With a government that has slowly evolved to show its true nature, a mix of "social justice warriors" and "autocratic developer lovers", one has to wonder how this many headed monstrosity can be reigned in or stopped. And it is a monster, no question. But these things must be said, and kudos for keeping up the battle for truth amidst this race to the bottom bearing the flag of "progress". If this is progress I'm not in favour!
Let's face it, Horgan's and Eby's NDP is Vision Vancouver Provincial and the current Vancouver City council is Vision Vancouver second coming. Both are purely developer's parties with MLA's and Councillors puppets of big money.
The Vancouver's Vision 2nd Coming's assault on the Parks Board is merely to free up more land for land speculators and land developers. Eby will guarantee this.
Remember this Trudeau the Younger made Horgan ambassador to Germany, a man with absolutely no diplomatic skills and one wonders what big favour Horgan did to get this plum job. This was clearly a quid pro quo for services rendered.
Eby is a Christie Clark clone and like it or not, will set out to make metro Vancouver a shit-hole to ensure big profits for the very few.
I just sent this to our local paper and it was printed - The Curmudgeon Laureate strikes again!
The Editor,
I see in today's paper that Tsawwassen will be falling victim to the "Vancouver Disease", by allowing high rise condos and towers. A profit windfall for land speculators and land developers; a tax windfall for the city; but a fiasco for those looking for affordable housing.
This is the density game: Commercial and residential land are up-zoned to allow higher densities; affordable accommodations are torn down or "renovated, leading to renovictions; as property values increase, so do taxes; traffic congestion and those who cannot afford the higher rents are left to the squalor of the streets or tent cities.
Premier Eby is playing the density game because his chief advisor is a former Vision Vancouver Councillor who championed the density game in the city resulting in huge profits for speculators and developers; demovictions and less affordable housing.
The developers of high rise condos and towers will keep the price far too high, so only reasonably monied people can even afford the units. They will ask for more density to produce more towers and line their own pockets with the extra profit. When confronted by cities and the public about not providing housing for 3/4 of the population, developers will look you square in the face and say, “that’s not my job, that’s the government’s job!”
By playing density game, Delta council will sent in motion, higher taxes, more homeless, and general dystopia by the the young who cannot afford to live in the community they grew up in.
Despite the hype and hoopla about high rise condos and towers, the end result will be "buyers remorse" and a feeling of being conned by the sellers of density snake-oil.
- I don't think the current City Council has any idea what the Parks Board does, or the complexity of services that they provide. I worked for them for 4 years.
- I have had to deal with the City on a small development in the last 2 years, also the Parks Board. Give me the easy access to the Parks Board, quick decision, anytime rather than the chaos and delays which were the City.
- Who actually believes that there is any cost savings in having a politically appointed Board that will do what the Mayor wants. If savings were the criteria, we should get rid of the Council.
- City of Vanc. high land values and rents (although my London daughter thinks they are very cheap) are a success story. It is because of our planning processes that has made it so desirable. Nowhere else in the world would consider this a bad thing. Most Cities would love to have our success.
- You can reduce land and rent values in only 2 ways. Subsidies, or ruining the place so that prices go down. Unfortunately, if prices go down, no one wil invest in housing. The private sector invests and can get financing when the market is stable or rising so their efforts may have the opposite result.
Thanks for posting this, Brian. I have been supporting my favourite BCNDP MLA before she ever became one, all the way back to 2017. Financially, social media-y and with friends.
I told her this week that as a result of the Kahlon-spearheaded amendments to the Housing Act, I will be reducing my support, and transferring it to the BC Greens, who are the only group with a realistic housing strategy.
I believed in David Eby. I’m very sorry to have been so wrong.
Thanks for another thoughtful piece. Look forward to your next series!
Thanks, Carol. All the best.
With a government that has slowly evolved to show its true nature, a mix of "social justice warriors" and "autocratic developer lovers", one has to wonder how this many headed monstrosity can be reigned in or stopped. And it is a monster, no question. But these things must be said, and kudos for keeping up the battle for truth amidst this race to the bottom bearing the flag of "progress". If this is progress I'm not in favour!
Let's face it, Horgan's and Eby's NDP is Vision Vancouver Provincial and the current Vancouver City council is Vision Vancouver second coming. Both are purely developer's parties with MLA's and Councillors puppets of big money.
The Vancouver's Vision 2nd Coming's assault on the Parks Board is merely to free up more land for land speculators and land developers. Eby will guarantee this.
Remember this Trudeau the Younger made Horgan ambassador to Germany, a man with absolutely no diplomatic skills and one wonders what big favour Horgan did to get this plum job. This was clearly a quid pro quo for services rendered.
Eby is a Christie Clark clone and like it or not, will set out to make metro Vancouver a shit-hole to ensure big profits for the very few.
I just sent this to our local paper and it was printed - The Curmudgeon Laureate strikes again!
The Editor,
I see in today's paper that Tsawwassen will be falling victim to the "Vancouver Disease", by allowing high rise condos and towers. A profit windfall for land speculators and land developers; a tax windfall for the city; but a fiasco for those looking for affordable housing.
This is the density game: Commercial and residential land are up-zoned to allow higher densities; affordable accommodations are torn down or "renovated, leading to renovictions; as property values increase, so do taxes; traffic congestion and those who cannot afford the higher rents are left to the squalor of the streets or tent cities.
Premier Eby is playing the density game because his chief advisor is a former Vision Vancouver Councillor who championed the density game in the city resulting in huge profits for speculators and developers; demovictions and less affordable housing.
The developers of high rise condos and towers will keep the price far too high, so only reasonably monied people can even afford the units. They will ask for more density to produce more towers and line their own pockets with the extra profit. When confronted by cities and the public about not providing housing for 3/4 of the population, developers will look you square in the face and say, “that’s not my job, that’s the government’s job!”
By playing density game, Delta council will sent in motion, higher taxes, more homeless, and general dystopia by the the young who cannot afford to live in the community they grew up in.
Despite the hype and hoopla about high rise condos and towers, the end result will be "buyers remorse" and a feeling of being conned by the sellers of density snake-oil.
Few thoughts;
- I don't think the current City Council has any idea what the Parks Board does, or the complexity of services that they provide. I worked for them for 4 years.
- I have had to deal with the City on a small development in the last 2 years, also the Parks Board. Give me the easy access to the Parks Board, quick decision, anytime rather than the chaos and delays which were the City.
- Who actually believes that there is any cost savings in having a politically appointed Board that will do what the Mayor wants. If savings were the criteria, we should get rid of the Council.
- City of Vanc. high land values and rents (although my London daughter thinks they are very cheap) are a success story. It is because of our planning processes that has made it so desirable. Nowhere else in the world would consider this a bad thing. Most Cities would love to have our success.
- You can reduce land and rent values in only 2 ways. Subsidies, or ruining the place so that prices go down. Unfortunately, if prices go down, no one wil invest in housing. The private sector invests and can get financing when the market is stable or rising so their efforts may have the opposite result.
Thanks for posting this, Brian. I have been supporting my favourite BCNDP MLA before she ever became one, all the way back to 2017. Financially, social media-y and with friends.
I told her this week that as a result of the Kahlon-spearheaded amendments to the Housing Act, I will be reducing my support, and transferring it to the BC Greens, who are the only group with a realistic housing strategy.
I believed in David Eby. I’m very sorry to have been so wrong.