

The City of Vancouver is looking for the public’s feedback on the draft of the Vancouver Official Development Plan, also known as the city’s “ODP.” This plan has the ability to shape the city for decades to come, with guidelines that span to 2050 and beyond.

The ODP is in development in response to a new provincial requirement to have a citywide plan in place by June 2026. Retired architect and real estate planning consultant Michael Geller told CTV News it’s about time for a plan like this.

“Virtually every other municipality has an overall development plan,” Geller said. “Until now, Vancouver has never really ever had one.”

A large portion of the report focuses on the city’s Generalized Land Use Designations also known as “GLUs.” The strategy behind GLUs is to promote growth across various neighbourhoods, trying to strike a balance between public amenities, housing and employment. GLU designations range from parks and open spaces to mixed-use highrise buildings.

While the ODP is not an explicit rezoning policy and does not guarantee approval of specific developments, it will be implemented over time through strategic plans. The report outlines that rezonings will be spearheaded by private property owners or the city.

“I don’t think there’s one part of the city that isn’t expected to change,” said Geller.

The ODP will be reviewed every five years, and the city is asking for the public’s feedback on its current draft until Oct. 29. Geller hopes that all voices will be heard equally.

“The city is trying to be responsive to the concerns, certainly of the development community. If anything, perhaps not as responsive to the concerns of neighbourhood residents,” said Geller.

CTV News reached out to Tom Davidoff, an associate professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, about the rollout of GLUs.

“There is an issue that if you do development one site at a time, it can be hard to plan infrastructure,” Davidoff said. “There are a lot of expensive infrastructure needs in the city and the region, and so it certainly does make sense to unroll major upzonings neighbourhood by neighbourhood for that reason.”

He added if the right projects are approved, it could help the city’s bottom line.

“I think if the city plans infrastructure improvements, that’s going to make land in certain areas inevitably more valuable as it’s better-served land,” he said. “There’ll be more demand to build towers.”

Related Stories

CKNW interview with Jas Johal - October 6, 2025

On Monday I was invited to join Jas Johal at CKNW to discuss a recent report by the Missing Middle Initiative, an Ottawa-based Think Tank, that estimated that 20,000 development and constrution industry jobs could be lost in 2025. 

While I wasn't aware that the interview was being filmed, I just received this YouTube Video which is now online. I don't dare watch it in case I am picking my nose during the interview. Furthermore, while I enjoy listening to Jas, I have a difficulty listening to what I have to say. But I am told it was an interesting discussion. Perhaps you want to decide for yourselves.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFYYphVM9Mc

Using Lateral Thinking to solve Housing problems - Vancouver is Awesome October 7, 2019

Edward de Bono

Malcolm Gladwell

Six years ago I wrote this article for the Vancouver Courier on alternative approaches to addressing the housing crisis. Since the crisis hasn't gone away, I am reposting it and think you'll be intrigued, especially by the ending.

We need to use ‘lateral thinking’ to solve Vancouver’s housing problems

Evening with author Malcolm Gladwell inspires thoughts on city’s affordability crisis

Michael GellerOct 7, 2019 12:33 PM

“Lateral thinking” is defined as taking a more creative approach to finding solutions by viewing a problem in a new and unusual way that is not immediately obvious. The city should take this approach to housing, says columnist Michael Geller. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Last week, I attended the Vancouver Writers Fest evening featuring Malcolm Gladwell in conversation with Lisa Christiansen.

I have been a big fan of Gladwell’s writing ever since his book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” was published in 2000.

You can find my account of the evening HERE.

Gladwell’s books are often about solving problems using “lateral thinking.” For those not familiar with the term, it is a more creative approach to finding solutions by viewing a problem in a new and unusual way that is not immediately obvious.

Columnist Michael Geller recently went to see author Malcolm Gladwell as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest. Photo Michael Geller

For example, if you’re not strong enough to remove a metal lid from a glass jar, pour hot water on it.

