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Editorial Committee: Evan Alderson, Susan Wright, Sharon Yandle
Production Editor: Robyn Chan
Proofreader: Kathryn Woodward
Contributors this Issue: Wes Knapp (Regatta), Kate McBride (Market Hill), Yael Stav (Spruce Village), Carla Pitton (Market Hill)
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A Problem – Or A Solution?
LIVEABOARD BOATS IN FALSE CREEK
Wes Knapp, Regatta
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The live-aboard boats are once again becoming a topic of concern in False Creek.
Since the Creek is a relatively calm and protected body of water, it stands to reason that it is a magnet for all kinds of vessels. As the colony of so-called “itinerant” liveaboard boats continues I was naturally curious to look into their story. Rob Viereck, a known advocate for these liveaboards in False Creek could shed some light on the situation.
Rob quickly dismisses the accusation he hears often that liveaboard people are bums or "water squatters." Some, he says, have full or part-time work, paid or voluntary, or are retired; others hold down jobs with the Coast Guard, marinas, ferries and maintenance in False Creek (Rob himself is a commercial diver who works around the Creek).
Some fines have been issued for “squatting” but, he says, were thrown out by a presiding judge as “nuisance and harassment suits” and, in the result, the permitting system for vessels in open waters is currently under review and refinement.
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A frequent concern is the charge that these liveaboard boats leak oil and gas, but Rob claims they are the first to report such leaks that most often originate in the marinas or from the “truly” derelict boats languishing until they begin to sink. A couple of boats have, in fact, sunk in the past few months. (See Between The Bridges, Bulletin #39, November 26, 2021).
As to the charge that they pollute the water, he notes that their boats have holding tanks and access to a free mobile pump-out boat and station at Heather Civic marina, and believes they also regularly clean up flotsam, garbage and other trash in the Creek.
Loud parties on these liveaboards –another concern heard quite often– is not well-substantiated according to Rob, who contends that the False Creek waters are the quietest place in Vancouver. He claims that little mention is made of the parties and loud music aboard the expensive boats in Coal Harbour that have been a concern in the past, especially during the summer months.
Listening to Rob, I wonder if, instead of looking at these boats as unsightly and menacing, whether we can see them as affordable housing options for individuals whose workplace is on or near the water and who simply want a minimalist lifestyle?
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We made two Top Accomplishments’ Lists!
Both Councillors Christine Boyle and Colleen Hardwick considered that working alongside False Creek South residents to carve out the parameters for future growth were among their biggest 2021 successes. If you’re wondering where our placement was on those lists, we were #3 on Boyle’s Top 10 list and #4 on Hardwick’s list of eight.
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False Creek South: Place Matters
BROADENING THE CONVERSATION
For years residents in False Creek South have been thinking about the future – what are the possibilities for the neighbourhood as it evolves? The recent City Council decision on the future of False Creek South and the upcoming community planning process are providing a push to have these conversations.
Hoping to get that conversation started FCS residents Daniela Elza, Richard Evans, Graham McGarva and Maria Roth founded the Place Matters Mattering Collective, seeking to “open conversation on the qualities of place needed to thrive in our shared urban environment. As it rapidly transforms around us, not only does place matter, but that it matters is essential for the health of the whole community.”
The Collective is inviting everyone - especially in False Creek South - to an online viewing of the documentary PUSH on January 25. |
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Intended to significantly broaden the conversation in False Creek South about “our homes, community, belonging and place”, PUSH follows Canadian lawyer Leilani Farha as she investigates players and politics central to the global housing crisis and talks with residents in cities around the world, who are facing many of the same challenges that we do in Vancouver.
"I don’t believe that capitalism itself is hugely problematic,” says Farha, as she marches along a pavement in Harlem, New York. The UN’s special rapporteur on adequate housing is on her way to visit a sprawling low-income housing project that was recently acquired by a private equity fund, leading to massive rent hikes and probable evictions. “Is unbridled capitalism in an area that is a human right problematic? Yes.” ( The Guardian, 10/09/19)
The PUSH event is on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 7 - 8.30 pm via ZOOM
Registration / link: https://bit.ly/33wEs8t
A follow up session dedicated to discussion will be held on Tuesday, February 8, at 7pm. Bring your questions and curiosity. |
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Notwithstanding a pandemic now in its 5th incarnation, an unprecedented heat dome, devastating wildfires, massive slides, catastrophic floods, crippling windstorms, king tide destruction, atmospheric rivers, paralyzing snowfalls, ice-clogged roads, a 3.8 earthquake and a falling meteor, people continue to get outside when they can, relieved that no plague of locusts is in sight. Yet.
