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Welcome to 2016
Everyone is talking about housing affordability in the Lower Mainland right now, and the corrosive effect out-of-control house prices are having on our local economy’s future.
It’s no surprise to those of us on the west side of Vancouver that there are serious issues in our housing market; however, for the first time we’re hearing from people in communities further afield. We’re hearing calls for reform on international investment from a city Councillor in Port Coquitlam. We’re getting complaints about realtor conduct in Victoria.
Just this week we learned about “real estate wholesaling”, an entirely unregulated real estate market conducted in part on Craigslist of all places. These con artists are duping seniors, have no regulatory oversight, and are exempt from money laundering controls representing “investors” who remain unidentified. Also this week we learned that 12.5% of all condos in Vancouver, a total of more than 10,800 homes (equivalent to 2-3 years of new construction) are vacant all year round.
Something has to change.
That’s why I’m hosting an emergency town hall on housing next Wednesday. The demand is so significant, we’ve had to relocate it from St. James, which “only” seats 350 people, to the Hellenic Hall on Arbutus Street which seats 700. Despite these massive numbers, we’re expecting the tickets for this free event to run out any day now. If you want to reserve your spot, please click here to RSVP: https://ebyemergencyhousingtownhall.eventbrite.ca/
Only those with RSVPs will be able to get in due to fire code concerns and overwhelming demand.
This may not be the biggest community meeting ever held by an MLA’s office, but it will be significant. I’ve invited housing expert and UBC Sauder School of Business professor Tom Davidoff to speak on his proposal to tax absentee speculators in our housing market. Eveline Xia, the founder of the #DontHave1Million movement will speak about her research and advocacy. The leader of the Opposition, John Horgan, will talk about our work in the legislature. City councillors, media, and other stakeholders will also be attending. Government MLAs and the Premier have been invited as well.
The point of the meeting is to hear your concerns and stories first hand, and to share updates on the province’s continued inaction on this pressing issue, as well as the plans for the Opposition, and me as the housing spokesperson for the Opposition, to keep the pressure on.
I hope you’re able to come to the meeting. A large presence at the meeting will help underline the message that we’re concerned about what’s happening and we need action. We’ll be talking about the solutions that we know exist – we just need the government to introduce the rules, audits, and taxes, that will help regulate rampant speculation and create affordability in our communities.
RSVP by clicking here: https://ebyemergencyhousingtownhall.eventbrite.ca
Yours truly,
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David Eby, MLA Vancouver-Point Grey
BC NDP Spokesperson for Housing, Translink, Liquor Policy, Gaming Policy and PavCo
david.eby.mla@leg.bc.ca
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Community Updates: Introducing MLAs, saving public places, and a move.
In the Official Opposition caucus, I was very happy to welcome two new colleagues to the legislature after the February 2nd by-election. Melanie Mark is our new representative in Vancouver-Mt Pleasant while Jodie Wickens is now the BC NDP MLA in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.
On Family Day, I hosted a press conference about the out-of-control real estate market in Vancouver calling for an independent investigation into the real estate market and realtor practices in the Lower Mainland, which resulted in our office being overwhelmed by correspondence from concerned community members in our neighbourhoods and across the province. I’m looking forward to our upcoming town hall on this issue so that we can help get the message out to the government that action is needed.
I’m thrilled that, after living under threat of closure for over a year, St. James Community Square is now safe, and will be a public facility enjoyed by community members for decades into the future. Due in large part to the hard work of community advocates and the St. James Society, with the active support and cooperation of the United Church, St James Community Square was purchased by the City of Vancouver on February 12.
In another remarkable development, you may also remember last year when large sections of the community gardens along the out-of-service Arbutus Rail Corridor were demolished by the owner, CP Rail. The bulldozing of these gardens was a great shock to our community and resulted in news coverage, petitions, and community advocacy. This week, the City announced they had made an agreement to purchase the corridor from Milton St near the Fraser River, to 1st Ave. The planning process will surely begin soon, and I look forward to working with you to make sure our community voice is heard in that process.
Lastly, the century old 'Little Yellow Schoolhouse' on the General Gordon Elementary School grounds has been granted another month and a half of reprive. The schoolhouse is facing an uncertain future as the old school was demolished for seismic upgrading, but the Vancouver School Board does not have the budget necessary to properly preserve the schoolhouse – in fact, they’re looking at closing a number of Vancouver schools due to current budgetary pressures following provincial government cuts. The extra time will be used by local heritage advocates working hard to raise the money to save the building.
On the personal side, our family has moved from our tiny one bedroom condo which was feeling increasingly crowded with Ezra running around, to renting a two bedroom with a lot more space on the UBC peninsula. We’ll miss Kitsilano badly, and someday we’ll be back, but we’re also really excited to join the UNA community, and be so close to the endowment lands and the facilities of UBC in this phase of our family life. Thank you to our old neighbours for being such wonderful friends and supports during a very busy year, and we look forward to meeting our new neighbours!
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