Soho adds some style to south Surrey

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Soho

Where:  24 Avenue and 163 Street, South Surrey

What: A three-storey development of 170 homes with large rooftop patios. Located within easy reach of three shopping centres.

Residence sizes and prices: Two-, three- and four- bedroom homes ranging from 1,477 to 2,034 square feet, from $659,990

Developer and builder: Zenterra Developments Ltd.

Sales centre: 2280 163 St. Surrey

Sales centre hours: noon — 5 p.m., daily

To understand the vision behind the interior design of the display townhomes at Soho, look no further than the building’s exterior — first, its architecture, and then beyond, to the soothing parkland and views to the water.
“One needs to start from the overall architectural theme,” says Sam Milani, design and marketing director of Zenterra Developments Ltd., the builders of the South Surrey townhome community.
“I believe that main architectural design theme should spread to all the angles, exterior and interior, to show a comprehensive and coherent mindset [in the design].”
The architecture he refers to can be described as transitional contemporary. Architect Bernard Decosse has designed the building to stand out in contrasting hues, and with pops of red, blue and purple, but at the same time, it doesn’t clash with the more conservative surroundings in its South Surrey neighbourhood.
Soho’s interiors mirror this, reflecting a “transitional modern design with a crisp look,” Milani says.

In both living rooms, the design team takes advantage of a simple palette of white grey and warm wood.
“One of the main factors for us in finalizing the furniture colour palette was to match them with most dominant elements in Soho units such as fireplace feature wall, wall colour and laminate floor,” he adds. “We keep these as a primary colour palette and pick others to match. It’s warm and welcoming.”
One living room is fitted with two chairs with wooden frames that mimic the structure and angle of patio chairs, but with a retro sophisticated touch. The coffee and side tables are made of wood enhanced with a rustic finish.

Among those attracted to the Soho townhomes are those looking for single-family houses, Milani says. He and his colleagues at the Georgie Award-winning Zenterra Developments are confident that the size of the townhomes, the rooftop patio feature, and the ways in which the design team emphasizes functionality in the interiors will impress buyers.
“We tried hard to have zero wasted space, and unlike many single-family homes we have a plan for every inch of it,” he says. “We hate dead spaces and do our best from the very first stage of initial architecture drafts to avoid them.  We like our buyers to pay for a functional space, and not just a ‘total square footage.’”
Milani says visitors often admire the fireplace wall, and of course, the large rooftop patios, some of which offer ocean and mountain views. Zenterra offers an option for an upgrade that includes built-in barbecues, complete with an under-counter fridge. “This makes these spaces a great gathering space or just a peaceful spot to rest on weekends.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Estate of murdered Chinese investor sued by accused killer for farmland profits

Sam Cooper
The Vancouver Sun

Li Zhao, who is accused of murdering Chinese businessman Gang Yuan, has filed a claim in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a one-third share of the Yuan estate’s profits from the sale of 47 Saskatchewan farm properties.

Zhao claims he and Yuan were in a joint-venture to develop Saskatchewan farmland, according to documents filed with the court last month.

A deal planned by Yuan’s company to sell the properties in Saskatchewan was near completion, Zhao’s claim states, when Yuan was found shot and cut into 100 pieces in his West Vancouver mansion on May 2, 2015.

Zhao, 56, has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder of Yuan, 42. 

In his criminal trial, a judge ruled this week that Zhao’s confession to West Vancouver police is admissible. The court heard that Zhao told police he and Yuan were in business together in an agricultural company and were having legal problems with the company. Zhao told police that following an argument with Yuan, who lived in his British Properties home with Zhao and Zhao’s wife, he fatally shot the victim and cut up his corpse with a saw. 

While Zhao’s criminal trial continues, a number of civil claims are underway in B.C. courts, as Yuan’s relatives in China and Vancouver battle over his Canadian assets, including Saskatchewan farms and luxury properties in Vancouver, estimated to be worth about $50 million in 2015.

In addition to his Canadian fortune, Yuan had mining interests in China. And according to a 2015 court verdict in southwestern China, Yuan was linked to a government corruption and bribery scandal that led to a 19-year jail term for an official named Yunye Lin. 

Li Zhao’s B.C. Supreme Court claim states that Yuan was the sole shareholder of a company called State Agriculture Development Inc.

“At the time of his death, Mr. Yuan and/or State Agriculture were the owners of at least 47 farm properties in Saskatchewan,” Zhao’s claim states. 

