Bethlehem to the OMB

The appeal period has passed on the rezoning of the land for Bethlehem Projects new development on Kalar Rd. in Niagara Falls. Those opposed had opportunity to appeal the council decision to rezone the property for apartment use.

An Ontario Muncipal Board hearing is still required as the Niagara Falls Committee of Adjustment denied consent to create the new parcel. While never a sure thing, our planning consultants advice that there is an excellent chance of a favourable ruling. The hearing may come as early as June.

Habitat Pattern Book

Habitat for Humanity, along with The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America have developed a "Pattern Book" to assist Habitat Affiliates in designing and placing the new homes they create. From the Institute's web site:

More than building new affordable houses, Habitat for Humanity
International's mission is to help people build new lives. The strength of our democracy is based on individual economic achievement and social mobility. Traditional neighborhoods provided a range of types and cost of housing, all within a walking distance of daily services, schools and churches. This mix provided role models for success that served to inspire young people. It ensured the long term stability of the community by providing life-long housing options for people: small inexpensive housing for those beginning their careers, larger family houses when children come along, smaller urban housing for empty nesters, and assisted living for the elderly. Studies have demonstrated that over time the social capital created in such neighborhoods is a key in community stability and the health of its residents. Each house built has two roles: one to provide
adequate shelter and the other to become part of a neighborhood. The architectural character of the exterior of the house is the most critical part of its design in fulfilling its responsibility to the community.

It is clear that no single solution to affordable housing works everywhere. At the same time developing without sensitivity to the surrounding vernacular is disrespectful and makes for a bad start for the new neighbours.

I'm pleased to see this pattern book but continue to believe that single detached homes lack the density that is needed in the face of increased energy costs. Further single detached homes represent a higher costs that could be better used to create more housing. Townhomes and garden apartments seem better suited designs.

Poverty and Smart Growth

It is not often that I hear this. A few days ago in conversation I was told that poverty is not an issue that is central to Smart Growth. I was taken by surprise by this as this person does have feelings for the poor, but somehow could not make the connection.

I am on the Smarter Niagara Steering Committee and have been for 6 years. One of the so called "10 Principles" of Smart Growth is the availability of a range of housing options. It is a weak half-hearted statement, but there it is. What burns me about Smart Growth is the emphasis on technical issues: transects, road widths, bicycle paths, walkability, density. What we often get out of this is Smart Sprawl, developments that have all of these features, but are disconnected from the rest of community life as smartly designed socially gated communities with Stepford standards and prices forcing out the untidiness of the mere ordinary.

My view is that it is not "Smart" if it does not move us socially or economically toward making room for all. The root of this evil is the inequity of income and opportunity, along with the contrasting gluttony of conspicuous and near patriotic consumption supporting the extended last gasp of oil based market economy. Smart growth that leaves out the poor, that further segregates people on the basis of financial equity, is just as cruel as 'dumb' growth'. It is just better to look at and more enjoyable for the 'creative class'.

This is from Trixie Ling at Citizens for Public Justice:

"The visible signs of housing insecurity across Canada are part of a bigger picture of the impact of poverty. The reality is that poverty creates social exclusion and inequality by denying people access to affordable and adequate housing and to full participation in the economy and society. While poverty creates barriers for people to live responsibly and build healthy communities, lack of decent housing is detrimental to the health and well-being of individuals and families. "

I would add it is detrimental to all of us. In the end, if large numbers of citizens are smartly left behind, left out of the sweetness of new traditional neighbourhoods and vibrant downtowns, then we have not accomplished very much at all. Decay, crime, and despair will have just moved down the street into the old suburbs we so love to hate. Eventually it will all come back.

The disparity of income and opportunity, - and I'm no socialist! - that is where the battle begins for a fair and just society that is capable of adapting successfully to a sustainable future.

Ontario to veto ban on clotheslines

At last. Common sense about laundry.

"Premier Dalton McGuinty is to announce today that clotheslines can no longer be banned in subdivisions or almost anywhere else in the province. In a bid to curb the use of energy-sucking dryers, the new regulation will overrule neighbourhood covenants – part of the mortgage agreement between many developers and homebuyers – that outlaw clotheslines because they're considered unsightly. The regulation, to take effect today, will not only prohibit new bans but also wipe out most that already exist, a provision that angered the province's building industry."

