Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
Public Hearing – September, 28th, 2023 – 1:00pm After recently spending eight hours listening to people debate the merits of letting homeowners transform their dwellings into multiplexes, it’s no wonder city council scheduled a lighter agenda this week. At least that’s my guess, as Hannah thinks it might be related to the Director of Planning’s... Continue Reading →
5505-5585 Oak Street (Shawn Oaks) - (Archived Link)((Updated July 6th, 2023 - Corrected the post to note that it was city staff, and another separate applicant team who wanted this enquiry to be combined with their own.))On the night of this meeting, passionate people filled the Jewish Community Centre, gesturing at pictures, and discussing the... Continue Reading →
5505-5585 Oak Street (Shawn Oaks) - (Archived Link)((Updated July 6th, 2023 - reflected that it was city staff who wanted this enhanced rezoning process to be combined with another proposal.))Normally when we become aware of a pre-application open house, Hannah and I dive into the area’s history to create a more compelling article, instead of... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – February 14th, 2023 (Update February 16th, 2023 - Item #5 faced a stronger level of written opposition than expected due to efforts from the Italian Cultural Centre, and the Jericho Coalition. Although this didn't translate into a larger number of speakers, city council was still unable to finish this meeting, and will... Continue Reading →
Public Hearings – January 17th, 2023 & January 19th, 2023 After the dysfunction demonstrated at public hearings over the last four years, this week should come off as a nice palette cleanser. In fact it’s why Hannah and I felt comfortable combining Tuesday and Thursday night’s meetings into one summary, as it’s hard to imagine... Continue Reading →
950 W 41st Ave (DP-2022-00208) - Jewish Community Centre Phase OneOne might imagine securing commitments for tens of millions of dollars in federal, and provincial funding would be the biggest challenge the Jewish Community Centre's expansion and renewal would face. Of course, If there’s anything Hannah and I have learned since we attended its open... Continue Reading →
5812-5844 Cambie St (DP-2022-00210)Five years ago, when Hannah and I first attended an open house for a proposal at this site across from the Oakridge Centre, what we saw looked very different from today. Since then, the anger some felt about these changes has dissipated once the Cambie Corridor Plan’s Third Phase was approved in... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – July 7th, 2022It’s not as bad as flushing a toilet on a live stream, however our city council must be embarrassed by how Tuesday’s meeting ended. Too many ignored the mayor’s warnings to stay at their computers, with their webcams on to maintain quorum, bringing the night to an immediate end before... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – June 21st, 2022It’s somewhat fitting that the first item on this night’s agenda, a simple heritage designation, has been withdrawn, as this meeting is all about cutbacks, and lowered expectations. Certainly Hannah and I expected a far more robust response to the brick clad West End twin towers that comprise Items Two... Continue Reading →
Public Hearings – May 17th, 2022, and May 19th, 2022 With over 50 people already registered to speak on the Broadway Plan, it would be easy to forget there are three public hearings scheduled this month. So to simplify things, Hannah and I have combined this week’s zoning bylaw reviews into this post, and we’ll... Continue Reading →
City Duo 