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No, this is not an outdoor meeting about to happen; just a few of the thousands of walkers trying to get past each other on the seawall last Sunday, a scene repeated many, many times from Granville Island to Stamps Landing.
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Sign? What sign?
#teachyourchildrenwell
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Could anything be more quintessentially Vancouver than a snowman with an umbrella, perched on a seawall bench? (Photo: Wendy Herdin)
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According to former City of Vancouver planner Sandy James, our city has 30% of the region's housing but has built 68% of units that are not designed for families. This is how “hollowing out” happens when mainly low and middle income families leave (or don’t arrive) because they can’t afford to live here; something to keep in mind as we continue our work toward retaining and expanding truly affordable housing in False Creek South.
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Write For Rights
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Kate McBride, Market Hill
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Amnesty International’s Write For Rights event hosted by neighbors of False Creek in Leg-In- Boot Square successfully ended on December 10th, 2021.
Despite rain, wind and cold temperatures, two hundred and fifty-eight letters went out. We’re so grateful for the volunteers from the False Creek South neighborhood. In addition to helping at the tent in the square, volunteers wrote letters, donated stamps and stationery and contributed funds to buy stamps.
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The Convivial Cafe provided information for several weeks and a place to deposit letters and generally warm up on the day of the event. Beth Dempster and her team brought hot water bottles out to the volunteers under the tent which kept our writing hands functioning – much appreciated – and generously offered hot chocolate, tea and coffee to anyone who wrote three or more letters, a great incentive to many.
The local office of Amnesty International and the Canadian headquarters in Ottawa sent materials and information to help with the event. We were able to put up posters under the umbrellas at the tables around the Square so people could stay out of the rain, and write.
We’re looking toward 2022 to hold the event again in Leg-In-Boot Square. This year it will take place on a Saturday and we hope the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a sunny day!
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EV CHARGING - ECONOMICALLY
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Charlie Richmond is a man with a mission.
An FCSNA delegate – and member of the Association’s Sustainability/Resilience Working Group– Charlie believes that one of the necessary costs of electric vehicles doesn’t have to break the bank.
His strata enclave, Henley Court, is planning to provide EV chargers for all parking spaces “without major cost” - something he wants to share with anyone in the Creek thinking of transitioning to an electric car, because the cost of charging that vehicle may be a key financial concern.
Sharing his photos here of the setup, Charlie is happy to provide tours of the installation at Henley Court’s parking garage. Just email him: *email is hidden, JavaScript is required* to arrange a date and time.
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Campus of Care
ADDING VALUE TO A GOOD IDEA
Yael Stav, Spruce Village and Chair, FCSNA Sustainability/Resilience Working Group
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For the second year, the Neighbourhood Association’s Sustainability/Resilience Working Group successfully submitted a project proposal to UBC. In this course of study, code named ENVR400, a group of students in Environmental Science collaborates with a community organization on research projects that can add value to that organization.
This year, after long discussions, the working group asked the students to look at the plan for a Campus of Care (CoC) – a development proposed by RePlan, the FCSNA’s community planning group. It would include a care facility as well as nearby housing for people with disabilities and housing for those who have experienced homelessness. Adjacent to the Campus of Care is envisioned an Intergenerational Hub that brings together a range of new housing, including co-ops, rentals, and possibly affordable home ownership, with an emphasis on diverse and integrated homes for seniors and families.
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During the development of the plans for the CoC, a lot of attention was given to the social aspects with not much focus on the environmental aspects
We asked the students to look at ways that the CoC could have a positive impact on its environment and, luckily for us, three students took the challenge. Last October RePlan project manager Nathan Edelson and I met with the students at the site to review the existing conditions and adjacent area and then, via email and Zoom, helped them scope the research project to make sure it’s feasible for them and useful for us.
The focus of the research is “Ecosystem Services”, defined as a broad group of benefits that humans may derive from nature. Examples are drinking water from lakes, air purification from plants, pollination, stormwater management and nutrient cycling (e.g. decomposition by bacteria and fungi).
The students then developed their research question around this concept and titled the project Recommendations to Enhance Ecosystem Services in the False Creek South Neighbourhood Association’s Plans for the Campus of Care. They intend to apply what they learned about ecosystem services, choosing three focal points: stormwater management, biodiversity enhancement, and a community garden.
We can’t wait to see how this project unfolds and what will be the students’ recommendations in April. If you’d like to find out more, check out the research proposal here. And feel free to join the Sustainability/Resilience Working Group meeting on Zoom every third Monday of the month Contact *email is hidden, JavaScript is required* for more details.
