“As I wind my way through White Rock during this municipal campaign I’ve had discussions with fellow candidates and voters about a myriad of topics, from rail safety to mistrust in city hall to high-rise development. All of these topics elicit strong and ranging points of view but there’s one topic that seems to garner similar responses regardless of who I speak with, or where they sit on the political spectrum, and that’s the impact of empty homes on our community. Surprisingly, I seem to be the only candidate in this race that’s even discussing this issue, much less attempting to find a solution.
One of the challenges in addressing this is the lack of reliable information. The only available statistics that touch on the issue are courtesy of Statistics Canada and are now almost a year old but they paint a concerning picture, particularly when juxtaposed with regional affordability statistics. At a 4.1% non-resident home ownership rate, White Rock is tied with the UBC Endowment Lands for the 10th highest non-resident home ownership rate in Metro Vancouver. What’s more, the average value of non-resident owned homes in White Rock, both single and multi-family, is higher than the value of homes owned by people who actually live in them. Coincidentally, White Rock also makes the top 10 least affordable Metro Vancouver communities, so says a report from Zoocasa.
Recently, I was speaking with voters and delivering flyers in the west side of our city and I was struck by the number of homes that were either completely sparse or buttoned up as though no one had been there for some time. This is hardly proof of non-resident ownership, however, buttressed by the above referenced stats and the conversations I’ve had with residents about the negative impact they feel empty homes are having on their sense of community, my own observations become a stronger indicator.
To put all of this into context, the same statistical reporting puts Vancouver at 7.6 percent non-resident home ownership rate and they’ve declared themselves in a widely reported affordability crisis. West Vancouver is over 9 percent and its council have only recently lobbied the provincial government for authority to implement bylaws to address it (read empty homes tax). Even the city of Victoria is joining the fray on this issue.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that all non-resident owned homes are empty. What I am saying is there’s:
- a) very likely a correlation between the non-resident home ownership rate and the number of empty homes in our community;
- b) that non-resident home ownership is absolutely a factor impacting affordability in our community; and
- c) we ought to accept this and begin tracking it as one step towards, at minimum, developing an affordability strategy in White Rock.
The new Mayor and council, of which I hope to be a member, have an opportunity, perhaps, to punch above our weight and demonstrate leadership on this issue. We can leverage our contributions to and relationships through the Metro Vancouver Board, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to champion a Metro Vancouver wide strategy because, ultimately, a city by city patchwork will only serve to push the issue around Metro Vancouver.
This all starts, though, with data collection and if our city isn’t collecting it, it falls to others to take up the mantle which is why I’m launching my own empty homes “registry”. I’m asking all members of our community, if you suspect a home in your neighbourhood is empty, to send the address, either single family or multi-family including a unit number, to christian4council@gmail.com.
I acknowledge this is largely an anecdotal exercise and hardly reliable evidence upon which to base municipal policy but I believe it will prove a very valuable litmus test and help encourage our new Mayor and council, whomever the good people of White Rock choose, to tackle this issue head on. “