BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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Funding approved for resort reservoir

It appears like long-term water issues at Silver Star are finally being resolved.

The North Okanagan Regional District board has given three readings to a bylaw that would allow for up to $7.2 million to be borrowed for capital financing of a reservoir at the mountain community.

"I am pleased to see this bylaw come forward," said Jerry Oglow, board chairman.

NORD is also close to concluding an agreement with Silver Star Mountain Resort to operate the service, which will be a public utility.

"This will solve the long-term water problem on the mountain," said Oglow.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similk...s/26506644.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Boundary jumping causes angst

Vernon has got a little bit bigger, but that`s not going over well with one local politician.

Stan Field, BX-Silver Star director, is not happy that two areas, one from his jurisdiction and one from BX-Swan Lake, were approved by the provincial government to join the city July 8.

"I don`t support the city annexing any parts of B and C," he said.

The areas include 10 lots on Hitchcock Road, near Silver Star Foothills, and 17 lots on Old Kamloops Road between the city and the Bluejay subdivision.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similk...s/26507389.html

 

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Early condo sellers paid price

Seniors living at 12148 – 224th St. can sleep better now that the district no longer wants its cut from any condo sales.

Those who sold their condos over the past decade, though, and shared half of their profits with the district, bore the burden.

The district decided last week that with the money it`s made from the condo sales over the past nine years, and the money it plans to collect from those who were supposed to pay, it no longer needs its share of profits whenever a condo is sold.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_...s/26396634.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Valley LRT push is on

It is time to Picnic in the Park.

On Saturday, the Valley Transportation Advisory Committee (VALTAC) is hosting its second annual Picnic in the Park, to try and raised awareness about the need for better transit options in Langley and other parts of the Fraser Valley.

Under a cloud of darkness Wednesday — to keep it secret until Saturday — a 53-foot trailer was moved from Abbotsford to a field just off Glover Road.

The trailer is this year`s campaign initiative and is wrapped with the message; "Bring Community Rail back to the Fraser Valley Now!"

Roy Mufford, director of the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway and VALTAC, said it is a way to get people talking.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/ald...s/26433349.html

 

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$25-million hotel on way

When the Kamloops Blazers were purchased last year by a group headed by Tom Gaglardi, Mayor Terry Lake met with him.

"The first words out of my mouth were, `Welcome to Kamloops. We`d like you to build a hotel downtown,`" Lake told KTW.

This week, that mayoral quip became reality with news that Gaglardi has reached an agreement in principle with the City of Kamloops to build a 4.5-star hotel across from Riverside Park and Interior Savings Centre (ISC).

Construction should begin next spring, with completion expected within two years.

"I think my grandfather [former mayor and highways minister Phil Gaglardi] would have wanted us to build this hotel," Gaglardi said.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nic...s/26391384.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City tourism bucks trend

Iother cities have seen a drop in visitors, but we`ve had more.

Tourism is down across B.C., but more visitors are coming to Nanaimo than last year.

"It`s not doom and gloom by any stretch of the imagination," said Mark Drysdale, Tourism Nanaimo executive director. "It`s actually been going quite well for Nanaimo in the grand scheme of things."

Visitors to Nanaimo`s Visitor Information Centre from January to June are up eight per cent over the same period in 2007. Last year, there were 5,931 visitors in the six month period, compared to 6,418 in 2008.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_islan...s/26360769.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Kootenay real estate a `buyer`s market`

The Kootenay Real Estate Board has released their mid-year 2008 report with news that this year resembles a "buyer`s market".

Kootenay Real Estate Board President Andrew Smith says in the release that active listings on the MLS increased 71 per cent from the end of June 2007. While he makes mention of it being a "buyers market", he says the total average price per unit increased 16 per cent and although some markets are seeing a decline in average price, values are holding steady and in some cases "increasing in spite of high inventory levels and a decline in MLS (Multiple Listing Service) unit sales."

http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockie...s/26295614.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

B.C. housing hits affordability limit

B.C.`s four-year real estate boom has finally cooled, but there are few signs that property values will lose significant ground as they have in the United States.

What the government now markets as "the best place on Earth" remains an attractive place to move for work or retirement, and that is expected to help soften the blow of the forest industry downturn and a continuing decline in U.S. tourism.

But more B.C. sellers continue to try to cash in while fewer people are buying as prices have moved out of their affordable range.

Small price drops have been seen in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver in the last two months, but year-over-year prices are still up by single-digit amounts.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockie...y/26251374.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Island fixed link possible, P.E.I. bridge designer says

It`s the last thing quiet-loving Gulf Island residents want to hear: The conceptual designer of Prince Edward Island`s Confederation Bridge says a fixed link from Vancouver Island to the mainland is possible.

Gamil Tadros describes a fixed link as feasible but adds that a couple of small bridges in the Gulf Islands to start the network would test the waters first.

"Then see in the future if you require the main one," he says.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...b8-b39d4a5a9e8e

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Crash at my pad in 2010 - for $35,000

VANCOUVER — There`s nothing quite like becoming an Olympic venue to give a city an inflated sense of its own worth. Ask Vancouverites what they think of the Games and the rosy glow of civic pride turns quickly into thoughts of hard cash. In a city known for its red-hot housing market, the first reaction of many residents is not to bid for tickets to cheer on Team Canada, but to get the heck out of town and make a killing renting out their pad.

