Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vision Vancouver is fighting for re-election in a city that hasn�t forgotten the downtown bike lane controversy, the Stanley Cup riots and, now, Occupy Vancouver. Robertson was previously the successful entrepreneur who founded Happy Planet Foods before he won the mayor�s chair in 2008.
As the election campaign headed into its final two-week run, BIV caught up with Robertson for an in-depth chat about how he�s tackled affordable housing and red tape during his current administration, and what he plans to do next.
Why should business owners vote for you?
We�ve seen a robust time for our city�s economy these past three years with city hall responding to business needs and proactively doing aggressive economic development work, in sharp contrast to past councils.
Could you outline some specific economic development work you�ve undertaken?
The tax shift is one very direct piece of support that has shifted that burden from business to residents for three years in a row. It�s got one more year left. We�ll then assess it from there because it doesn�t address the �hot spots� where the speculative value of a property unduly drives up the tax for a small business in a particular location.
Next is an expedited look at regulatory change; tax, regulatory and customer service changes that could make a difference for businesses in the city. Part of that obviously will look at the impact of the tax shift and what our next steps are in terms of property tax.
What have you done to address red tape issues?
The 311 change is one that simplified phone interaction with the city and access to city staff by phone. We�ve got a whole online system that will launch in 2012 that will enable business to do a lot more of those processes online.
One of the key hurdles for businesses is a lack of affordable housing for employees. How do you plan to address that?
We have really pushed the pace on creating more housing supply as our primary strategy. We�ve had more housing starts than Surrey these past two years. We�ve had over 40 re-zonings now and over nine million square feet in those re-zonings.
We actually have been successfully building rental with the Short Term Incentives for Rental [STIR] program, where about 500 units are being built, [with] about 500 more in the pipeline. It�s been many years since purpose-built rental housing has been built in the city.
Suzanne Anton says she�d end the moratorium on apartment demolitions in RM-3 zones and permit densification that allows rental and condominium development. Is that something you would be in favour of?
No, but I do want to look at where the specific opportunities to protect the rental units but add more density are because there may be [some], particularly around the arterials of the RM-3 districts. We just have to be careful how we do that. We don�t want a net loss in our housing stock, particularly with rental when it�s vulnerable.
One critique of your STIR program is that it effectively subsidizes developers. What�s your response?
The city doesn�t give money to developers. The incentives with the STIR program mean they don�t pay the community amenity charges (CACs) – and get a discount on development cost levies (DCLs) if they build rental.
These re-zonings are windfalls to city taxpayers by enabling more density. We couldn�t get rental units in these buildings with just added density, the pro forma doesn�t work because there�s no provincial or federal support to build rental.
The city�s toolbox includes parking, CACs, DCLs and more density. This program demonstrated that we needed all of those in the mix to encourage developers to build rentals instead of condos.
In 2008, you discussed the concept of a speculator�s tax for absentee property owners. Is that something you�re still pursuing?
No. We looked at the condo stock and on closer scrutiny discovered that a fair bit is in the rental supply.
It keeps coming up as a concern – the foreign ownership and speculation in our real estate market driving up prices and creating empty buildings. I still believe that pushing the supply side is the best short-term strategy. I�m not seeing the speculator tax approach as a near-term strategy, but it�s something we�ve got to watch.
Do you have plans for any more separated bike lanes?
There�s no plans to do more separated bike lanes downtown.
Could it be viable to re-start the streetcar line?
The streetcar is a huge risk to taxpayers in the form that [Anton] proposes. There�s no business plan, there�s no support from Translink, the province or the federal government.
We�re probably talking $200 million that she thinks could be financed through a P3. But there aren�t many profitable streetcar systems in the world. Transit is generally subsidized by other forms of revenue. My focus is on improving the bus service and getting the Broadway corridor some rapid transit. That�s where the people are, that�s where I think the most successful business model is within the transit system because we have huge ridership on Broadway and we have buses passing people up all over Vancouver right now.
We all love streetcars. They�re fun, but certainly not essential right now.��
