Rental Only Zones in Victoria

Victoria councillors decided Thursday to begin consulting with building owners and the public on plans to apply residential rental tenure zoning to all 500 existing purpose-built rental buildings — containing about 16,000 apartment units — in the city. If approved, this would mean only residential rental units would be permitted on the properties.

“It’s a move that’s needed in a city where 61 per cent of residents are renters, said Mayor Lisa Helps.
 “This is a non-starter,” says David Hutniak, CEO of Landlord B.C. who feels new zoning should “absolutely not” be imposed without the owners’ consent.

Read the full story in Times Colonist online: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/victoria-eyes-forever-rentals-but-landlords-say-no-way-1.23876766

Reviewing June’s Greater Victoria Housing

The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a single-family home in the Victoria core area last month was $859,600, down by 4.3 per cent from $898,500 in June 2018. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium was $524,100 last month, which is an increase of 2.97 per cent from $509,000 in June 2018.

The number of year-to-year sales rose. A total of 740 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this June, 4.5 per cent more than the 708 properties sold in June 2018.

There is more inventory on the market giving buyers more choice. Active listings have risen 17.1 per cent from June 2018. There were 3,040 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of June 2019.

Reference: https://www.vreb.org/current-statistics

Greater Victoria Neighbourhoods - Cook Street Village

Cook Street Village is a vibrant, pedestrian friendly community which prides itself for its uniquely varied storefronts and heritage homes with their pitched rooflines, bay and oriel windows and traditional cladding. Like Oak Bay, it is a single-corridor community. It extends through five blocks of Cook Street: The north half (Oscar to Oliphant) is commercial in character and anchored by two major food stores and an eclectic mix of small businesses. The south half (Oliphant to Leonard) flanks Beacon Hill Park and features beautiful heritage homes along with one of Victoria’s most distinguished heritage apartments; Hampton Court.

The street’s small-town atmosphere with its wide corners and boulevards full of chestnut trees, and its proximity to both the ocean and the downtown core makes the area surrounding The Cook Street Village one of Victoria's most sought-after locations for both renters and home buyers. In fact, the Cook Street "Corridor" from the village to Fort Street contains a higher concentration of rental accommodation than any other area in Greater Victoria.

Even though the city has required new developments to provide adequate parking, finding a spot to park your car is a challenge. However, you won’t mind parking on a side street and walking because Cook Street Village’s shopfronts, open markets and outdoor restaurants are best enjoyed on foot.

A great opportunity to live in this prime area, Cook St Village and Fairfield, please view my listing at 634 Cornwall Street,
http://janelogan.com/listing2.html…

References:
https://www.victoria.ca/…/neighbourhoods-cook-st-village.pdf

Langford Sued for Giving OK to Building That Didn’t Use an Architect

The Provincial Architects Act prohibits a person other than an architect from designing an apartment with five or more dwelling units. That’s the basis of the lawsuit against the city of Langford and it’s chief building inspector Jerry Worobec by the Architectural Institute of BC.

The Institute wants to see a declaration from the court that the decision to issue the permit was unreasonable because the drawings submitted “were not in compliance with a provincial law [the Architects Act] relating to the safety of buildings,” and “were prepared by an unlicensed person who provides design services, not an architect, contrary to the Architects Act.”

Langford Mayor Stew Young was outraged when he learned about the lawsuit.
The municipality’s currently is only responsible for making sure a building is up to code, not to be a gatekeeper for a private professional organization.

“They want to get municipalities to do their enforcement. They’re the ones making the money, but (we’re being asked) to do the enforcement for no money,” Young said.

Reference: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/langford-sued-for-giving-ok-to-building-that-has-no-architect-1.23853919

Choosing the Right Neighbourhood in Greater Victoria

New to Victoria?

It can be a daunting task to decide where you want to settle. Here are four tips to help you make your final decision on where to live a bit easier:

Contact the municipality

Municipalities have plenty of information on hand including brochures and booklets containing the locations of colleges, libraries, ambulance stations, hospitals, parks and transit stops. They will help you locate community amenities such as recreation centres, swimming pools and ice rinks, and they will inform you on the programs they offer.

Call the local police and fire departments

Ask about response time to emergencies and the locations of their service stations.

Contact local school boards

The School Districts will be happy to give you information on the locations of elementary and secondary schools within their jurisdictions. Take the time to mark the routes your children would take to their school(s).

Talk with a Realtor®

I can offer you general advice and information on many of the above topics. Realtors® have access to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) and can provide you with a customized list of properties available for sale in the neighbourhood of your choice. I would be honoured should you choose to work with me.

Reference: https://www.vreb.org/resources/view/27-picking-the-right-neighbourhood

Do You Enjoy Volunteering?

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary is looking for Summer Naturalist Assistants to connect with nature and children to help create a welcoming, safe and fun learning environment where you and the children will discover the many living things that call the Sanctuary home. Contact jdawson@swanlake.bc.ca or 250-479-0211 ext 1010.

Threshold Housing Society is looking for help to garden and pick-up/drop-off donations.
If you are interested email assist@thresholdhousing.ca today!

Dragon Boat Festival is seeking a team of volunteers for this year’s Victoria International Dragon Boat Festival (Aug. 9-11). Go to victoriadragonboat.com to complete your application or contact volunteer coordinator Brittany Nostadt at brittanyn@fgpaddle.com. Phone: 778-432-3472.

Saanich Peninsula Hospital needs Volunteer Activities Assistants to help staff with activities offered to the extended care residents such as bingo, yoga, gardening, outings and crafts, and to provide companionship to residents who will benefit from extra attention.
Contact: Lindsay Meissner 250-652-7519.

Saanich Strawberry Festival needs a Strawberry and Ice Cream Server on Sunday, July 7. You will be helping a crew of 30 serve more than 3,000 servings in under two hours, so be prepared for a great deal of scooping and serving. Volunteers get to enjoy some free strawberries and ice cream at shift’s end.
More information on this and other positions contact: Gaileen Flaman 250-475-5502.

Victoria Cool Aid Society is looking for volunteers to help in their day services area to hand out hygiene supplies and towels, make coffee, sign folks in and out of showers and assist in the clothing donation room.
Contact: Michelle Latour 250-383-1951 Ext. 4.

Free Bus Passes in Victoria!

If you’re 18 or under and live in the city of Victoria, you’ll be able to ride the bus for free starting this September. The Victoria Regional Transit Commission voted Tuesday to approve a City of Victoria motion to provide free transit for all youth who live at an address in the city.

Currently, a monthly youth pass costs $45 which means families will be able to save up to $540 per year per kid.

Encouraging kids to use public transportation is a good idea since 70 per cent of all daily trips in the region take place in a vehicle according to a 2017 study conducted for the Capital Regional District.

Reference: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/free-transit-ok-d-for-youth-living-in-victoria-starts-in-september-1.23852759