Gibbys Field protected, will become a new naturally managed park

You may have heard that City Council is contemplating a planning process to revitalize Granville Street downtown. This idea was first floated a couple of years ago, and is a positive move. A draft Terms of Reference was discussed by Council on January 18 of this year, and there will be further debate coming up this week. While we’re generally supportive of the initiative, we feel that the scope of the proposed work could be bolder. From our perspective, the current approach is constrained by two key factors: an unnecessarily limited geographic scope and the need for a stronger, more comprehensive and unified focus on the role of the street as a central public space. With this in mind, we’re sharing seven key suggestions that we thing would improve the proposed Terms of Reference and result in an improved planning process for this important public space. (1) Expand the Granville Street study area so that it stretches “shore to shore” across the Downtown Peninsula As currently envisioned, the proposed planning area covers the five block stretch between Robson Street and Drake Street. This area coincides with policy geographies set out in the Downtown Official Development Plan (DODP) dating from 1975. Given the prominent role that Granville Street plays, the various urban design and transportation considerations at play, and the way visitors and residents actually use the street, we feel this insufficient. In our opinion, the current focus on the entertainment district would be better served were it to be part of a study area that spanned the full 12 blocks between Granville Square and the Granville Bridge. This would allow for a more integrated consideration of critical rapid transit connections, an assessment of the existing (2009) public realm treatment (which needs to be refreshed), the inclusion of other large rezonings (the Bay, Granville Loops), not to mention the broader public life opportunities that come with treating the street ‘as a whole.’ The street has a number of different character areas, but what makes it exciting is the opportunity to make them work together. We note that the original Council motion (referenced on page 2 of the report) directs staff to deliver “a scope of work and budget for a future planning program for Granville Street Downtown.” This pan-peninsula scope is important. (2) Bring special attention to key intersections While the idea of a promenade is important, one of the important features of Granville Street downtown is its centrality on the downtown peninsula. Intersections are key punctuation marks in the sequencing of the street – ones that invites a pause, curiosity, decision, transition and more. They are also, functionally, linkages to and from other key areas – such as Robson Square, the civic facilities of Georgia St, the Davie Street Village. A larger geography allows for more attention to be put on these core intersections, and suggests the possibility of developing more substantial connections (and related public realm connections) to nearby amenities. Public space is a network – so let’s ensure this program approaches Granville St. with this sort of ‘systems’ thinking. (3) Ensure laneways are included as part of the planning effort While the focus of the planning program will be on Granville Street, there is a further opportunity to bring additional focus and attention on improving laneways in the study area, turning these spaces into vibrant people places. Some important initial work has been undertaken by the DVBIA and others, but this planning program could accelerate this work in a more comprehensive fashion. How can these sizeable areas – often overlooked because of their secondary functions – be enhanced and better integrated into the fabric of the downtown? Done strategically, this could enable additional programming opportunities for restaurants and cultural spaces, or provide additional seating or gathering opportunities. The scale of these areas – often more intimate than the city’s main streets – makes them an important opportunity. (4) Consider Howe/Seymour transit opportunities An assessment of opportunities for Granville Street would be further strengthened by incorporating Howe and Seymour into the conversation. During the lengthy construction of the Canada Line, these streets effectively took over bus routing functions that were normally on Granville. As was noted during the Council discussion, there is only a limited right-of-way on the street. This brings a related challenge in establishing priorities – is the street a bus “mall” or a pedestrian promenade? A space for moving people, or a place for people to linger, gather, spill out of cultural facilities? It is difficult for the street to do both without needing to make compromises. Can we be bolder here? Perhaps it’s time to think about the role of Granville as part of a network of key pedestrian primary streets – in the same vein as current thinking about Water Street, Robson, and other key areas. (5) Ensure public space is the central focus of the Terms of Reference It was encouraging to hear staff recognize Granville Street’s long and storied role as a significant public space in the city. Looking forward, a focus on ensuring the highest quality public realm and a thoughtful activation of the street will be critically important. In our opinion, and given the array of tools that the City has at its disposal, there is a need to better centre the role of public space and public life in the present Terms of Reference. While public space functions are named in a number of

