Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
456-496 Prior StAs our regular readers know, Hannah and I do our best to research the projects we write about, and on this occasion we may have gone overboard. Granted, it was a fluke that, as we sorted through my family’s home videos, we found John Daly’s 1989 report on the St. James Social Services... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – January 25th, 2022If we hadn’t included it in a title years ago, this public hearing would have been a great setup for a “Grand Slam” pun. In fact, if it wasn’t for a significant amount of public support, city council would never have considered the policy updates that allow for Item #1.... 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 – 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 →
4408-4488 Fraser St and 707-709 E 29th AveAs Hannah and I enter our fifth year of recapping our region’s urban growth review process, Vancouver city council’s vote to streamline the secured rental policy seemed like an early Christmas present. We’re hopeful this means the Urban Design Panel multi-hour reviews of these standard six floor rental... Continue Reading →
277-291 W 42nd AveAs city council grapples with whether to raise property taxes to fund a pandemic-hit budget, this rezoning application feels particularly senseless. After all, what public benefit is achieved by spending tax payer resources on such a lengthy in-depth examination when this project’s nearly identical sibling was approved only a few months ago... Continue Reading →
809 W 41st Ave - The ArbutusApart from a few large sites, the prescriptive guidelines of the Cambie Corridor Plan have generally succeeded in creating a long uniform, and frankly sterile appearance. Fortunately, there are the occasional exceptions, like one of Hannah’s favourite mid-rise buildings in Vancouver, the Aperture. While I’ve struggled with questions it... Continue Reading →
2406-2484 Renfrew StPerhaps it’s fitting this proposal is located almost adjacent to the first two buildings approved under the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Policy, as it's likely this program's dying gasp. At least that’s how some on city council (4:35-4:45) have described the effect of their colleague’s decision to ignore their staff’s advice to... Continue Reading →
625-777 Pacific StThis was easily the worst Urban Design Panel review I’ve seen, and I’ve likely attended more of them than anyone in Vancouver’s history. Granted, I am relatively young, as Hannah and I weren’t even adults when the proposal to reconfigure the Granville Loops was approved in 2002 (pg 5). Considering someone born then... 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 →
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