THEVOICE | THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 | EDITOR BECCA CLARKSON Atlarge ~: “Be MT ill ii City Council approved 88 new rental units spread over two buildings in Vancouver—one at 5679 Main St., pictured above—but only 1/8 are three bedrooms. c/Ty OF VANCOUVER PHOTO Too fow three-bedrooms Advocates cite disincentive for developers to help renters INFO STATS The percentage of family units required in rental buildings, but these units need only be two bedrooms @® Of the new rental units ap- proved by city council are three bedroom apartments. = By DANICA WALKER he chief executive officer of a landlord advocacy group says the city needs to provide more incen- tives for developers to build much- needed three bedroom rental apart- ments in Vancouver. David Hutniak of LandlordBC said developers prefer to build one and two-bedroom units because it doesn't make economic sense to in- clude three-bedroom places in new buildings. “The reality is, if you can build more smaller units, then the eco- nomics of building a rental build- ing become more feasible,” Hutniak said. “The more three bedrooms you have, in many respects, the smaller the market.” Last week, city council voted unanimously to approve the re- zoning of a total of 88 rental units spread over two buildings: one at 5679 Main St., the other at 431- 455 West King Edward Avenue. Out of the 88 units approved across both developments, only 11 are three bedroom apartments, all of which are in the West King Ed- ward Avenue development. The buildings were approved un- der the City’s Rental 100 program, which provides developers with in- centives such as additional density and reduced fees to build rental- only units. Vision Vancouver Councillor Raymond Louie said progress has been made to build rental units for families, but agreed more has to be done. "In some cases is it cheaper to build ... small units but not in all cases,” Louie said. ‘The percentage of family units required in rental buildings was raised last year from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, but these units need only be two bedrooms. NPA Councilor Hector Bremner said that not only were there no incentives for developers to build units over two bedrooms in rental buildings, but it was also signifi- cantly harder to build larger units. “Developers are saying, ‘We would build rental untis if you would work with us,” said Brem- ner, noting that the city’s per- mit wait times are too long. “There is absolutely an aggressive disincentive to not do it.” Residents: Not in my strip mall Locals fear private liquor store will bring crime to area = By ANA ROSE WALKEY esidents of the Crest area of Rbvests are speaking out gainst a proposal to open a private liquor store in their neigh- bourhood because they say it will increase crime and be a danger to children. William Conolly, a resident of the Crest area for 46 years, is lead- ing the campaign against the liquor store proposed for the Crest shop- ping centre on 10th Avenue near the Burnaby-New Westminster border. “We believe a liquor store in close proximity to schools and parks ex- posetheyout to thenegativeeffectsof —— J al- co- hol," said Conolly, who de- livered a petition to city council in January with more than 50 sig- ; na- tures of residents opposed to the rezoning application for the store. Jisbender Kooner of Kooner Hospitality Group, the owner of Hop & Vine Liquor store on Burn- wood Drive, applied to the city to have its existing retail licence trans- ferred to the Crest shopping centre. Conolly argued that small, pri- vate liquor stores are “easy marks for theft” , be - cause they do not have security features in place that larger liquor stores do. He, however, didn't pro- vide any evidence to show whether the current store was targeted by criminals. A Burnaby RCMP public safety report from October and Novem- ber 2017 showed a small robbery a“ : ” 1 crime hotspot” near the store's * current location, which is close to “the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course and Dating Range. ail John McNally of John McNally Designers Inc. drew up the plans for the proposed store and submitted them with the rezoning applica- tion. McNally said he doesn't think the new store will be a magnet for crime. "It's hard to blame a single vendor for the crime," he said. The Voice contacted Councilor Colleen Jor- dan but she said in an email that she couldn't comment on the ap- plication because council was wait- ing for a staff report in response to questions raised at the public hearing. Recovery homes open for youth Operators say there's still huge demand for more treatment beds at time of opioid crisis = By BECCA CLARKSON Te linked recovery homes for young people dealing with substance abuse issues are now open in East Vancouver but operators say there is still a huge demand for more treatment beds to prevent further overdose deaths to that generation. Devika Ramkhelawan, a man- ager of Vancouver addiction houses at Pacific Community Resource Society, said a combined 15 beds opened over the past two months at Youth Haven, Alder House and Sequoia House, whose locations remain undisclosed for privacy rea- sons. “We always need more beds... it's still just a drop in the bucket.” — DEVIKA RAMKHELAWAN, VANCOUVER ADDICTION HOUSES MANAGER, PACIFIC COMMUNITY RESOURCE SOCIETY “We always need more beds, and while 15 is great, it’s still just a drop in the bucket,” said Ramkhelawan, whose society partnered with Van- couver Coastal Health and Family Services of Greater Vancouver to open the homes. ‘The homes, which cater to people 16 to 24 years old, open at a time when Vancouver and the rest of the province continue to grapple with an overdose drug death crisis. The most recent statistics from the BC Coroners Service show a total of 23 people aged 10 to 18 died of a drug overdose in B.C. last year. That's double the number of deaths recorded in 2016 Devika Ramkhelawan ; _ ADDICTION HOUSES for this demo MANAGER graphic. The overdose death rate was even higher for young adults aged 19 to 29, who accounted for 269 deaths. Mary Dowdall, manager of the health authority’s child and youth mental health services program, said Youth Haven is a voluntary drop-in centre that reaches youth who often haven't yet accessed sup- port services. The harm reduction-focused cen- tre offers youth access to an elder, mental health and addiction coun- sellors and nurse practitioners. At the end of a maximum month-long stay, the centre helps youth apply for a detox program, or a bed at Sequoia and Alder House, which allow clients to stay for up to three months. “It’s all part of a continuum that will help us expand our services and allow for continuous care,” Dowdall said.