Since May 2015 marks my first anniversary as a Courier columnist, I thought it would be interesting to look back over the past 12 months and contemplate which issues will likely dominate the Vancouver civic affairs scene in the year ahead.
When I started writing this column, Vancouver was six months away from a municipal election. The NPA had no mayoral candidate and I speculated the party was down but not necessarily out. As it turned out, Vision retained its council majority but lost control of the park and school boards.
I called for a change in the ballot design so that those at the top of the alphabetical list would not have a potential advantage. NPA incumbent councillor George Affleck was not amused.
Another column examined voters’ top worries. Not surprisingly, housing affordability, cost of living, and transportation topped the list. This has not changed in the subsequent 11 months.
In a subsequent column in June, I wrote about the demolition of character homes. I suggested that city hall encourage builders to renovate rather than demolish by allowing a second house for sale on character properties, and subdivision of larger heritage houses into smaller suites. Sadly, character houses continue to disappear.
The next two columns explored the need for increased housing choices for seniors and renters. As the percentage of seniors continues to increase, along with the number of people who must rent since they cannot afford to buy, these topics will continue to be of interest.
Under the headline “Vancouver needs to clean up its act,” I wrote about weeds proliferating around the False Creek seawall, major streets, and parks. This column attracted considerable attention from readers but also other Vancouver media. Sadly, the situation seems to have gotten worse; although as I sat down to write this column, I received a call from city hall to tell me weeding of the north shore False Creek walkway was about to get underway.
One story that did not attract the attention I thought it deserved told the tale of multi-million dollar Southlands estate owners who pay significantly less in property taxes than many low income condo owners because they sell a few eggs or vegetables grown on their agriculturally zoned properties. Given that their substantial tax savings must be borne by other taxpayers, these are very expensive eggs and tomatoes.
In July, I followed up on a reader’s suggestion that we collectively try to reduce unnecessary urban noises. After reading the article, my wife had a mechanic silence the horn beep on her car’s remote locking device.
After criticizing the city for creating social problems by filling a large southeast False Creek apartment building with formerly homeless people, an August column put forward alternative approaches to housing the homeless.
Subsequent columns exploring how to design healthier and friendlier housing developments attracted considerable interest.
In September, I wrote about three transportation issues: the cost and fairness of parking regulations and charges; the Mayors’ Council position on funding an underground Broadway SkyTrain extension; and the need for bicycle registration.
I will have more to say about unfair parking practices and the proposed Broadway subway in the coming year.
As the November election approached, I shared some thoughts on the main mayoral candidates and addressing a major election issue; foreign housing buyers. While the election is now over, concerns over foreign investment in housing remain and are likely to do so for some time to come.
Earlier this spring, a number of columns addressed concerns by some former city planners and other planning experts regarding decisions by the Vancouver planning department. They worried that in too many cases, building designs were unduly influenced by how much money the developer was giving the city, rather than good planning practices. This will be a topic for future columns.
During the past year I wrote a number of columns while travelling around the world. While some readers were upset by my distant missives, others appreciated the ideas that might be borrowed from other countries, such as Holland’s Neighbourhood Day, or French and Spanish approaches to parking management.
Over the past year I have enjoyed receiving your comments, both online and by email. I particularly like those that begin “While I normally do not agree with what you write, I must commend you…”
Thank you for your ongoing interest.
michaelarthurgeller@gmail.com
@michaelgeller