The Supreme Court claim does not mention that Zhao is on trial for Yuan’s killing.

Zhao claims that he and Yuan agreed to invest in Saskatchewan farms in 2011, after Zhao had researched the investment and had incorporated a company in Saskatchewan called Green Land Agricultural Development Inc.

Zhao and Yuan agreed that “instead of Mr. Zhao purchasing the farmlands and holding them in Green Land, that Mr. Zhao would pay back some of the funds that Mr. Zhao and his wife had borrowed from Mr. Yuan to purchase a house in West Vancouver, and that Mr. Yuan would then use those funds and other money to purchase,” the land through Yuan’s company, State Agriculture.

According to Zhao’s claim, he and Yuan agreed that Zhao would purchase and manage the farm properties as a director for State Agriculture, and instead of receiving a salary, Zhao would eventually receive a third of the profits from the leasing or sale of the land.

In 2012, State Agriculture bought 47 parcels of land for $3.7 million in Saskatchewan, and also a condo in Regina for the administration of the venture, legal filings say. Zhao completed “all or the majority of the work,” related to the farm investment venture, his claim alleges.

In late February 2015, Yuan negotiated an agreement with an unidentified buyer that was to purchase the Saskatchewan farm properties from State Agricultural for $7.8 million, according to Zhao’s claim. The claim says the agreement was to be executed on or before May 25, 2015.

“Mr. Zhao understands that State Agriculture ended up selling the farmlands for significant profit,” Zhao’s claim states.

But the estate of Gang Yuan has not paid Zhao a third of the profits from the Saskatchewan land sales or leasing of the lands, Zhao’s claim alleges, arguing that is a breach of contract.

“As a result of the breach of contract, Mr. Zhao suffered and continues to suffer loss and damage,” the claim states. 

Zhao’s name is the only one listed on B.C. registry filings for Green Land Agricultural. Zhao’s listed address on the company filings is 3333 The Crescent, a Shaughnessy mansion. The 11,000 square-foot property, which “was built for the former lieutenant-governor of B.C.” according to an MLS listing, is owned by the estate of Gang Yuan and a trust company. In June it was listed for sale at $17.88 million, according to MLS data, down from a previous listed price of $18.8 million.

Zhao is asking for a full accounting of the profits from the farmland venture, and asking for a trust interest in any of the land or properties in Saskatchewan owned by State Agriculture or the estate of Gang Yuan.

The estate of Gang Yuan has yet to respond to Zhao’s civil claim. 

Allegations in the civil cases concerning Yuan’s assets have not been proven in court.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Taxpayers can avoid it by filing returns that tell the full story on income sources

Vern Krishna
The Vancouver Sun

The Canada Revenue Agency has an extraordinary power when it comes to calculating the tax owed by people who fail to file a tax return or who misrepresent their income in filings.

It’s called the “net worth” assessment, and you really don’t want to have it happen to you.

Looking at the numbers, the vast majority of Canadians avoid net worth assessments by voluntarily filing tax returns. One-third of the 27.5 million tax returns Canadians submit each year are non-taxable and are filed to claim tax benefits. The remaining two-thirds pay about $196 billion in tax annually. Most taxpayers file their returns without complications and the CRA assesses them quite quickly.

Sanctions

However, some taxpayers choose not to file their returns even when they have taxable income, or misrepresent their income in their filings. The sanctions for failing to file and filing false returns are severe, but different, for the two groups.

Although taxpayers are required to voluntarily file their tax returns, the CRA is not bound by the tax return or any information filed. The CRA may “arbitrarily” assess the taxpayer using any appropriate method for determining the tax payable by the taxpayer.

This is where an arbitrary “net worth” assessment of tax payable enters the mix.

When the taxpayer does not file a proper tax return, has insufficient records, or provides inaccurate information in his return, the Minister of National Revenue can issue a “net worth,” or arbitrary assessment of the tax payable. The consequences of a net worth assessment and any related penalties depend on the nature of the taxpayer’s delinquencies in filing or non-filing.

A net worth assessment estimates a taxpayer’s income for a year by valuing the appreciation in his or her wealth between two dates, then adjusting for consumption.