It looks like bargain-hunting visitors will have their work cut out for them, if prices remain where they are. According to ads placed on the mushrooming number of websites devoted to 2010 rentals, a two-bedroom condo in trendy Yaletown - handy for downtown venues - will set you back about $36,000 for the month of February, 2010. If you don`t mind a lengthy SkyTrain commute from the suburbs of New Westminster for a property that can house 12, you`ll need to stump up $45,000.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/lifeMain/home

 

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Landowners group to take CRD to court in zoning battle

There is no love lost between the Capital Regional District and the Association of B.C. Landowners and the relationship is becoming increasingly acrimonious as a zoning dispute heads for the courts.

The association`s website says zoning changes on the land west of Sooke means property has been downzoned and devalued.

"Your rights to subdivide and strata title have been taken away. . . The Association intends to fight to have these property values and landowners rights restored by taking legal action against the CRD," says the article, which is linked to a petition and asks for donations.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...9c-b5b244c4b3de

 

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Commuter train projects derailed by province: critics

Proponents of plans to move commuters by rail between the capital region and points north say the province is blocking their efforts by its reluctance to come up with its half of $70 million in government money needed to upgrade the rail corridor.

A large-scale plan to move commuters by rail between points north and the capital region could begin with a small step, such as getting them between Langford and downtown on the existing rail line, an Island man says.

Philip Makow of Qualicum Beach believes running a small-scale commuter operation on the southern end of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo railway line is "very, very viable.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...86-37351f0b6e38

 

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B.C. rewiring costs jump

VANCOUVER -- The estimated cost to rewire British Columbia`s aging electricity transmission system jumped by $125 million this week.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission has ruled that B.C. Transmission Corp. must restate its $600-million estimate for a new power line between the Interior and the Lower Mainland as $725 million.

In a ruling handed down this week, the commission has also rejected BCTC`s proposal to hedge its bets on the final, total cost of the 246-kilometre line.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...ee-6f90b7561ea5

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Fraser River works as transport route

A report commissioned by local port authorities but virtually ignored by the B.C. government for more than three years now raises serious doubts about the economic viability of building the $1-billion South Fraser Perimeter Road.

In fact, the holes it opens in the so-called rationale for this 40-kilometre, four-lane truck freeway through Delta farmland and Burns Bog are large enough to drive an 18-wheel container truck through.

Perhaps its biggest flaw is Victoria`s failure to look seriously at alternatives for moving more shipping containers to and from an expanding Deltaport at Roberts Bank.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...80-c622fb725b71

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Housing-start figures standing up well

The Lower Mainland homebuilding industry has taken heart from new figures showing the pace of residential construction staying robust so far this year.

Brisk multi-family construction pushed overall July housing starts for the Vancouver area up 25 per cent from the same month last year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said yesterday.

Year-to-date starts in the area are up 11.2 per cent from the year-earlier period, CMHC said.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...f8-d97b0f71e778

 

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Council gets update on Cameron Street Bridge

Work on a new Cameron Street Bridge is on pace for completion by the end of this year, city development services general manager Bob Radloff told city council on Monday night.
Prince George-based IDL Projects Inc., which has been awarded a $9.1-million contract to carry out the work, is temporarily removing some utilities in preparation to lift and remove sections of the old bridge.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008081...eet-bridge.html

 

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City gets in queue for flood money

Steps are being taken to have funding in place by the time a flood mitigation plan has been completed, city council was told Monday night.
Applications have been sent to the provincial government`s flood protection program to fund a multi-year gravel removal program at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers, to set the height of River Road at the 200-year flood plain level and to acquire property exposed to flooding.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008081...lood-money.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Tattered heritage buildings for sale

The Janion and Northern Junk Buildings, two of downtown Victoria`s most high-profile heritage properties, are on the market and attracting interest.

"We have quite a few people interested and we do have offers," said Ron Macdonald of Pemberton Holmes. Macdonald, the listed agent for both properties, added that all offers have come from local business people.

The Janion, at 1612-1614 Store St., is listed for $2.48 million, and $1.975 million is being asked for the designated-heritage Northern Junk Buildings at 1314 and 1316-1318 Wharf St. Both date back more than 100 years and have sat boarded up for decades, raising concerns among some Victoria city councillors that the buildings are being destroyed through neglect.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...4c-e8a6245ffe4b

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Islanders in for a jolt on hydro bills

We won`t be shivering in the dark this winter, but Vancouver Island residents might be paying more to keep the power on next winter.

According to documents filed with the B.C. Utilities Commission, Island residents in 2015 will be paying as much as 36 per cent more for electricity than Lower Mainland residents, and an average increase of $190 by 2010. That compares with an $89 increase in the Lower Mainland and $111 on average throughout the province.

B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk said rates have to go up as the corporation`s costs increase and demands rise: "Over the next 20 years, we will have a gap of 25 to 45 per cent and we`re going to close that through Power Smart, conservation and purchases."

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...d4-f6fa62ca8461

 

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Developer and property manager hinder first council

Dear Condo Smarts: We are in a new strata that the first owners moved into in July of 2007. Our council has been working very hard to create a management plan, but we get no co-operation from either the developer or our property manager, who was hired by the developer. We have no access to our building records and are unclear on who we go to when we have a building problem.

Since our first AGM in November, we have had two pipe breaks and a roof leak. Both were easily repaired once they were discovered, but now our insurance is increasing substantially and we still don`t know what we need to do.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...f5-f1c6eda012bd