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Dear Jericho Neighbours:
Late Friday afternoon our Provincial Government issued a press release about the Jericho lands. You can read the release for yourself at this link: http://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2013-2017/2016MTICS0004-000207.htm
The release contains some good, some troubling, and some very bad news about the provincial half of the Jericho lands.
Good news: The parcel will likely be developed as a coherent whole, rather than separate lots
First the good news. One of the major problems with a provincial half and a federal half of the Jericho lands was a threat that the properties would be developed, and rezoned, separately, rather than as a coherent whole.
As we heard from the City of Vancouver’s representative Heather Deal at the last West Point Grey Community Centre Annual General Meeting, the City has no ability to force different landowners to work together to coordinate planning processes.
Given that the First Nations coalition has an equity share in the federal half of Jericho, and now appears to be moving towards purchasing the entirety of the provincial half, this means that the City and the First Nations and the Canada Lands Company can work together to ensure a consistent planning process across the whole of the Jericho lands.
This is very good news.
Troubling news: No information about the process, or any caveats requiring community benefits
Now for the potentially troubling news. The press release provides no details about the sales process with the three First Nations, except to note that the receipt of a “letter of intent” from the First Nations is the first step for the First Nations leadership to “begin consultations with their communities to seek their support to develop a sales agreement.”
We don’t know whether a proposed price or terms for any sales agreement has been agreed to for the properties, and we don’t know whether any caveats with respect to the West Point Grey Academy lease, the West Point Grey Community Centre, a Francophone school as mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada, or any other caveat, are part of any proposed sale agreement between the First Nations and the provincial government.
There is simply no information available about where we are in the sales process, whether the land has already been sold, whether a price has been set, or whether any caveats on key community amenities have been put in place. This approach raises the distinct possibility of, for example, the province selling this land, and then having to buy a parcel back to build a Francophone school if the French School Board continues to be successful in their constitutional litigation against BC.
Bad news: No information about assumptions related to density on the site
As many of you know, a dispute between a developer who paid too high a price for provincial property, and the City (who refused to grant him the density he was seeking in a rezoning), resulted in the Little Mountain community being converted from a thriving low-income community into a derelict lot circled with chain link fencing.
We don’t know what density has been promised to the First Nations by the Province in any negotiations, or what density the Province and the First Nations are anticipating on the site based on the price proposed. All we know is that there will be, or have been, appraisals, but not what assumptions the appraisals will be based upon. We are simply told: “Any final sales agreement with the First Nations would be based on fair market value for the land as determined by independent appraisals.”
Worst news: No affordable housing measures by the province
My worst fear for the Jericho Lands remains that it will be built over with luxury condos unaffordable to people who live and work in the Lower Mainland, condos which will sit empty as part of some international investors’ hedge against uncertainty in their local stock market.
Unfortunately, the Provincial government has sent a clear message of their affordability strategy for the site – they plan on doing nothing. Minister Andrew Wilkinson specifically notes only that “Releasing these lands for potential development could help improve housing supply in Vancouver by increasing available land for development.”
I don’t think there’s a person in British Columbia who believes that the Lower Mainland real estate market will build anything but unaffordable luxury condos on the provincial Jericho lands if the Province doesn’t get involved directly.
Certainly BC’s First Nations are in no place to fund remedies for the provincial government’s failures in the real estate market in the Lower Mainland by donating their very limited resources to the larger cause of provincial housing affordability, instead of simply building out the site with the housing most likely to sell at the best possible price.
My worst fears seem on the verge of realization – a lack of provincial government intervention will certainly lead to the majority of new units built being luxury condos marketed on the international market, totally unaffordable to local residents who work and earn wages in the Lower Mainland.
That the provincial half of Jericho will become an investor ghost town instead of an innovative, thriving community filled with families, seniors, and people who live and work in our city is an alarming and increasingly likely outcome of the Province’s approach to date. This press release confirms my fears, shared by many of you in the community.
Community consultation by the province: A firm “No”
With respect to consultation by the province before the sale of the provincial land, Minister Andrew Wilkinson and I had the following exchange, on the record, in July of 2013:
D. Eby: Mr. Chair, I would take this opportunity to ask the minister — if that does change, if the ministry does start to look at disposing of [the Jericho lands] — that the minister commit to a full consultation process with the Point Grey community. The West Point Grey Community Association operates a community centre. Obviously, the Point Grey Academy operates out of there. A lot of kids go to school there; their parents live in the neighbourhood.
Also, the community has a lot of thoughts about the kinds of development that could go there: environmentally friendly, that would improve affordability but that would also fit in with the character of the neighbourhood.
So I hope the minister will commit to a full consultation process before disposing of the property.
Hon. A. Wilkinson: This piece of property is well known to many of us, and I think the member opposite has accurately summarized the shortlist of those who would have opinions on it and would be interested in any issues that arise or any plans that are formulating. I expect there will be fulsome consultation if there is any progress on any plan to do anything differently, other than the status quo, with the Jericho lands.
In his press release on Friday, Minister Wilkinson confirmed the government’s flip flop on his unambiguous commitment to our community.
He said that the province won’t follow the Federal example of doing consultation with our community before selling, but will instead rely on the City of Vancouver and perhaps First Nations to do all of the consultation after selling: “Any and all rezoning and development plans will follow the mandated consultation process established by the City of Vancouver.”
Other media
You can find other stories about the recent developments on the Jericho provincial lots at these links:
Vancouver Courier – “First Nations announce intention to buy Jericho lands” http://www.vancourier.com/news/first-nations-announce-intention-to-buy-provincial-jericho-lands-1.2171976
Vancouver Sun – “First Nations sign letter of intent to buy Province’s Jericho lands” http://www.vancouversun.com/business/first+nations+sign+letter+intent+province+jericho+lands/11716910/story.html
Global – “First Nations plan to buy remaining Jericho lands from BC Government”
http://globalnews.ca/news/2515539/first-nations-plan-to-buy-remaining-jericho-lands-from-b-c-government/
CBC – “Three First Nations plan to buy Jericho Land parcel” http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/jericholands-firstnations-b-c-government-1.3447095
Moving forward
I will be raising these and other issues with the Minister responsible in the coming weeks in the legislature during the Budget estimates process as I do each year in relation to Jericho. Please make sure that you are on my Jericho e-mail list to get notification when I post video and transcripts of the government’s response to my questions.
If you have a question you’d like me to raise about the Province’s plans for the Jericho lands, please e-mail my office at david.eby.mla@leg.bc.ca.
Yours truly,
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