The moment we have been waiting for is here!

The motion to City Council is finally coming on Tuesday that proposes changes to RS zones to protect character houses like we had asked for under the Character House Zoning Review that were not previously implemented.

Motion B8: Increasing Affordable Housing Options Through Character House Incentives in RS Zones  

Motion B.8 here.

Agenda Tuesday Oct. 1, 2019 here.

Requests to speak to council here or email to speaker.request@vancouver.ca

It is urgent that there are a lot of letters of support and speakers for this motion that Councillor Colleen Hardwick is putting forward.

The following are some basic points that could be used or modified for an email to Council.

To:  City of Vancouver, Mayor Stewart and Council

Re: Motion B8 - Increasing Affordable Housing Options Through Character House Incentives in RS Zones  

This letter is in support of this motion.

The multi-year Character House Zoning Review consultation process showed very strong support for changes to the RS zones to avoid character house demolitions and to allow more affordable housing choices that were unfortunately not implemented at the time. Current retention options are clearly not adequate and this motion rectifies that.

The motion also addresses the needed changes to the Building Bylaw and other bylaws, policies and programs needed to make retention and renovation viable. The Renovation Centre needs to be properly staffed and resourced.

The Character House Zoning Review included years of consultation, and if zoning changes are delayed, an increasing amount of our city’s heritage and character house stock will be lost along with the affordable housing opportunities they represent.

Add any other personal observations regarding continuing demolitions and concerns. Also look at the motion linked above for anything that you would like to specifically quote from. Or even just one line expressing support is appreciated.

Email to:

kennedy.stewart@vancouver.ca   adriane.carr@vancouver.ca   melissa.degenova@vancouver.ca   lisa.dominato@vancouver.ca   pete.fry@vancouver.ca    colleen.hardwick@vancouver.ca  jean.swanson@vancouver.ca   michael.wiebe@vancouver.ca    rebecca.bligh@vancouver.ca   christine.boyle@vancouver.ca    CLRkirby-yung@vancouver.ca     

Please send emails before 9:30 am Tuesday October 1, 2019.

Thank you