We didn't think we won, but we did (sort of). Now we need to fight to keep what we won!
by Jean Swanson
Ten years ago about 300 low income Downtown Eastside residents rallied at Hastings and Main for about two hours. We shut down the intersection, drummed, chanted, and spoke about the need for a Social Justice Zone in the DTES. For ten days before the rally residents had knocked on thousands of doors and collected a petition with 3000 signatures calling for a 5 point plan for a DTES Social Justice Zone.
We delivered the petition to the city.
But then the City Council meeting happened. We weren't happy with the Local Area Plan that Council passed. We thought we had lost. But looking back, city staff did come up with some ways of protecting at least the Oppenheimer area (see map) or DEOD, from condos and expensive rentals. And that has helped us get social housing that low income residents can afford.
Council made the DEOD a virtual no condo zone, just like we wanted. And if a private developer wants to build rental housing in the DEOD, they have to partner with a non profit and make sure 60% of the building is social housing.
What happened? Ten years later, according to research by Kuni Kamizaki at UBC:
No new condos were built in the DEOD;
Only two market rental buildings (which are 60% social housing);
22 social housing buildings are now built, acquired, or in process in the DEOD. with 2251 units of social housing (988 will rent at welfare shelter rate);
Only 19 social housing buildings in the whole rest of the DTES with only 1150 social housing units;
Lower property values in the DEOD.
In other words, we got the rules that kept condos out of the DEOD, which kept most market rentals out of the DEOD, meaning that property values stayed low so that non profits could afford to build for lower income people. And we got lots of non market social housing. In fact, the DTES Plan calls for 1400 units of social housing in 10 years and we'll have over 2200 in the one DEOD zone alone when all the projects are finished. In other words, that part of the plan worked.
One of the 5 points in the old social justice zone plan was for two thirds of all social housing to be people on welfare, pension, and the working poor. We got one third. The DTES is the only place in the city where at least some units in each social housing building have to be affordable to low income people.
One of the 5 points of the Social Justice Zone project was a rent freeze. We don't have one yet but we did, finally this year, get SRO vacancy control which stops landlords from raising rents as much as they like when a tenant leaves.
Why is this history important? Right now city staff are working on a motion called "Uplifting the Downtown Eastside." The motion could result in condos and expensive rental towers in the DTES. It could change the definition of social housing so it would exclude low income people. If the city allows condos and/or expensive rentals, property values will go up and non profits, the DTES Community Land Trust, and governments won't be able to afford the land we need to house people who are homeless and to acquire and rehab or rebuild the SROS. If the definition of social housing is changed it could exclude low income people and we'll have more homelessness.
Getting the zoning right is just one part of building a DTES community that meets people's needs. We also need lots of government funding for social housing, higher welfare rates, safe supply. But zoning is one thing the city can do that doesn't cost anything and can have good results for our DTES.
