Public Hearing – January 23rd, 2024 - 6:00pmUpdate : As city council was unable to finish the meeting before 10pm, they voted to recess and resume it on January 30th at 3pm. At that point, they will hear from public speakers, as well as debate, and decide the fate of Item #4. Items #1-3 were approved... Continue Reading →
September 12th, 2023 Public Hearing – A Nine Year Delay Wins East Van Rental Homes A Moment Of Silence
Public Hearing – September 12th, 2023 - 6:00pm In many ways, this public hearing feels like a warm-up for things to come, and not just because it’s the first one after city council’s annual summer vacation. That doesn’t mean small amendments like Item #1 aren’t important, given the needs of the educational programs at Vancouver... Continue Reading →
City Duo’s Secured Rental Policy Tracker – Find Your Next Home
Updated - May 19th, 2024 Since 2009, various policies have been crafted in Vancouver with the intent of incentivizing the construction of new rental homes as as very few have been built after the 1980s. While Hannah and I have written about some of these largely failed measures, this article is meant to track the... Continue Reading →
February 14th, 2023 Public Hearing – Heartbroken Seniors Go Overlooked Amid False Compromises
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 →
January 17th & 19th, 2023 Public Hearing – Forget The Kids! Won’t Somebody Please Think Of The Coyotes!?
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 →
June 28th-30th & July 14th & 25th, 2022 Public Hearing – Kitsilano Groundhogs Force Supportive Social Homes To A New Low
Public Hearing – June 28th, 2022Update July 14th, 2022 : After spending 22 hours over four days, city council has approved Items 1 & 2, and has heard from 225 speakers on Item 3. This marathon will resume on July 25th, at 3pm, and with at least 60 speakers remaining (estimated at 7 hours), you... Continue Reading →
June 14th, 2022 Public Hearing – Off With Their Heads! Vancouver’s Most Vulnerable Get The Royal Treatment
Public Hearing – June 14th, 2022With less than eight weeks to go before city council stops meeting until after the election, Hannah and I expected this would be a busy time. However, we never would have guessed seven public hearings would be scheduled within the next month, especially since they’ll draw literally hundreds of public... Continue Reading →
April 12th, 2022 Public Hearing – A Conscious Uncoupling Leads The Next Generation Of Moderate Income Rental Homes Back To Their East Van Origins
Public Hearing – April 12th, 2022With only ten public hearings scheduled before the civic election, Hannah and I expect this will likely be one of the last calm events this term. The pandemic certainly consumed much of our city council's ambitions, yet they still managed to spend plenty of time debating simple things like Item... Continue Reading →
January 18th, 2022 Public Hearing – Vancouver’s Ugly Duckling Looks To Get Jacked Up
Public Hearing – January 18th, 2022Anyone who grew up in a small town in the Canadian Prairies can vouch there’s not a lot to do, especially at this time of year. So it may sound hard to believe, but one of my loving wife’s favourite activities was heading to her hometown’s only 7-Eleven for Slurpees... Continue Reading →
November 16th, 2021 Public Hearing – Abcellera Hopes To Pause Vancouver’s Rezoning Quarantine
Public Hearing – November 16th 2021(Update – November 19th, 2021 – Despite relatively few speakers, city council only finished Items #1 & #2, meaning you still have time to comment on the rest, which will be heard on November 25th, 2021. While the last public hearing offered some unique stories, including one person’s recollection of... Continue Reading →