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WHAT’S GOING ON?
Labs Close
For those who access their local sites and may have missed the memo, Life Labs is “temporarily closing” its Laurel clinic at 888 West 8th and the clinic at 943 W. Broadway due to “severe employee impacts” resulting from “the spread of Omicron and related protocols." The clinic at 1200 Burrard will operate with reduced hours.
Restaurant Opens
“We can use more restaurants nearby” wrote Deborah Brakeley (Marine Mews) after coming upon the just-opened COFU - a plant-based sushi restaurant on Anderson, near the entrance to Granville Island. Occupying the ground floor space beneath the Afghan Horseman, the restaurant also features a “sober bar” - non-alcoholic cocktails.
Place Matters - Save The Date
Two artists (Daniela Elza, Maria Roth) and two architects (Richard Evans, Graham McGarva) are hosting an online event to begin “ongoing conversations about False Creek South, our homes and community, belonging and place”. More info in Broadening The Conversation elsewhere in this issue.
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BUS STOP POLES A MYSTERY
Carla Pitton, Market Hill
Have you ever wondered about the two long wooden poles lying under the cedar trees at the bus stop on Moberly Road? They've been there for many years with no apparent purpose. So why are they there?
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Some serious investigating was in order. I placed a call to City Hall. No, not their responsibility. I was told to call TELUS. After a 50-minute wait I was finally able to talk to someone; however, the person was in the Philippines! After my explanation, she put me on hold in order to transfer my call to TELUS Vancouver. Unfortunately the call line only made it as far as Calgary (sound familiar?). The representative there told me to call BC HYDRO as TELUS does not deal with poles. Because of my patient but exasperated tone of voice, the representative kindly googled a number for me to contact. But when I heard "1-800", I dropped my head to my desk and groaned. I simply couldn't stomach another long wait. Perhaps another day.
Wouldn't it be nice to remove those algae-covered poles and plant a garden around those magnificent cedar trees? It would beautify the unattractive Moberly Road entrance into False Creek. However, that would mean removing the two poles from their years-long slumber. And it appears that's going to be quite a feat.
Anyone with a chainsaw?
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MISSING PIECE: AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP
Last October our community successfully urged City Council to take a deep dive into creating and maintaining affordable housing on city-owned land in False Creek South. Much attention was paid to co-ops, non-market rentals and supportive housing.
But something is missing from these affordable housing forms. Recently the FCSNA planning committee, Re-Plan, formed a working group to explore the potential of a housing form not yet extant in the Creek: individual affordable home ownership.
Co-op housing is a collective form of home ownership, tried and true for deep affordability, in large part because members do not individually acquire equity in their homes. Nor do those in non-market housing. Both, deservedly, have passionate advocates.
But co-op or rental living is not for everyone. Some prefer the relative autonomy involved in owning their own unit outright. Such was the norm in earlier days when most Vancouverites bought their own homes, usually saving for a down payment and paying the rest through mortgage amortization. If and when they moved on they took that equity with them plus whatever increased value the real estate market determined.
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Affordable home ownership (AHO) operates within a different logic. While a number of models significantly differ from each other, what is common to all is that the homeowner pays less than market rates for the accommodation. Upon selling, any gain in equity is capped by one formula or another so that the next buyer also pays less than market. With AHO models, subsequent sales are either outside of the market entirely or the effects of the market are constrained. In one model, for example, people retain whatever equity they brought into the purchase but that equity increases only in line with the CPI. Other models provide for a percentage discount from appraised value.
Jurisdictions with AHO models demonstrate increasing affordability over time. The longer such a home exists outside of the market, the more affordable it is. In this way AHOs actually provide affordability and can benefit from government programs for affordable housing providers.
Residents interested in AHO housing include those who want to retain whatever equity they put into their home and are less concerned about its speculative value. Some on city land may be unable to pay the costs of a renewed lease but want to live out their lives in the community with security of tenure.
More information will be forthcoming as the working group continues its research.
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CONTRIBUTOR GUIDELINES: ARTICLES AND PHOTOS
Between The Bridges welcomes readers’ contributions of story ideas, events of interest, original photographs, and completed articles relevant to the False Creek South Neighbourhood Association’s goal to “promote an economically, social and culturally diverse neighbourhood with a friendly, positive and vibrant sense of community”. For details go to:
http://www.falsecreeksouth.org/2021/01/between-the-bridges-contributor-guidelines/
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