The term lateral thinking was invented in 1967 by Edward de Bono, an English physician, psychologist and author. I learned about him while living in England and have read many of his 57 books, which have greatly influenced my thinking.

One example was my 1971 university thesis that proposed the creation of affordable housing by eliminating the cost of land. How? By building temporary housing on vacant lots using factory-built modular structures that could be relocated to other vacant sites.

While this idea has recently gained currency, lateral thinking could help us solve other housing affordability challenges facing Vancouver.

Today, there is considerable discussion on building more affordable housing. But why not also explore how to make better use of the housing we already have?

There are thousands of government subsidized family-sized homes in Vancouver. Over the years, families have moved out and others have moved in. But in some instances, residents remain even though their families have grown up and left. The result is a single person living in a large unit.

These residents are reluctant to leave, especially when there are no smaller apartments available in the complex.

In 2012, the British government tried to solve a similar problem by imposing a “bedroom tax.”

By most accounts, it didn’t work.

Some preferred solutions could be to offer residents a rent supplement to leave or obligate them to share their home with another single person until smaller homes become available.

This would free up a limited amount of subsidized family housing. However, there are other ways to make more efficient use of existing housing.

Recently, the Vancouver and B.C. governments attempted to free up rental units through their so-called Empty Homes and Speculation and Vacancy taxes. Many have rightly questioned how much affordable rental housing has been created.

They have also questioned the fairness of taxing homes that are not empty — just occupied less than six months a year.

Meanwhile, it is estimated there could be up to 800,000 empty bedrooms across Metro Vancouver.

While I most certainly am not going to suggest governments now tax these empty bedrooms, they could assist non-profit organizations and private companies trying to match those seeking affordable housing with those who have empty bedrooms or vacant basement suites.

Last week, I received an email from someone in Salt Lake City, Utah working on a start-up that would match homeowners with empty bedrooms and renters seeking rental housing. He saw that I had been promoting this concept for years and wondered why it hadn’t taken off.

I referred him to Nesterly.io — a new Boston start-up that appears to be successfully helping seniors with extra accommodation to connect with younger people seeking housing and willing to help out around the house.

I also told him about Empty Nests, a new Vancouver-based social enterprise initiative.

It, too, is designing a secure and trustworthy computer-based program to connect households with spare rooms and millennials needing affordable housing and able to help with chores.

I also told him about HomeSharers, a 1980s program initiated by former Vancouver alderwoman Marguerite Ford that successfully matched seniors with seniors until its CMHC funding dried up, and Hollyburn Family Services ongoing efforts to create a seniors’ home sharing registry on the North Shore.

When he asked me why such a worthwhile concept has not taken off, I told him to think about how long it took before they started to put wheels on luggage.

Now I am wondering how Malcolm Gladwell might respond.

@michaelgeller

geller@sfu.ca

 

 

 

Deferring Property Taxes - Vancouver Sun October 4, 2025

Last week I received a telephone call from Dan Fumano of the Vancouver Sun. He was writing a story about deferring property taxes and came across several articles I had written, and media interviews I had given in years gone by on why I thought the current provincial program was absurd and should be improved. 

My primary concern was that as designed, while the program did benefit house rich/cash poor seniors, (and perhaps some younger families) too often the beneficiaries were well-to-do people in their 50s and 60s who didn't really need government help. However, they were smart enough to realize they could borrow cheap money at prime MINUS 2% for investment purposes or other discretionary spending.

While the cost to the government was essentially the spread between its borrowing rate and prime minus 2% along with administrative costs, I thought that if the government wanted to address housing affordability with cheap money, there were far better ways to do so. (For example, lend the cheap money to first time buyers needing a second mortgage.)

Also, why set the age threshold at only 55? Why charge families with children a higher interest rate than well-do-do 55-year olds?. Why charge simple interest, rather than compound interest like other provinces do, especially when the government must pay compound interest on its borrowings? .