For example, if the taxpayer had net assets of $100,000 on Jan. 1 and $400,000 of net assets on Dec. 31, the increase is $300,000. If the taxpayer consumed $150,000 during that year, his or her income would increase to $450,000 for the year. The government typically overestimates the taxpayer’s income and leaves it to the taxpayer to establish whether any of the receipts are from non-taxable sources.

So, a net worth assessment is prone to errors. Inaccuracy is inherent in the method of calculation. A net worth assessment is a blunt instrument at best and the government is prone to maximize the taxpayer’s income.

Net worth

Flaws aside, a net worth assessment is valid and binding notwithstanding any error, defect, or omission in the assessment. The CRA needs only to demonstrate that the taxpayer’s net worth, adjusted for consumption, increased in the taxation year. It is not required to prove the taxpayer’s sources of income. Once the CRA demonstrates a net increase in wealth, the taxpayer has the onus to separate his or her taxable income from other various sources, such as, for example, business income, capital gains, or non-taxable sources receipts.

The explanation that taxpayers most often provide for undisclosed increases in net worth is that they had windfall gambling gains, or received a substantial bequest from a deceased elderly aunt in a distant land. The reason those explanations purport to support their claims is that gambling gains are usually not taxable to amateurs, and gifts are never taxable.

Given the frequency of the “generosity of elderly aunts” explanation, the CRA has a jaundiced view of such justifications, and will require substantiating evidence in support of the assertions. Of course, it is usually difficult to provide such evidence because it is the very absence of adequate records that led to the assessment in the first place.

Where the assessment is outside the normal assessment period of three years for individuals, the onus is on the government to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the taxpayer made misrepresentations that were attributable to neglect, carelessness or willful default for the relevant year.

Deadlines

There is no assessment deadline if the taxpayer does not file a return and the minister of national revenue has not produced an initial assessment. In a net worth assessment, the clock begins to run from the date of the assessment. However, the CRA says that failure to file a return when tax is payable may be willful misrepresentation that there is no tax payable, and, therefore, open to indefinite assessment.

A special rule applies when a taxpayer does not report his or her disposition of real or immovable property. In such a case, there is no limitation period. The purpose of this recently enacted rule is to discourage taxpayers from not declaring taxable gains on speculative real estate flips.

The consequences are more severe where the taxpayer files a tax return, but the government issues a net worth assessment because of the inadequacy of the information filed. In these circumstances, the minister of national revenue can also impose gross negligence penalties, which will add an additional 50 per cent tax on the undeclared income.

However, the penalty applies only to a misrepresentation in a return, and not to the lack of filing of a return. The sanctions for failure to file and filing false returns are anomalous. The Income Tax Act imposes a penalty for misrepresenting a return, but not for failing to file a return that falsely implies that there is no tax payable for the year. The sin of omission is less severe than the sin of commission.

The net worth assessment is an extraordinary power, but taxpayers can avoid it by filing returns that tell the full story on their sources of income.

© 2017 Financial Post

Chinatown condo tower rejected

Dan Fumano
The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver council’s rejection of a controversial condo development in historic Chinatown — and the community opposition that galvanized against it — will have implications beyond the neighbourhood.

“It’s bigger than Chinatown,” said Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, minutes after the mayor and council voted. “It’s a signal to the development community that you must consider the surrounding neighbourhood that you’re working in.”

The application, by Vancouver developer Beedie, sought rezoning to allow a 12-storey mixed-use building at 105 Keefer St., with commercial uses on the ground floor, 25 units of social housing, and 106 market condos. Tuesday, after 26 hours of heated council debate and public hearings over the past three weeks, the mayor and councillors voted eight to three against the project, citing the building’s height, lack of adequate social housing and deep community opposition.

Yan told Postmedia that Tuesday’s decision could have resonance by the time the 2018 municipal election rolls around, adding: “This is the day that the new Vancouver begins. … The way that we’ve built this city for the last 30 years needs to change. It needs context, it needs an element of consideration towards the communities that these developments will inhabit.”

Mayor Gregor Robertson voted against the proposal, saying: “It cuts far too deep a divide in the community to advance and see this built.”

Many councillors said the process was as contentious and emotional as any they’ve seen, with Robertson calling reaction on both sides “one of the most passionate responses we’ve heard in these chambers.”

The proposal was voted against by five of the six councillors affiliated, like Robertson, with Vision Vancouver: Kerry Jang, Geoff Meggs, Heather Deal, Tim Stevenson, and Andrea Reimer. The sole vote in favour among Vision councillors was Raymond Louie.

