I am rarely blogging at the moment. I will start again when something interesting crops up. Previously, I wrote about current major political issues in Richmond BC, my community, that interested me.

For entries more than a year old, the blog archive is here.

October 9, 2024. Investor ownership of Richmond condos is an impediment to rentals.

Interview with Gloria Macarenko, host of the CBC program On the Coast.

Available here.

Why investor ownership of condos replaces purpose-built rental housing and what can be done about it.

Although this is a video of the interview, it was broadcast on radio only and I didn't realize the video was being recorded.

October 7, 2024. One-third of Richmond condos are investment properties: Stats Canada.

Aricle published in Richmond News.

By Maria Rantanen

Housing advocate calls for city to buy land for rental buildings.

One-third of all condos in Richmond are considered "investment properties" by Statistics Canada.

Of the 32,240 condos in Richmond, 10,980, or 34.1 per cent, are owned as investments, according to a report from Statistics Canada releasedon Thursday. This is slightly lower, however, than the average in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area, where 34.2 per cent of condos were considered investment properties. But only 12.7 per cent of single-detached homes, a total of 2,940, are considered investments, out of a total of 23,170 single-detached homes in Richmond.

Statistics Canada flagged some cities in Ontario, such as London and Windsor, where condos were 85.5 per cent and 64.4 per cent, respectively, of properties were classified as investments. StatsCan noted a potential explanation was that some large condo buildings were owned entirely by one business and run like a rental building. This was possible due to tax incentives in some Ontario cities.

John Roston, coordinator for the Richmond Rental Housing Advocacy Group, noted the median square footage of investor-owned Richmond condos has shrunk over the years.

"The conclusion, in our view, is that Richmond condos are getting smaller when we need them to get bigger to accommodate the families most in need and that a sizeable proportion of the people who purchase them have a strong motive for a rapid rise in purchase prices and eviction of tenants when they do," Roston wrote in a letter to Richmond mayor and council.

"Pre-zoning land for rental housing keeps land purchase costs low enough that market rental housing developers can afford to buy it and they have a motive to build larger apartments to meet the strong demand for them," he added. Furthermore, he suggested the city should buy land that can be leased for "the construction of low-income rental housing that is financed by higher levels of government."

November 15, 2023. BC Government support for electric vehicle charging.

A document from John Roston on EV charging discussed with Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne and Richmond-Steveston MLA Kelly Greene.

Objective 1: Increase EV charging in existing multi-family buildings (MURBs).

Actions:

a. Provide a simple document for strata councils that gives five examples of different size projects and what they cost. They need a ballpark estimate before considering preparation of a plan.

b. Increase the 75% subsidy for developing the EV Ready Plan by increasing the cap on total cost from $3,000 to $5,000.

c. Create two separate funds for the EV Ready Plan subsidy with a larger allocation to the fund for municipalities that cover the other 25% of the cost. Accompanied by a sales pitch for developing a plan at no cost even if the strata does not implement it. They are more likely to decide to implement it once they have a plan.

d. Provide more standard documentation for developing an EV Ready Plan. Sample diagrams. Fill in the blanks. Reduce the time and cost of producing a plan.

e. Subsidize the installation of electrical wiring and outlets but not the installation of charging units (EVSEs) not currently required. They are likely to be obsolete before they are used.

Objective 2: Encourage installation of level 3 public charging rather than level 2.

Action:

Public station installation subsidies should be directed to fast level 3 charging which lets more consumers charge at each public station. Emphasis should be on working with existing gas stations that provide restrooms and food.

Objective 3: Encourage EV owners charging at home from 11 pm to 7 am.

Actions:

a. Implement regulation requiring EV dealers to set the charging timer to after 11 pm before delivering vehicle to owner.

b. Stop penalizing EV owners (who pay for charging at the Step 2 rate) by implementing Step 1 rate if electrical consumption takes place from 11 pm to 7 am. Keep existing Step 2 consumption threshold but only for consumption from 7 am to 11 pm.

c. Abandon BC Hydro proposed rate change which continues to penalize EV owners who pay for charging at the Step 2 rate (+4.33 cents/kWh). Further, it increases the rate (+5 cents/kWh) for consumption from 4 pm to 9 pm which discourages EV owners from switching from natural gas to heat pumps and electricity for hot water and cooking.

Objective 4: Develop time shift plan for EV owners using bi-directional charging and switching from natural gas to heat pumps and electricity for hot water and cooking.

Actions:

a. Prepare for implementation in 2025 of bi-directional EV charging which allows for switching to power from the EV battery to meet household electrical demand. Enables major reductions in peak load on the electrical grid from 4 pm to 9 pm. Also provides emergency backup power.

b. Use EV battery to supply whole house consumption from 4 pm to 9 pm. Switch back to grid supply at 9 pm. Charge vehicle from 11 pm to 7 am.

c. Implement 50% subsidy for installation of a bi-directional charging unit and a whole house power transfer switch to a combined total cost of $5,000. Although the total cost is currently at least $8,000, this is for more complex systems than required. The cost of simpler systems will come down by 2025.

For entries more than a year old, the blog archive is here.