Dan Fumano undertook quite a bit of research in putting the story together. He discovered wealthy homeowners living in $20 million plus homes who, like me, were taking advantage of the program even though they didn't need the money  At the same time, he learned from the Seniors' Advocate that many seniors who could truly benefit from the program were not even aware of it.

You can read Fumano's story here:https://www.pressreader.com/canada/vancouver-sun/20251004/281509347375298?srsltid=AfmBOorfVaf2gY1mCjrXBpQ-lGBW1oBzntXf2-u0kYiuS7fPEzWGLSmI

Feedback. While many agreed with me, other people on social media questioned and mocked my concerns. One Facebook follower suggested I was simply seeking headlines. He was right. 

As you can see below, my concerns have warranted headlines in the past and as a result there has been increased program awareness and take up, both from those who need it and those who don't. But surprisingly, my concerns have not prompted the provincial government to address what I consider to be absurd aspects of the program.

Hopefully this new article will inform more seniors who could benefit about the program and prompt the government to finally make improvements, especially at a time when deficits are growing and housing affordability is a major concern for so many.

Here are links to previous media and columns on the topic including comments from David Eby.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/property-tax-deferral-michael-geller-1.3391775

https://globalnews.ca/news/2438650/how-to-legally-defer-paying-your-property-taxes-in-british-columbia/

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/courier-archive/opinion/deferring-property-taxes-ignites-controversy-3024996

A fundraising event in support of Hogan's Alley Society - September 27th featuring artwork by Norm Shearing

For many years, any success enjoyed by Michael Geller & Associates Limited (MGAL) was attributable to my employees. These included Chris Robertson, now a senior official in Vancouver's Planning Department, and Norm Shearing, who joined me with an impressive background as an architect and developer. 

When MGAL closed its doors in 1999 so I could join the SFU Communit Trust, Norm went off to far more significant roles as Director of Planning for the Grand Bahama Development Company, VP Development Parklane Homes, President of Dockside Green in Victoria, and eventually president of Open Form Properties, the real estate arm of the Open Road Auto Group. You can read more about his background here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norm-shearing-690a1152/?originalSubdomain=ca

Throughout his career, Norm has also been very dedicated to community and charitable activities. His latest endeavour is organizing a fundraising evening in support of Hogan's Alley. In preparation, over the past year, he has created 100 paintings which will be distributed at the event.

As noted in the evening announcement, "this evening is about more than art. It’s about bringing people together — through dance, through creativity, through community. The best part? Proceeds go directly to Hogan’s Alley Society, an incredible, Black-led nonprofit building community and preserving  Vancouver’s Black history to create a vibrant, inclusive future. 

By attending, you’re not only enjoying an unforgettable night of art, wine, and music — you’re helping rebuild a community that was once erased from Vancouver’s landscape. Together, we can celebrate resilience, joy, and belonging.

It’s going to be a lively night of art, music, dancing, great food, and an open bar. Every ticket admits TWO guests and includes a limited-edition art print to take home — so it’s basically a night out and a piece of art in one.

I’d love for you to join us, and if you have another couple you think would enjoy it, please bring them along!  — there are only 100 tickets being sold so if you wish to join us, please act quickly before they are all gone through our CanadaHelps link here 

I will be attending to enjoy this fun and impactful evening.  I hope I might see you there too. You can buy tickets here. (2 tickets for $350 donation.) https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/openroad-foundation/events/openroad-foundation-presents-100-paintings-for-hogans-alley/

BC's Seniors Housing Crisis - What to do about it - Jeff Moss Executive Director JSABC

During my initial years at CMHC, I spent a lot of time addressing the housing needs of seniors. In Ottawa I participated in the drafting of the CMHC publication 'Housing the Elderly' and in Vancouver reviewed plans and recommended loans for several 'independent living' projects for seniors developed by non-profit organizations. 

In those days, CMHC funded some long-term care facilities, but did not fund extended care facilities that were the responsibility of the provincial health programs. Care facilities were never combined with independent living homes.