NPA Coun. George Affleck, who also voted against the proposal, said he was “really quite shocked” to see the split among Vision councillors.

“These kinds of projects come to us all the time at public hearings, and every time in the past six years that I’ve been here, Vision Vancouver has always voted for those units,” Affleck said, adding it was “potentially good news for Vancouver” that if community opposition is strong enough, “there’s hope, Vancouver, you can turn these guys around, they might actually change their minds. It’s a miracle at Cambie.”

Affleck’s fellow NPA councillors, Elizabeth Ball and Melissa De Genova, voted in favour of the application, while Adriane Carr, the only Green councillor, voted against it.

Many councillors also had harsh words for some young activists who jeered at supporters of the project during previous public hearings.

The proposal, Beedie’s fourth attempt at getting rezoning for the site, had been recommended for approval by city staff, because it aligned with the city’s Chinatown neighbourhood plan. City planners are now considering changes to development policies for Chinatown. Under current policies, Beedie could build a nine-storey building on the Keefer site without applying for rezoning, but the developer chose to apply to build a bigger structure. It’s unclear what will happen next at the site.

Following the decision, Beedie’s vice-president of residential development, Houtan Rafii, thanked everyone who engaged in the process, and said: “Dozens of supporters attended City Hall today and they share our disappointment. We believe this is a loss for Chinatown, but we certainly respect council’s decision.”

Several times during the public process, comparisons were made to the fight to save Chinatown and Strathcona from a freeway in the 1960s and 70s. Shirley Chan, 70, said Tuesday that the passion of the young activists who mobilized opposition to the Keefer project reminded her of herself and neighbours five decades ago in the same chambers opposing the freeway.

“But Beedie is not the villain here,” Chan said, adding that she would support the city offering the developer a land swap so they can build somewhere else.

Council’s decision was welcomed by some community groups, including the Chinatown Concern Group and Chinatown Action Group, who called the result a “historic victory.”

Following the decision, Robertson’s office issued a statement saying: “The debate over what kind of development will take place at 105 Keefer has gone far beyond that specific site, at times becoming a debate over the future of Chinatown, how we build and strengthen neighbourhoods, and how we embrace and integrate our heritage and history with modern development.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Jennifer Saltman
The Vancouver Sun

B.C. real estate prices are on the rise and demand continues to outstrip supply, which the NDP says shows the foreign-buyer tax that was announced almost a year ago wasn’t enough to cool the market.

On Tuesday, the B.C. Real Estate Association reported that in May, residential sales in B.C. were down almost eight per cent from last year, but the average sale price was $752,536, up 4.2 per cent.

The trend in Metro Vancouver mirrors that of the rest of the province: sales are down, but the composite benchmark price for detached homes, townhouses and apartments is $967,500, up 8.8 per cent over last year.

“I wouldn’t have expected any substantial change in the real estate market in Metro Vancouver because none of the underlying issues really have been dealt with,” said David Eby, Vancouver-Point Grey MLA and spokesman for the B.C. NDP on housing. “We have a chronic shortage of affordable housing being constructed in Metro Vancouver and we haven’t addressed issues of toxic demand in our housing market — especially speculation.”

Cameron Muir, chief economist with the B.C. Real Estate Association, said the market was already in decline when the foreign-buyer tax took effect last August, and there was a slightly sharper drop after it was instituted. He said the tax was likely responsible for part of that decline, causing foreign buyers to pull out and eroding the confidence of other buyers in the short term.

Eby summed it up by saying that the foreign-buyer tax made buyers and sellers wait to see the impact. When it became apparent that there was no real effect, people re-entered the market.

“What we really see now is that those efforts to tamp down overall housing demands appear to be quite temporary in nature and that markets today are once again marching higher,” Muir said. “The foreign-buyer tax is not a panacea for housing affordability.”

B.C. Green party Leader Andrew Weaver agreed. “There is no single approach, that is the problem. The B.C. Liberals let this get away from them and then they introduced a single measure. You have to have a suite of policies,” he said.

The real concern, Muir said, is the lack of supply.

The NDP has promised to build 114,000 affordable rental units over the next 10 years to relieve some of the pressure. Eby recognized that it’ll take time for supply to catch up to demand, but, in the meantime, the NDP has proposed other measures.