Today, Finance Minister Mike de Jong released nineteen days worth of real estate transaction data. In it, there were a total of 5,118 transactions. 260 (5.08%) of these properties were purchased by foreign nationals. Now, five percent might not sound like a lot, but consider this. When a resident buys a property, they will almost always sell another or vacate a rental — leaving total housing supply unchanged. When a foreign buyer acquires a property, they probably don’t. In light of the huge surge in Chinese capital flight recently, it’s safe to say most Chinese purchasers are buying properties without selling another. That indeed seems to be the case, as pointed out in my last post. Further, if those foreign buyers leave those homes empty, or only use them as vacation properties, available housing supply shrinks. It’s impossible to say how many of those homes will remain unoccupied, but even if we assume that only half of them are,  housing supply effectively decreased by 130 over those 19 days in June. At that rate, available housing supply could decline 2,500 over the course of the entire year. When you consider housing starts for the Vancouver metro area have been averaging 20,000 the last few years, if 2,500 homes are effectively removed from total supply, this is equivalent to a 12.5% drop in housing starts. That’s very significant.

“I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble…” “Housing prices went up 17% in a year where underlying wage growth is stagnant…” “I called the bubble in the US in 2005-2006… I was looking at price to rent ratios, I was looking at price to rent ratios… household exposure to RE… I’ve got news for you… the numbers in Canada now are worse than they were in the US 13 years ago” [asked about colleagues who say there is a “bubble in calling bubbles in Canadian RE”] “Bubbles can go further than you think, but they don’t correct by going sideways…” “I listen to… Stephen Poloz [BOC governor]… it’s like listening to Ben Bernanke in 2006 when he told everybody “Oh, don’t worry… house prices nationwide never go down“.. “Bubbles can last a long time, but we’re in a very unstable situation”. excerpts from economist David Rosenberg’s Bloomberg interview, 24 March 2021

President Obama, arguably to the left of PM Harper, has decided to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, their own two versions of our CMHC which insure mortgages. Our own dithering fools in Ottawa were anti-CMHC except when it suited them. And it did in 2008/9. Even as they watched the US equivalents pull hundreds of Billions out of tax-payers pockets, they cynically doubled our own CMHC, loaded it up with a weak board (IN MY OPINION) and allowed it to have poor risk management and operate opaquely (in the opinion of Nomura and IMF and other non-Major-bank economists).  Now hopefully they will do the right thing before this monster endangers our financial future further…and wind it down! BTW- there was a great BNN interview with Ian Lee, an Academic who has been sounding the alarm on CMHC liability which he calls gargantuan! Says the banks are using CMHC! Try this link. Click on the second video ‘CMHC to take stream out of housing market’. All bulls and bears should listen to this interview

