sample of some of values folk in the West End voted on in a dot democracy excercise

Residents pack community forum to demand new West End plan

WERA President in was quoted in an article in Xtra West, by Shauna Lewis in regard to
proposed new developments in the West End through the City of Vancouver Stir program:

“We’re not against density and we’re not against development,” says WERA’s current president, Brent Granby. “But [development] should conform to the urgent needs of the city.”

Granby says the only way WERA would support the STIR program was if it was reviewed and mandated to consider eco-sustainability, affordability and livability within the development and rezoning process. “We don’t support any development that doesn’t create affordability and ecological sustainability.”

For the full article:Xtra West

WERA directors Sharon Isaak and Christine Ackermann are quoted in a West Ender article by Jackie Wong in regards to letters sent to renters at the Windsor, 1924 Barclay, demanding higher rents by the company the owns the building.

WEST ENDER

Article posted here with the permission of the author.

More West End renters cry foul
Posted By: Jackie Wong
02/04/2010

Hollyburn Properties, a Vancouver-based property management company, has repeatedly come under fire in recent years from West End renters who claim the company has issued unreasonable rent increases and implemented unfair “renovictions” (eviction for the purpose of renovations). Last month, tenants of another Hollyburn apartment building alerted WE to rent increases that exceed the annual limit allowed by the provincial government. Yet while the manager of the building says those increases are “an isolated circumstance,” a similar situation has taken place at the same building twice in the last nine years.

In 2001, tenants of the Windsor apartment building, at 1924 Barclay Street, disputed rent increases at the Residential Tenancy Office; in 2004, landlords began evicting tenants with the justification that unoccupied suites would be necessary during renovations.

Most recently, two Windsor tenants received a letter from Hollyburn, dated January 8, asking them to sign off approval of a rent increase that would bring their suites up to market value. While the requested increases are at least three times the 3.2-per-cent annual allowable increase set by the B.C. government for 2010, Hollyburn cites a provision in the province’s Residential Tenancy Act that allows for increases above the annual allowable amount if those increases serve to bring the a suite up to market value. continue reading…

WERA Director Christine Ackermann is quoted in regard to the recent court decision from Seafield apartment filing which struck down a 30% rent increase. For the full story select the link below”
full Xtra West story

WERA President is quoted in in an article by Carlito Pablo in the regard to the unaffordability of new purpose built apartment units built by the City of Vancouver’s new STIR program.

For the full story select the link below:

unaffordability of STIR

WERA director Christine Ackermann, IOCC Chair Am Johal and Wendy Pedersen CCAP

This article first appeared in the West Ender and is reposed here with the permission of the author.

homelessness, Olympics
Posted By: Jackie Wong
11/19/2009 12:00 AM

Housing, homelessness, and the 2010 Olympics will be the focus of a public forum on Monday (November 23) at SFU Harbour Centre’s Fletcher Challenge Theatre. The forum is part of the Right to the City lecture series organized by the Impact on Communities Coalition, an Olympic watchdog group.

The forum features speakers with a wide range of expertise on Vancouver housing and homelessness, including Martha Lewis of the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre; Wendy Pedersen of the Downtown Eastside’s Carnegie Community Action Project; and Reverend Ric Matthews of First United Church, the site of one of the first homeless shelters to open last winter under Mayor Gregor Robertson’s Homeless Emergency Action Team (HEAT).

While preparations for the 2010 Games have drawn criticism from housing and civil-liberties advocates, attributing all of the city’s housing issues to the Olympics is too simple, says Nathan Edelson, a former senior planner for the City of Vancouver and a speaker at the Right to the City forum. continue reading…

The Right to the City: Housing, Homelessness and the 2010 Olympics

A Public Forum Hosted by the Impact on Communities Coalition

Monday, November 23, 2009

7:00 – 9:00 pm

Fletcher Challenge Theatre, SFU Harbour Centre

Reverend Ric Matthews, First United Church
Christine Ackermann, West End Residents Association
Wendy Pederson, Carnegie Community Action Project
Nathan Edelson, Former Senior Planner, City of Vancouver
Martha Lewis, Tenants Resource Advisory Centre
Am Johal, Impact on Communities Coalition
David Dennis, United Native Nations
Monte Paulson, Investigative Editor, The Tyee
Christine Parnell-Smith, Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Society

Moderated by Stefanie Ratjen, Board Member, Impact on Communities Coalition

When the Olympic bid process was underway, the Inner City Inclusive Commitment was signed in 2003 and included commitments around a housing legacy and protection from Olympic related evictions. This panel will look at the impacts of the 2010 Olympics on housing and other urbanization processes underway in Vancouver including the crisis of affordability, the proliferation of homelessness and loopholes in tenancy legislation which are resulting in evictions.

You can find out more about this event on Facebook, or on the IOCC website.

WERA Director Christine Ackermann was quoted in the Province Nov. 9th in regard to resident’s concerns about two proposed rezoning applications in the West End

full Province story

There also has been a facebook group set up to connect residents with concerns with this project together called:
Neighbours Concerned about 1401 Comox Street

And a website:

1401 Comox, rezoning the West End

Am Johal (IOCC), Christine Ackermann (WERA) Janine Fuller (R@RC) and David Eby (BCCL)

WERA Director Christine Ackermann is quoted in an article by West Ender reporter Jackie Wong in regard to a history of evictions of tenants in the West End

Olympic human-rights complaints taken to Switzerland
By Jackie Wong continue reading…

Former WERA director Terry Lavender was quoted in a story in the West Ender on pedestrian issues.

Lavender said: “[The City of Vancouver] has a Bicycle Advisory Committee, so why not somebody for pedestrians, especially since pedestrians are supposed to come first under the Downtown Transportation Plan?” says West End Residents Association (WERA) spokesperson Terry Lavender. “People who are walking are still traffic; they’re still trying to get to their destination. But if you treat them as an obstacle and not part of the traffic flow, they tend to be ignored.”

He also said: “Pedestrian life makes a city more vital because when people are at a walking pace, you are in contact with your fellow human beings. If everybody’s in their cars, or even if everybody’s on their bicycles, you’re going at high speeds. You’re not making eye contact with people, and there is no chance for those random encounters that add so much to the life of the city.”

TRAC to handle olympic-related tenant disputes

By Jackie Wong

As part of its efforts to prevent unfair evictions during the lead-up to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the City of Vancouver has hired the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (TRAC) to help renters deal with Olympic-related tenancy issues. The City had originally set aside $40,000 for a tenant-assistance worker to start work this past spring, with the position remaining active through Games time. The position will now be shared among TRAC staff, who will hire additional part-time workers to help run a drop-in office at an as-yet-undetermined location. continue reading…