The NDP would implement a two-per-cent speculation tax for foreign buyers who leave their properties empty. Revenue would go into a B.C. Housing Affordability Fund. Eby said there are no plans at this time to increase the foreign-buyer tax to 30 per cent, which is something the Greens proposed.

The NDP has also promised to close loopholes that allow for flipping of presale condos and establish a multi-agency task force to fight tax fraud and money laundering in the real-estate market.

Eby said there are other “real sleepers” in the NDP platform that could have a significant impact on the market, such as a requirement to disclose the actual owner of a home or company in title documents.

Muir said he would like to see a policy document from the NDP.

“My concern on a speculative tax is there would be a whole slew of unintended consequences,” he said. “There’s been lots of vision statements that have been made, no actual policies, so I’d like to see that.”

Although the NDP has no plans to increase the foreign-buyer tax, it may consider some of the Green party’s other proposed measures to make housing more affordable, which include changing the property transfer tax, property tax and homeowner-grant rules.

“One of the nice things about our partnership with the Greens is we both have very serious concerns about what’s been happening in the housing market and I think there will be an ongoing dialogue with the Greens and with all British Columbians about how to address that,” Eby said.

Weaver said he’ll work with the NDP to make sure the policies in the Green platform are introduced and that the NDP doesn’t cherry pick. 

“They can’t pick and choose. We have an agreement and an accord that we’ll work together, and it means just that,” he said. “Introducing our suite of measures is actually the way forward. Ultimately, I’m hoping we’ll come to a consensus.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The next policy move from the Bank of Canada could be a rise in interest rates.

Senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins spoke at the Asper School of Business yesterday and said that there are some good signs in the economy, including adapting to lower oil prices, growth in a range of industries, and growth in the labour market.

“What’s encouraging is that this growth is not being driven by just a few key industries,” Senior Deputy Governor Wilkins said. The data show that more than 70 per cent of industries have been expanding and the labour market continues to improve.

However, inflation is below the bank’s target and Ms. Wilkins said to meet its objectives, the bank will need to assess current economic conditions and how they will evolve. 

She added that monetary policy must “anticipate the road ahead” noting that rather than having to “slam on the brakes” things need to be done slowly.

The comments are a hint that interest rates could be on the way sooner than the mid-2018 expectation of analysts, to allow for smaller, gradual increases.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

REP

The Bank of Canada offered its strongest signal yet that it’s ready to raise interest rates as the economy gathers steam, in surprise comments that sent the Canadian dollar and bond yields soaring.

In a speech Monday, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins highlighted how the nation’s recovery is broadening across regions and sectors, giving policy makers “reason to be encouraged.” She downplayed worries about Toronto’s housing market and said policy makers need to keep their eye on the future evolution of growth, not only current economic conditions.

“As growth continues and, ideally, broadens further, Governing Council will be assessing whether all of the considerable monetary policy stimulus presently in place is still required,” Wilkins said in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “At present, there is significant monetary policy stimulus in the system.”

Wilkins said policy makers will be focusing on the data and talking to “many people” ahead of the next interest-rate decision on July 12.

The remarks are an indication policy makers anticipate the next rate move will be higher as momentum has shifted after two years of pain from a slump in oil prices. It’s also effectively a rebuke of pessimists betting on a disorderly unwinding of Toronto’s housing bubble that has left the Canadian dollar one of the worst performing currencies this year.

The Canadian dollar extended gains after Wilkins’s comments, appreciating 0.9 percent to C$1.3350 per U.S. dollar at 2:04 p.m. in Toronto, the steepest increase since March and the biggest advance among Group-of-10 peers on Monday. The gain helped turn the loonie’s year-to-date loss against the greenback into a gain.

As early as January, Governor Stephen Poloz had been talking about the possibility of another rate cut, after lowering the key rate twice in 2015 to 0.5 percent.

Swaps trading suggests investors are placing an 11 percent probability of a rate increase next month, and a 56 percent chance by the end of this year. On Friday, those probabilities were 5 percent and 30 percent. The central bank hasn’t raised interest rates since 2010.

Bond Sell-Off
The comments also sparked a sell-off in Canada’s federal government bonds, pushing the yield on two-year notes up seven basis points, the steepest rise since December, to an almost three-month high of 0.81 percent. The rate on five-year securities rose above 1 percent for the first time in three weeks.

