Vancouver School Board criticized over 99-year lease to developer | Part of the Fleming Elementary School property in East Van slated for mixed-use commercial and rental
Vancouver School Board criticized over 99-year lease to developer | Part of the Fleming Elementary School property in East Van slated for mixed-use commercial and rental
>A majority of the board voted on Wednesday to pass bylaws to kickstart the disposal process for 1.6 hectares of “surplus” land, just south of Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School, which will be leased to Vittori Developments, which has more than 500 rental units in the Greater Vancouver area, according to its website.
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>The board says the process to dispose of the surplus land was started by the previous school board, after a public consultation process, and the resulting rental building will see preference given to VSB employees.
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>But opponents of the lease say the board’s public consultation was rushed and limited in nature, and the market-rate rental building will be unaffordable to many teachers and VSB employees.
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>In addition, critics say the move to issue a 99-year lease, with an upfront lump sum payment from Vittori, is short-sighted and prevents the school board from being flexible with its land use as Vancouver grows.
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>The lease deal is expected to close in November, with the exact price not yet disclosed.
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>…
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>Joshua Zhang, VSB vice-chair and an A Better City (ABC) Vancouver trustee, said the move was made for the benefit of the VSB’s workforce, and followed a period of community engagement on the subject.
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>”There is a real problem for prospective employees of the VSB, when they look at listings and then they look at the housing prices within the city,” he said. “I think that’s the real barrier for us as an employer in terms of hiring.”
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>When asked about whether VSB employees could afford sky-high market rentals once the building was completed, Zhang said there were too many variables for him to definitively comment on the issue.
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>”Essentially by taking land from the Fleming Elementary School community, they are affecting the school’s operating capacity,” she added. “Because Fleming Elementary is at 107 per cent capacity.”
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>Cheng said the 99-year lease has set a dangerous precedent, as the VSB is the second-largest land owner in Vancouver and could move to subdivide other schools’ land for private development.
This looks to be a foolish move by the school board and/or council who is obsessed with short-term actions at the expense of long-term public benefits. With a growing population, community schools are more important than ever and by setting such a lengthy lease to a private developer, it negatively affects the community’s ability to respond to changing needs over the years. That the proposed housing is still unaffordable for school staff, which was part of the impetus behind this move underlines how thin this cover was for council’s actions. Politicians should be considering the long-term consequences of their actions but this seems less common over the years.
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A few of the key issues:
>A majority of the board voted on Wednesday to pass bylaws to kickstart the disposal process for 1.6 hectares of “surplus” land, just south of Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School, which will be leased to Vittori Developments, which has more than 500 rental units in the Greater Vancouver area, according to its website.
>
>The board says the process to dispose of the surplus land was started by the previous school board, after a public consultation process, and the resulting rental building will see preference given to VSB employees.
>
>But opponents of the lease say the board’s public consultation was rushed and limited in nature, and the market-rate rental building will be unaffordable to many teachers and VSB employees.
>
>In addition, critics say the move to issue a 99-year lease, with an upfront lump sum payment from Vittori, is short-sighted and prevents the school board from being flexible with its land use as Vancouver grows.
>
>The lease deal is expected to close in November, with the exact price not yet disclosed.
>
>…
>
>Joshua Zhang, VSB vice-chair and an A Better City (ABC) Vancouver trustee, said the move was made for the benefit of the VSB’s workforce, and followed a period of community engagement on the subject.
>
>”There is a real problem for prospective employees of the VSB, when they look at listings and then they look at the housing prices within the city,” he said. “I think that’s the real barrier for us as an employer in terms of hiring.”
>
>When asked about whether VSB employees could afford sky-high market rentals once the building was completed, Zhang said there were too many variables for him to definitively comment on the issue.
>
>…
>
>”Essentially by taking land from the Fleming Elementary School community, they are affecting the school’s operating capacity,” she added. “Because Fleming Elementary is at 107 per cent capacity.”
>
>Cheng said the 99-year lease has set a dangerous precedent, as the VSB is the second-largest land owner in Vancouver and could move to subdivide other schools’ land for private development.
This looks to be a foolish move by the school board and/or council who is obsessed with short-term actions at the expense of long-term public benefits. With a growing population, community schools are more important than ever and by setting such a lengthy lease to a private developer, it negatively affects the community’s ability to respond to changing needs over the years. That the proposed housing is still unaffordable for school staff, which was part of the impetus behind this move underlines how thin this cover was for council’s actions. Politicians should be considering the long-term consequences of their actions but this seems less common over the years.