Within CMHC I often questioned longstanding policies and urged management to try out new approaches to housing. Eventually, I convinced management to undertake a demonstration project that would combine independent living and long-term care in the same building. The result was Haro Park, https://www.haropark.org/ which today is described as a 'campus of care' in the West End. I have vivid memories of working with a delightful lady named Elizabeth Bristowe who was with the Ministry of Health at the time, who helped make it happen.

While at CMHC I noticed that when it came to suitable seniors housing, you were better offf being poor, since only governments were building housing designed for seniors. The private sector ignored this market, other than for extended care facilities. When I left CMHC I  planned to become involved with private sector development of alternative forms of housing for seniors. I joined the long-range planning committee of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital, a facility catering primarily to the Jewish Community. I attended conferences to learn about 'Congregate Care' and 'Assisted Living' projects and for a while was invited by CMHC to review private sector proposals for congregate living. My firm was subsequently involved in several new independent living and care projects, including a condominium for Jewish seniors on Oak Street between West 42nd and 43rd.

I happily gave many talks on how to design and develop different kinds of accommodation for seniors until one day when I met a gentleman named Lloyd Dettweiler. He told me, in a very nice way, that while it was noble to promote new types of housing developments for seniors, what most seniors really wanted was to stay in their own homes. After all, for one thing, once they gave up their larger home for a one-bedroom apartment, their children and grandchildren would no longer come over for family dinners. While I might include communal dining rooms in my projects, this was not the same thing.

Aging in Place in a Safe Home. In subsequent years as I and my friends have aged, I realize that Lloyd was right. While many seniors are ready to move into a new, single-level apartments, a significant number want to stay in their longstanding homes as long as possible, especially if they can be modified to be more suitable. It was in this context that I recently wrote an article about modifying a home to make it more suitable for aging for Senior Line magazine, which is published by the Jewish Seniors Alliance of British Columbia (JSABC), an organization on whose board I serve as a director. You can read the article on page 30 here https://jsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SL_Vol321_Summer2025-Final-Web-2.pdf

Jeff Moss is the Executive Director of JSA and has considerably more experience in addressing seniors issues than me. Which is why I was most interested in an op-ed he recently wrote for The Independent, a newspaper serving the Jewish community. Not only does he think its important to allow seniors to age in place, like Lloyd Dettweiler, he thinks its good policy, especially given the housing crisis facing BC seniors. I think he offers a lot of good analysis of the current situation and some sound recommendations on what needs to be done. I'm therefore pleased to reprint his article below. It is well worth reading.

Seniors are being left behind

Investing in home care is not just compassionate, it’s economically sound, argues Jeff Moss, executive director of Jewish Seniors Alliance of British Columbia. (photo from yahhomecare.com)

Let’s stop pretending our seniors are a priority. The proof is out there to show they aren’t. Despite all the platitudes from politicians about “valuing elders” and “aging with dignity,” the truth is glaring. Successive British Columbia governments have been abandoning their commitment to seniors and punting the issue down the road for 30 years or more. We have long known of the coming bubble in seniors that might risk the Canada Pension Plan. How can we not have planned for the needs of seniors’ care and support when we all knew this crisis was coming? The cost to us all is financial, moral and systemic.

The crisis is no longer looming, it’s here. Right now, more than 3,000 seniors are languishing on waitlists for long-term care (LTC) beds. By 2040, that shortfall is projected to balloon to 30,000 beds. The government’s response? Studies and painfully slow progress. Since 2020, only 380 of the promised 3,300 new LTC beds have been built. This is critical, with ramifications we experience today.

The Jewish Seniors Alliance of British Columbia is actively lobbying the provincial government to make changes that would increase access to home support immediately. JSABC’s seniors-led committee has created short videos sent to politicians to further raise awareness of the issue. Using the videos as a platform, JSABC has met with more than 20 MLAs from across the political spectrum, including Minister of Health Josie Osborne and Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care Susie Chant. Meetings with the Conservative critics for health and seniors have also been successful.

These meetings have not amounted to change. Yet.

