Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
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21st, 2022It’s somewhat fitting that the first item on this night’s agenda, a simple heritage designation, has been withdrawn, as this meeting is all about cutbacks, and lowered expectations.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 →
1075 Nelson St (DP-2021-00589)To say this proposal has drawn plenty of interest would be an understatement, as it played a significant role in Vancouver landing the International Passive House Conference in 2023. Even city staff acknowledged a project of this scale would further enrich local knowledge, and help build a supply chain for future projects... Continue Reading →
1075 Nelson St (DP-2021-00589)As I knew the Urban Design Panel was scheduled to review the world’s tallest passive house building, I was ready to be amazed when I walked into city hall’s Joe Wai Meeting Room. Sure enough, I was greeted by the most impressive scale model I’ve seen in months. It was only after... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – December 9th, 2021With the budget set, normally this public hearing would help city council ease into a winter break that lasts until the middle of January. However this year is different, as there’s plenty of unfinished business left to settle, including the fate of the Secured Rental Policy. Ironically, that protocol was... Continue Reading →
1065 Harwood St & 1332 Thurlow St /and/ 1066- 1078 Harwood StWhen these twin towers were first revealed in 2017 (1, 2), we didn’t see much activity at their open house. Then last year, city council permitted them to switch from offering strata homes to market and non-market rental housing, and now Hannah and I... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – October 12th, 2021With the ongoing pandemic, and the tragedy of the decades of abuse at the residential schools brought fresh to light, Hannah and I can understand why some may not feel like celebrating today. That said, the grief we’ve experienced over the last year has taught us the importance of taking... Continue Reading →
1616-1698 W Georgia St (DP-2021-00409)I imagine whoever forgot to let this applicant team know the previous item on this Urban Design Panel meeting’s agenda had been cancelled felt a little embarrassed during the 20-minute delay that followed. That this world-renowned architect was willing to drop what they were doing to log in well ahead of... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – July 6th, 2021 I think Hannah would laugh at anyone that would call me an optimist, but I do believe that though the arc of the moral universe is long, it bends towards justice. Lately, there are many reasons to doubt that, as last month a small addition to a public school... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – April 13th, 2021One has to feel a little bit bad for our city council, as this meeting comes not even a week after they finally finished the public hearing that started on March 11th. Granted, Hannah and I know to a certain extent this is self-inflicted, as they often engage in a... Continue Reading →
City Duo 