Dear City of Victoria
Re: Missing Middle Initiative Public Engagement Session
I regret that I will be working at the time you are hosting the Missing Middle Housing Initiative information sessions and am unable to attend. As a stakeholder in the City of Victoria, I am hoping you can provide answers to the questions I had hoped to ask at the session. I have chosen to make these questions public as the session is. I am happy to share your replies on my post or you can reply directly to them below.
Thank you.
Susan Simmons
Missing Middle Questions
- How many homes in Victoria are currently designated as single-family house and what percent of overall homes in Victoria do they represent?
- How many of these single-family homes host more than one family?
- How many families currently living in Victoria are looking for a home with more than 2 bedrooms?
- How many families currently living in Victoria who are looking for a home with more than 2 bedrooms can afford a $900,000+ mortgage?
- What efforts is the city making to provide affordable housing for those who do not qualify for the $900,000 mortgage?
- What protections does MMHI offer people who are displaced through demolitions for new builds?
- How many house-plexes and townhouses do you anticipate will be built in Victoria in the next year? In the next 5 years?
- What is the expected city tax revenue from these new dwellings in the first year? And the 5th year?
- How many trees do you anticipate will need to be cut down to make room for missing middle housing in year 1? And by year 5?
- In her blog, Lisa Helps suggests the city is proposing missing middle housing to provide housing options for “people we need to attract to and keep in our communities – doctors, nurses, police officers, tradespeople, and others who are essential to our community wellbeing and economy”. What steps if any is the city taking to ensure this housing is available to those she is targeting? How will the city measure this?
- What steps is the city taking to ensure schools and community organizations are able to manage the increased capacity and workloads in the areas of the new builds?
- Has the city considered the impact on our local transportation network? What plans have been put in place to manage anticipated increased bus use?
- My local grocery store is already overly busy. Does the city have plans to bring new businesses into the areas impacted by densification? How will the city encourage new business and where will they be situated?
- Many in Victoria have no family Doctor, clinics have closed and when they are open wait times are long. As you increase densification with MM what steps are being taken to make sure EXISTING AND NEW residents have access to doctors and medical treatment when needed?
- What role has Luke Mari from Aryze played in the development of the Missing Middle Housing Initiative?
- Based on the current documentation, MMHI approvals will be made by staff in order to “get council and the public out of the way.” Who are the people who will make the decisions, what are their qualifications, and who will they be held accountable? What avenues will members of the public have to express an opinion on a development that affects them?
- Has the City of Victoria consulted with our local police and firefighters to discuss and plan for the impact of the increased population. If yes, what were the results of these discussions?
- Has the City of Victoria reviewed the impact of the increased population on hydro, sewage and water management? If yes, what were the results of each of these reviews?
Sent to: engage@victoria.ca, bylawservices@victoria.ca
Copied to: mayor@victoria.ca, malto@victoria.ca, stephen.andrew@victoria.ca, sdubow@victoria.ca, jloveday@victoria.ca, spotts@victoria.ca, cthornton-joe@victoria.ca, gyoung@victoria.ca, bisitt@victoria.ca
RESIDENT QUESTIONS ADDED POST SUBMISSION TO CITY
- Is there a limitation in place for purchase? I would think that it would have to be for primary residence only? Not for sublet or Air bnb? What is the policy on these? If more corporations purchase these properties we are back at square One? What safeties are in place?
All excellent questions! I have my doubts that there has been any thought put into this at all (by Lisa and Co. and staff, some of council have considered these issues). Our mayor wants what she wants, and she wants to fulfil her promises to developers before she leaves.
Excellent questions – I’m particularly interested in question # 15 – how much influence has this developer had in city hall?
These questions are as selfish as it gets. Everything is about you, how you are affected. We shouldn’t provide housing because “My local grocery store is already overly busy.” Get a grip and think about other people for a second in your day.
Susan, You’ve ‘nailed it’! This Missing Middle proposal is a rudderless ship.
Thanks for putting so much thought into your questions. I am curious as to what answers you receive.
Another challenge with MMH is accessibility – with 25% of the Canadian population (likely higher in Victoria due to our demographics), how will accessible housing be addressed through this proposal? One key premise of MMH is “no elevator core.” How will this proposal support age-in-in-place and families who include a child or parent with a disability? How will it address visitability, such as a grandparent with mobility difficulties coming over for Christmas dinner rather than being left in the senior’s care facility alone?
Many problems still to be addressed.
Susan:
Thanks for putting energy into this. The powerful pro-developer lobby is putting out so much disinformation that it’s hard for the average person to discern the real issues. We need a comprehensive plan for adding more housing that includes a formula for affordability ad selectively upzones where the land values permit that. Otherwise, this will just be a boondoggle for developers and speculators.
Hi Susan, Did you receive any response from the city? If yes, Would you please put them up.