While the Ministry of Health is reviewing bed planning to ensure “value for public investment,” seniors are dying in hospital hallways and are also trapped in expensive alternate level of care (ALC) beds with nowhere to go. And seniors are dying at home, too, lonely, isolated and lacking the support they need. This is not a system that’s strained, it’s a system collapsing under the weight of political inertia. Well-meaning as they are, our elected officials are paralyzed by changing economics and the hope the systemic hurdles will just go away. 

It doesn’t take a policy expert to understand the math. Building LTC beds at $1 million each is unsustainable. The Office of the Seniors Advocate estimates it would take $17 billion over the next decade to catch up. This massive number reflects how far we’ve fallen behind – not because it’s an impossible investment, but because successive governments have delayed, deferred and deflected. Action needed to be taken at least 15 years ago, not five years in the future.

Our seniors are left behind facing a decision between paying for rent, food or home support – having all three is a luxury many can’t afford. But there is a solution staring us in the face: radically expand free home support services.

Most seniors want to age in their own homes. By providing essential services – housekeeping, meal preparation, personal care – free of charge, we can drastically reduce demand on LTC and hospital beds. This isn’t a pipe dream: Ontario and Alberta already provide an hour of daily home support to seniors at no cost.

In British Columbia, a senior earning $30,000 a year could be forced to pay up to one-third of their income just to receive basic home support. It’s a shameful policy that penalizes seniors for wanting to live independently and it crowds our LTC homes with people that can be better served at home. Moving to LTC is a personal choice that many families and individuals need to make, but it should not be a forced choice to save money because the cost of care at home is too high.

Investing in home care is not just compassionate, it’s economically sound. Home support reduces hospital readmissions, prevents premature institutionalization and frees up desperately needed acute care beds. British Columbia has the highest rate of overpopulation of LTC beds by those who could be cared for at home with just a couple of hours of care daily. Yet, every year, reports from the Seniors Advocate highlight the same issues and, every year, the gap between need and availability widens. We advocate that family doctors be able to prescribe home support for seniors to reduce the burden on our overworked social workers.

The Ministry of Health boasts of past “recommendations adopted” and new federal-provincial funding agreements, but where is the action plan? Where are the benchmarks, timelines and deliverables? Families are being forced to shoulder caregiving burdens they are ill-equipped for, quitting jobs, exhausting savings and compromising their own health because the government has downloaded its responsibilities onto them. The toll on family caregivers is an immense burden not accounted for in traditional studies.

The impact of these failures on family caregivers is felt cross-culturally, impacting families as they try to support aging loved ones. Family support leading to burnout is felt equally among the Jewish population as it is across multiple faith and cultural backgrounds.

The failure to invest in home support and community-based care isn’t a policy debate – it’s a moral failure. If we continue down this path, we will soon see wards filled with seniors waiting to die, while the promised LTC beds are perpetually “under review.” The backlog will grow, hospitals will become gridlocked, and the human cost will be immeasurable.

Additional study is meaningless when there is no sense of urgency, no detailed plan and no political will to make the bold decisions needed now. The ministry’s token investments – $354 million over three years and a $733 million federal agreement – are a drop in the ocean compared to what’s needed. Without a clear commitment and path to expanding home support now, every new bed built will still leave us desperately behind.

We cannot allow this crisis to deepen for another 15 years while seniors suffer as political collateral. The government must:

1. Immediately make home support services free and universally accessible.

2. Develop a transparent LTC expansion plan with real timelines beyond 2030.

3. Set measurable wait-time reduction targets for LTC placement.

4. Increase community-based respite and adult day programs to relieve families.

5. Provide public accountability with regular progress reports and public data.

British Columbians need better. Seniors deserve better. If we don’t act now, the future will be one of overcrowded hospitals, overwhelmed families and government scrambling to explain why it didn’t act sooner.

The time for reports is over. It’s time for action. 

Jeff Moss is executive director of Jewish Seniors Alliance of British Columbia.