This is great news. In our neighbourhood we are the only people who hang out our laundry. We like the smell of wind blown clothes. We also like not running the dryer when it's 30 degrees outside. Come on people! What's wrong with airing a little clean laundry?

Poverty, Housing, and Health

Tonight on PBS was the first of three reports collectively entitled "Unnatural Causes". It's about why some of us get sicker more often and die sooner and what causes us to fall ill in the first place. The first report, called "In Sickness and in Wealth" looked at the correlation between the growing gap between the rich and the poor. It says a lot about why affordable housing, among other indicators of an equitable society, is so important for one's physical health. (Video clip)

In some cities, just a few miles apart, the average life span is more than 10 years longer for those who are relatively more wealthy. The stereotype of the poor not being smart enough to take care of themselves and thus being more sick is far from the truth. In fact it has everything to do with sense of powerlessness of being trapped in poverty. Those who have options have considerably less stress in their lives.

The unending stress of childhood poverty can have lifelong health consequences. Jack Shonkoff of the Harvard Center on the Developing Child:

"Just the burden of day after day not knowing whether there's going to be food on the table or not knowing whether you're going to have a roof over your head, is actually toxic to the brain. So we begin to see in children who experience toxic stress long-term impacts of what's basically been chemically damaging to their brains. The concept here is the pile-up of risk, the cumulative burden of having things that are increasing your chances of having problems, as opposed to the cumulative protection of having things in your life that increase the likelihood that you can have better outcomes.

Economic security may offer some of those cumulative health benefits. In another cold virus study, home ownership was considered as a factor. People were asked if their parents own their own home. It turned out that a child whose parent did not own their family home is much more likely to succumb to a cold virus as an adult. In fact, the more years their parents owned a home, the less likely they'd be to get a cold when we expose them to a virus. A brain that's been subjected to more disruption, an immune system that's been more threatened.

As the gap grows between the poor and the wealthy it may be that this generation will be the first in a century to see a decline in life expectancy. The program makes the argument that advances in medicine, while helpful, did not make as much difference in life expectancy as did the broad advances in general income and relative freedom from worry about merely sustaining one's life.

Not only is affordable housing the right thing to ensure, it also reduces the health care costs we all bear. The total cost of poverty, includes lack of opportunity, lack of contribution, direct welfare costs, families broken by the stress, crime and stress on the justice system, and much more that falls through the cracks of ineffectual charity. Social justice, economic equity are really health issues and ensuring a fair and equitable society is then also a matter of self interest.

Green Mortgages - Real Deal

TD Bank is offering a green mortgage. Is this of real help or is this another example of "greenwashing" (calling a normal product 'green' but not actually delivering)? In this case, it looks real. A 1% reduction, a rebate, and a donation to a good cause. Congratulations TD. Let's see more of this.

We are committed to helping protect the environment, so we want to support our customers as they make environmentally friendly choices. That's why we're introducing the Green Mortgage and the Green Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).

• Save money and help protect the environment with your green home improvement
• Rate discount – you will receive 1% off the posted interest rate on a five-year fixed rate mortgage or on a five-year fixed rate portion of a HELOC
• Cash rebate – we will rebate up to 1% of the amount of the mortgage or the fixed rate portion of the HELOC when you make ENERGY STAR® qualified purchases1.
• And at the time you receive your rebate, TD Canada Trust will donate $100 to the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation
  

Flexibility – this offer is available to new or existing customers. If you have an existing TD Canada Trust mortgage or HELOC fixed rate portion, you can renew or refinance it into this offer3. If you have an existing TD Canada Trust HELOC, you can choose to lock-in all or a portion of the balance into the five-year Fixed Rate Advantage Option

U-Boomers

“We’re so special.” It makes one wonder how the other generations feel about us. The new term, among many, for a large segment of the boomer generation is “U-Boomer.” The “U”, as mentioned in Forbes, stands for uncompromising, so U-Boomers are those who intend on keeping a high flying lifestyle but likely do not have the finances to keep it going. This means those who market to boomers need to figure out how to give them what they want without a lot of cost.

