Hilary Macdonald Vancouver Realtor

A couple of years ago the City of Vancouver changed the process of applying for building permits; the wait time for permits increased from weeks to months. I have one client who waited a year for permits for a new build and now has to list the new home in a sluggish market that also includes the foreign buyers tax. Of course we will also find out if the new vacant home tax will apply to the property while the home sits on the MLS. More recently another home buyer bought a pr...operty to renovate and move into, hopefully by christmas, but after 6 months they are still waiting for permits from the City. Unfortunately a lot of the house was dismantled to check wiring/plumbing and is not a space that could be lived in. So another house out of the rental pool. The owners, having sold their home, are in desperate need for a temporary home; the low vacancy rate has made this impossible for them and don't forget their costs of the property (taxes) plus now potentially paying rent. Vision Vancouver are moving forward with a vacant home tax to help with the vacancy rate and yet they are impeding construction/renovation projects that may help increase the vacancy rate. I would like to see Gregor Robertson and the City get their house in order now, not later, now. Home owners are taxed by the City and Province relentlessly and we get nothing in return really. Property taxes pay for schools, roads, transit and City expenditures, we pay separately for garbage, recycling and electricity. The financial gain for the Governments should in itself be incentive to make the process of acquiring building permits a speedy and staight forward application. Landowners, homeowners and commercial building owners are the biggest source of $$ for the City through taxes, licenses and business. The City isn't helping it's citizens the best it can, it's actually hindering our potential. See more

http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org//laneway-house/ I'm interested in building a laneway house or coach house. If anyone has a recommendation please let me know.

http://ow.ly/LZB23057jr2 Amazing to think that Vancouvers' Chinatown is one of the largest in the world of Chinatowns. Walking around there today it is hard to believe with all of the new development.

I think at this point in time those of us living in the City of Vancouver now realize our Vision dominated City Council led by good ol Gregor Robinson are not working for us or with us. Their agenda seems to be dedicated to leaving some type of personal legacy; "greenest city" "bike friendly" blah blah blah. As elected officials our city councillors are supposed to represent the voters and their wishes. This means "transparency"; we should all be aware of what is going o...n before the decisions are final so we can be involved in the decisions. Last weeks announcement regarding the future ban of natural gas within Vancouver by 2050 came as a bit of a surprise to many. Sure we may all want to have a greener, cleaner environment but I think the Council needs to offer an alternative before announcing this drastic change. The backlash wouldn't have been so strong if they had also announced the use of methane gas from the landfills and that Fortis BC will be collaborating with the City to make this an alternative with no personal cost to homeowners. Oh what? They didn't coordinate that?? Come on, you cannot remove the cheapest form of heating for homes, hospitals and buildings, not to mention fuel for buses, cooking in restaurants etc etc and not have a ready inexpensive alternative. Future buildings and homes will not have gas as an option for heat or hotwater. Existing buildings and houses will have to be extensively altered to adapt to electric furnaces and hotwater tanks at the owners expense. At a time when Vancouver is facing a heritage crisis, this is just another reason for a homeowner to knock down their home as opposed to restoring it. I would like the City Council to revisit this and perhaps make it a debate topic for the next election. The financial costs not just for the homeowners but also the taxpayers footing the bill for changing out buses and the huge expense of altering how hospitals operate, not to mention schools and all public buildings. Do you think they are going to disclose the anticipated cost? Do they even know? See more

In July 2000 the City had a development plan in place for the Arbutus Corridor. It specified the land was to provide "rail, transit and cyclist paths" and also listed a few walking path ideas. This plan was made after extensive consultation and was adopted by City Bylaw #8249. Here we are 16 years later, the land has been purchased by the tax payers and the City drives up and rips out the rails and starts to pave the corridor. After residents complained about this quick "tem...porary" paving the City agreed to stop. So we've paid to remove the rails that could have seen some maintenance and then carried the commuter trains and paved the potential gardening area that could provide food for the neighbourhood. The City says it must do extensive public consultation so we can all agree upon a useful and environmentally safe outcome. Seems funny the first thing the City did was remove the useful and pollute the environment!I See more