Welcome to our new subscribers! We’re stoked to have you join us as advocates of vibrant neighbourhoods and places for people in Delta! Spread the word!
Ladner Village Plan (URGENT)
Have you signed up to speak in-person or via Zoom at the December 14 Public Hearing?
Please do!
Need help?
Email us and we’ll walk you through the whole process!
Want to Know What To Say?
Ian Jacques at The Optimist has a great article that gives a ton of good reasons to support the proposed changes to the Ladner Village Area Plan (read it here).
Meet up: NEXT TUESDAY (DEC 14, 2021) at 6:00PM on SLACK
Join us for Public Hearing Bingo, moral support, and a chance to chat about what you’re hearing during the public hearing on our Slack Channel (link to join).
First, register to speak in person or via Zoom by emailing publichearing@delta.ca and requesting to be added as a speaker.
Second, join us in our virtual clubhouse for a lively chat about the Ladner Village Area Plan. If you’ve never played Public Hearing Bingo, it’s a great coping mechanism for digesting some of the things that are said by those who are resistant to positive changes in land use.
Meet up: NEXT THURSDAY (DEC 16, 2021) at 7:30PM in Ladner Village for an “aftermath” stroll (weather permitting)
Come walk through Ladner Village and enjoy the lights, sounds, and lingering emotions from the outcome of the Public Hearing. Whether in success or in defeat, you’re invited to walk through the Village. BRING your own hot drinks and warm gear as we’ll be outdoors. If you’re interested, we might also go indoors at Brittania Brewing after the walk.
Trust me – socializing with your newfound people-oriented people and chatting about buildings and land use with a warm hot chocolate in hand is going to be exhilarating!
Speak up: Tuesday, December 14: Public Hearing re. Ladner Village Area Plan (register by THIS Friday)
Pre-register as a speaker or send in a letter of support
Write in: Poverty Reduction Needs Assessment Survey
The City of Delta is conducting a poverty needs assessment and action plan and wants to hear from you about ways to “Reduce Poverty and Improve Community Well-being in Delta”. If you have a minute, please fill out the survey at https://letstalk.delta.ca/povertyreduction
Write in: Ladner Willows Rental Apartments
Send in your support on Let’s Talk Delta for an outstanding 150-unit non-market rental apartment building in Ladner! 150 homes for low-income and lower-income residents represents an amazing opportunity to add vitally needed housing options in Ladner. Projects like this should sail through when they represent such a major public benefit but we can never take for granted the fact that a project that is so positive will be welcomed by all. Your support matters! https://letstalk.delta.ca/lu008942
Check up: Success!!! On November 8, 2021, Delta City Council approved the City’s Housing Action Plan. Thank you to everyone who provided their feedback on this important project, and we look forward to working to further the actions and strategies in the Plan. (More)
Join the Del-POP 101 Group on Facebook or followDel-POP on Twitter or join us on Slack
Reasons to Support the Proposed Updates to the Ladner Village Area Plan
1. The plan is extremely modest and has clear limits for developments within the village core. The plan will allow some more homes to be built within the village and, critically, allow for the development of parcels of land that have been neglected or abandoned because of the strict land use rules that are in place right now.
2. The village will become livelier and more interesting with more folks living there and opening up retail businesses there.
3. The pedestrian network and cycling improvements will make it an even better place to move around on foot or on wheels of various sorts.
4. The City of Delta’s plans for waterfront revitalization will not be fully funded if there are no new mixed use projects going forward in the village. It takes a lot of investment to spur the necessary redevelopment of the riverfront and streetscape.
5. Did I mention RIVERFRONT? The plan puts forward an exciting vision for the activation of the riverfront! The City’s designs of public spaces along the shoreline are exciting and will be spurred on by the introduction of more residents to use and enjoy these spaces.
6. Affordability. Many of the new housing projects will include affordable below-market units that are negotiated as part of the approvals process with the City. PLUS, the introduction of new homes in Ladner through these projects (at market rates) will inevitably remove some of the pressure from the remaining older housing stock that would otherwise be purchased and turned into luxurious single detached dwellings.
Think of it this way:
“The development industry is not choosing to build only for the rich because that’s better, they are behaving exactly the way we would expect any industry to respond to an artificial cap on their production volume. The same thing would happen in the auto industry: if we limited Toyota to only 100,000 cars per year, they might well choose to keep the Lexus and scrap the Camry, even though, at volume, the Camry is more profitable.”
The current regulations must change to pave the way for housing affordability – this plan is a step in the right direction.
7. More Nice Places: Daniel Herriges at Strong Towns wrote a fantastic article about “Our self-imposed scarcity of nice places” and it’s a must-read. So good!
8. Parking requirements – the voodo mathematics behind the existing parking regulations have driven up the cost of every project in the village and created a disincentive to building good projects in the village. There is a desparate need to reduce the existing parking requirements as they have a deadening effect on every parcel of land in the village. Check out Donald Shoup on this and you’ll recognize the impact of what we’re talking about here.