“Markets have barely priced in any real risk of a rate hike this year and will need to adjust,” said Shaun Osborne, chief foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto. “This is quite a change in messaging on the face of it – and likely brings forward expectations for Bank of Canada tightening just at the time when the market is doubting how much more the Fed will move.”

Wilkins said encouraging signs included the fact that more than 70 percent of industries are growing, the labor market has improved and demand in energy-dependent provinces is strengthening. In fact, the drag from the oil price shock — the reason for two rate cuts in 2015 — is done, according to Wilkins.

“The adjustment to lower oil prices is now largely behind us, and we are looking for signs that the sources of growth are broadening across sectors and regions,” Wilkins said. “The signs are encouraging.”
As an analogy, Wilkins likened monetary policy to a car slowly braking before a traffic light.

“If you saw a stop light ahead, you would begin letting up on the gas to slow down smoothly,” she said. “You do not want to have to slam on the brakes at the last second. Monetary policy must also anticipate the road ahead.”

Wilkins said it was too early to tell how measures by the Ontario government to cool Toronto’s housing market will impact activity and prices, citing the rebounding Vancouver market as an example. If Toronto’s market performs better than expected, that would be a boost for household spending and another driver of growth.

“Given we expect household spending to slow somewhat, it could surprise us and provide an unexpected boost to growth in the near term,” Wilkins said.

Other Details
Diversity of economic growth “helps support strong and sustained overall growth.” Risks to the economy include potential changes in U.S. policies, faster-than-expected household spending. Core inflation measures have “drifted down in recent quarters,” consistent with lagged effects of slack in the economy, she said. “Other indicators also point to ongoing spare capacity,” such as wage gains, Wilkins says.
First quarter growth rate of 3.7 percent was “pretty impressive.” Bank of Canada modeling shows broadening in provincial activity in 2017. Exports still remain a disappointment. Gains in employment spreading across the country.

Copyright Bloomberg 2017 – Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Steve Randall
REP

Canada’s hottest housing markets are heading towards a severe downturn according to Capital Economics’ David Madini.

The economist warns that the rise in sales in Vancouver is a temporary jump while the slowdown in Toronto’s larger market is indicative of a price correction.

Madini says that the impact is likely to be felt outside the housing market with a drag on second-quarter GDP, perhaps taking it to just 1 per cent; but if not then the longer-term outlook “appears to be worsening.”

There could be a reduction in housing investment, lower consumer consumption and financial stability could even be impacted.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Joannah Connolly
REW

The Cambie Corridor is set to get a massive influx of new housing, with 11,500 new homes planned under Phase 3 of the area’s redevelopment, the City announced Monday June 12.

The draft plan is the City’s first to introduce below-market rental housing as part of its housing policy. Of the 11,500 new homes planned, more than 4,000 are intended as “affordable” homes, including social and rental units linked to residents’ incomes.

“The third phase of the Cambie Corridor Plan is the first of many exciting steps that puts the City’s Housing Strategy into action with vision for the neighbourhood that delivers a housing mix that meets peoples’ needs,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “I’ve heard loud and clear that people want a mix of housing – rental, townhomes and row houses – near schools, parks and transit in Vancouver’s low-density neighbourhoods. This plan for the Cambie Corridor provides that and more.”

A series of public consultation events are being held this week to let residents offer their feedback on the Cambie Corridor plans and city-wide need for housing.

The Cambie Corridor Phase 3 planning program will hold two public open houses to share information and discuss the draft plan directions

• Thursday, June 15, 2017, 4-8 pm, Oakridge Centre Auditorium, 650 West 41st Avenue
• Saturday, June 17, 2017, 11am-5pm, Oakridge Centre Auditorium, 650 West 41st Avenue
• An online questionnaire will also be available at vancouver.ca/cambiecorridor

In addition, “The Big Conversation,” a public forum on the future of housing across Vancouver, will be held on Saturday, June 17, 10am-1.30pm at the Vancouver Curling Club at Hillcrest Centre. This is a free event but there is limited space; register at vancouver.ca/housing or complete the online questionnaire by June 23 if you cannot attend.

City staff are scheduled to report back to council in late July with results of the initial public feedback, as well as an update on priority actions. The City stated that new interim 10-year housing targets will also be proposed to create housing “based on what people can afford, in new locations, and in housing forms that meet the needs of our diverse population.” It added that these targets will be refined throughout the fall and will become part of the final Housing Vancouver Strategy.

© 2017 REW.ca