Taking less than 30 minutes, these easy beet & black bean burgers are made with simple ingredients. Perfect when you want a tasty burger, but a healthier one! Naturally gluten free too. I love burgers. I don’t make them often at home, but when I’m in a restaurant or getting takeout they’re usually my go-to order. There’s nothing better than a delicious burger stuffed with all the fixings and served with crispy french fries. That said, I often get frustrated that a lot of restaurant burgers and vegan burger brands from the grocery store are made from processed ingredients like soy and vital wheat gluten. Delicious as these are, I love a whole foods recipe so I thought I’d set about making my own smoky black bean beet burgers from natural, wholesome ingredients. I think they’re the best vegan burgers and a real crowd favorite! Try serving these delicious patties in buns with lettuce and tomato, plus any of the following burger toppings: homemade vegan mozzarella , sauerkraut and alfalfa sprouts . Add a portion of fries or poutine and you’re good to go! Why these are my favorite veggie burgers So satisfying without the junk – You still get that gratifying hearty bite from these burger patties, but without needing to rely on super processed ingredients to get it! Easy recipe – Just mash beans and mix everything in a bowl, shape into burgers and cook. No food processor needed! Gluten free – It’s not easy to find a gluten free vegan burger recipe that holds together well and this one does. Hooray! Love what you see? Get my once-monthly newsletter with my latest recipes straight to your inbox! Yes, I agree to the processing of my personal data to receive email marketing. /* real people should not fill this in and expect good things – do not remove this or risk form bot signups */ Leave this field empty if you’re human: Main ingredients Ground flaxseed – Acts as a binding agent for the burgers. Make sure to leave flaxseed and water to thicken for 5-10 minutes, so it goes gloopy and becomes a ‘flax egg’ (which will help the burgers stick together). If you don’t have ground flaxseed, ground chia seeds also work. (Minimalist Baker has a great video on how to make a flax egg if you’re looking for a more in-depth tutorial.) Black beans – Provide protein and a great base for these beetroot burgers. Completely mash them or leave a few whole for more texture. Onion – As these patties are only fried for a short amount of time, chop the onion as finely as possible to avoid getting large uncooked chunks of it in them. Fresh beets or beetroot – Provides a hearty flavour and deep colour which goes really well with black beans. You don’t need to cook it – just grate raw beets into the mixture! Sweetcorn – Frozen sweetcorn is fine, and is the easiest option. It provides some light sweetness and colour to balance the burgers out. Flour – Regular all purpose flour works well, but many gluten free flours also work. I personally use brown rice flour, but all purpose gluten free would also be great, as well as oat flour. I don’t recommend using coconut or almond flour as they will give the burgers a strange taste/texture. Thyme – I love the taste of fresh thyme in these burgers, but it’s not essential. Sub dried thyme, or use another herb (like oregano) if preferred. Spices – Smoked paprika (for smoky flavor) and coriander are delicious in this recipe, but feel free to use your own favourite spices. Chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder also work beautifully. How to make In a small bowl, mix ground flaxseed with 2 tablespoons of water until well combined and thick. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl mash black beans with a potato masher until broken down. Add flaxseed, onion, garlic, raw beetroot, sweetcorn, coriander, thyme, paprika, flour and soy sauce to bowl, and mix well to combine. (If mixture feels too wet, add a little more flour.) Season with salt and pepper if needed. Divide burger mixture into 4 balls, and shape into patties about ¾-inch thick with your hands. Heat 2 tablespoons oil (I use avocado oil or olive oil) in a large skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Add burgers and pan fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. (If pan is small, cook burgers in two batches.) Serve immediately on your favorite buns with vegan mayo, red onion, lettuce leaves and tomato slices. Enjoy! Check out my step-by-step instructions on how to make these black bean burgers . What to serve these burgers with Red Cabbage Sauerkraut (Fermented Red Cabbage) Easy Vegan Poutine with Cheese Curds (Nut-Free) How to Grow Alfalfa Sprouts Easy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (Stretchy) Expert Tips These homemade black bean burgers with beet are pretty easy to make and you can’t go very wrong, but here are my top tips: Dice onion finely – Because we don’t fry it separately before cooking the burgers, unless you love the taste of raw onion I recommend dicing it finely so it cooks more quickly in the burgers. Add more flour – If your mixture feels too wet, add a little bit more flour to ensure you get

The Averages powered up in September per Larry’s numbers. Not altogether unexpected. While not as strong as August, September this year was a lot stronger than 2012. Was this the last of the pre-approvals going through? Certainly there seemed to be a division later in the month with lower sales/list showing up. We have also had some big sales. As I documented earlier in the month, there were two $7 Million + sales in West Van alone (and a slew of $4-5 M sales). One was to a local buyer and one to a HAM from what I can ascertain. These numbers certainly baffle me. To spend $7 M on a house, requires a net worth at least twice that, and at a tax rate of even 30%, that’s over $20 Million of earnings! How many people have that sort of income? Then I remembered that some banks were paying their senior executives over $10 M every year as was Telus. MOI ends the month at over 7 for SFH and 6 for Apartments. The bubble is not restricted to residential BTW. I spoke with a  commercial realtor a few days ago and he said there is so much money in this town looking for a home, that yields on smaller, good retail and office packages have reached silly low levels. The money is local professionals looking for diversification, Eastern retired money and of course hot offshore money. “If there is a tenant turn-over, the lost rent and expenses associated with tenant inducements and costs can bring the yield down to zero for that year. They just want a low yield in a tangible asset that can keep up with inflation. Of course if there is a serious recession in our city, there will be a LOT of unhappy landlords”. He explained that is one reason for the high turn-over of tenants in particularly retail businesses. “The rents are just too high”. For example it is cheaper for a landlord to leave a unit empty until it finally rents, even to a weaker tenant , and lose the few % return while he/she waits RATHER than lower the rent much.  If you lower the rent say 10%, that could drop the value of your property significantly in this bloated market, where every dollar of return is accounted for in the price. Whence go we? The pre-approvals must be done. The market now sinks or swims on it’s own. I suspect the HPI will still come in lower for September (it will if compiled fairly by the REBGV IMHO). We should know soon if this is the case. As for the blog, I will be going fallow for a couple of weeks. I have a few matters to attend to and hope to be done near mid-month. If all goes well, I will return with commentary and the numbers at that time. May throw stuff in the comments from time to time. Have a great October.