Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Residents in Vancouver’s affluent Kitsilano neighbourhood waged a fierce three-year legal and political battle against a planned supportive-housing development on city-owned land. They won. In April the city backed down, signing a consent agreement to halt rezoning for the project and paying the Kitsilano Coalition $3,445 in legal costs. Advocates fear this is just the latest sign of a bleak future for supportive housing in the province ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia’s housing minister says he is concerned about the future of supportive-housing projects in Vancouver after the city quashed construction plans in a west-side neighbourhood amid a legal battle with residents over the rezoning changes. The rezoning for the 129-unit, 13-storey project in Kitsilano was rescinded April 30, after a consent order between a local residents’ group and the city essentially overturned a 2022 approval. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said he was surprised by the city’s decision to abandon fighting a lawsuit the Kitsilano Coalition for Children and Family Safety Society had brought claiming the city’s public-hearing process for the rezoning was flawed ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC's housing minister is vowing to continue forcing local approval of new housing projects, even after a surprising loss in the province’s top court. Ravi Kahlon said he’s frustrated by a BC Court of Appeal decision that ruled provincial legislation was unconstitutional when it tried to override a judicial challenge to a 12-storey supportive housing project in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood ... ... Kitsilano Coalition for Children & Family Safety, a neighbourhood group that challenged the province in court, celebrated the win. “The 7th/8th & Arbutus project, as proposed, would have placed 129 units of low-barrier supportive housing, including an in-house drug consumption room, a mere 17 metres from an elementary school with 450 children, a successful women's recovery home, and a toddler park. This is simply not a recipe for success” ... CLICK HERE for the full story