For marketers of active adult communities, that will be a challenge. Part of the solution is in positioning communities so they deliver high value and prestige without pricing the product out of reach. Maybe that means inexpensive hiking and biking trails instead of ultra-expensive golf courses. Or intimate
clubhouses instead of monstrous edifices. A la carte services instead of the buffet approach. Environmentally sustainable communities that not only keep energy expenses down, but make U-Boomers feel like they are fashionable and responsible.

The last line is a bit cynical and was written by someone who does not understand how we change as we age. Research has shown that older adults are actually interested in being environmentally responsible. They do not want to "feel like" they are responsible. They have a desire for authenticity and in leaving a legacy for future generations.

Conservation 1st, “Toys” 2nd

In the late 70's I built my first solar collector, a box with pop cans with insulated tubes to the house. It was awful and I think took more heat out of the house than it supplied. It was the typical mistake made by the young attracted by of the 'gee whiz' factor of solar energy. The motive was right, but the order of priority was, well misguided. The house had more holes in it than the barn out back and a little caulking would have helped much more.

The advice given by architect and building scientist Peter Pfeiffer at the Feb. 13 at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Florida holds true today.

Renewable-energy appliances such as photovoltaic panels, solar hot water heaters, and geothermal pumps are often viewed as fundamentals of green building when in fact they really are just "the icing on the cake."

He urged attendees not to repeat the "toy" fixation that dominated the early green movement of the 1970s, Pfeiffer outlined a whole-house approach to sustainable building that advocates energy conservation as a necessary first step before energy production can even be considered.

Prices are up! So?

(click on graph to enlarge)

So, prices are continuing to go up across Canada. The question is, should we be happy or concerned. Well if you are selling right now, be happy. If you buying right now, I suggest you should be worried. We are likely at the end of the cycle and unless your are planning on staying where you are for 10 years, there may be the possibility that you will lose money.

Furthermore, there is no compensation in these numbers for the energy prices that everyone will be paying in the near future. What will be the impacts? Likely lower prices compared to the inflation factor. Your house may go up, but not in pace with the price of gasoline and all good dependent on gasoline. That will include all goods delivered over large distances as well as goods that have energy intensive production.

So, where are we now does not mean a lot for 10 years from now. So where are we?

The two main series on house prices in Canada are: (1) Statistics Canada's measure for new homes based on contractors' selling prices; and (2) the Canadian Real Estate Association's (CREA) figures on average existing home sales prices, for homes sold through its Multiple Listing Service®. The Canada-wide index of new home prices increased 6.5% in January 2008 versus January 2007. For the same time period, existing home prices, as estimated by CREA, were up 9.6%.

The results may give you optimism to buy now, but I don't believe this can be sustained. Remember, the real winners buy low and sell high.

Great quote on Peak Oil

I found this post in response to an article in the New York Times by John Tierney, Are Carbon Cuts Just a Fantasy?"

"By Mid Century our fossil fuel resources are going to be so incredibly depleted and our population so large that we cannot afford to wait to invest in renewable technologies and conservation. This is regardless of whether we do anything about climate. The denial involved in ignoring the dysfunctional nature of our relationship with fossil fuels is astounding. When oil has risen for 5 straight years and the best new projects that we can come up with involve burning corn in our gas tanks, digging up tar in Alberta, or drilling into 8000 ft of water and 20,000 more of rock in the gulf of Mexico, we have a big big problem. "

Another Homeless Study - Big Deal...

In a press release today the Feds and the Province of Ontario announced a "federal-provincial Memorandum of Understanding on homelessness."

This Memorandum of Understanding on homelessness creates a framework for the governments of Canada and Ontario to collaborate on research and data collection, as well as to explore options for horizontal pilot projects to better combat homelessness in Ontario. Through this information-sharing initiative, the governments will be able to deepen their knowledge and understanding of homelessness and its causes, in order to help Ontario communities develop better strategies to address the needs of the homeless and those at risk of homelessness. This also means a more efficient use of public funds to help those who are in need.

Unbelievable! Yet another half-hearted pilot project/study/data collecting/feel good announcement that sounds like they are doing something. Aaaaaaaarrrrgh! Cynicism is a poor response, but it's all I have at this announcement.

Homeless people do not have homes and many have mental illnesses. We know the research, we've seen too many pilot projects, we have a deep knowledge, and we have better strategies. How about some serious funding!