Author Archives: Rebecca Coleman

CHF BC Scholarships Available

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If you:

  • Live in a CHF BC member housing co-op (CHHC is)
  • Plan to attend, or already attend, a Canadian, publicly-funded, accredited college, university or government-approved apprenticeship program on a full-time basis (undergraduate only)
  • Are making a positive contribution to their school, co-op, or community
  • Demonstrate financial need

You can apply for the CHF BC Scholarship.

Each scholarship is worth up to $5,000 and is awarded in multiple years: $2,000 in the first year of study and then $1,000 a year for up to three more years.

Apply here before March 31.

Job Posting: Maintenance Coordinator

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We are looking for a Maintenance Coordinator in downtown Vancouver to manage a 99 unit residential property.

Role: Maintenance Coordinator

Location: 588 Cardero St. & 1515 W Hastings St. Vancouver, BC

Building Type: Housing Cooperative

Schedule: up to 30 hours per week

Compensation: 32$/h – contract

Start date: As soon as possible

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the buildings and grounds to ensure a good living experience for tenants. Responsibilities include:
• Regular interactions with Coop members to discuss the building operations, and to address concerns.
• Inspect common building areas and identify required maintenance, including mechanical, security, garbage/recycling, laundry, landscaping, etc.
• Perform minor building and suite maintenance and repairs, and coordinate contractors / trades to perform more extensive maintenance work and emergency repairs.
• Schedule and supervise tenant move in / move out activities and ensure vacant suites are ready for new tenants.
• Perform annual suite inspections.
• Maintain a database of all maintenance and repair activities for each unit and all common areas and building systems.
• Preparing written monthly report.

Required qualifications:
• Experience in building management/maintenance, hospitality, or seniors housing.
• Solid general maintenance and repair capabilities.
• Computer skills.
• Clean and professional appearance.
• Excellent customer service skills, fluency in English with the ability to listen to others, collaborate and resolve conflicts.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle. Free parking included.
• Worksafe BC coverage

To apply:

Please send your resume to:
maintenancechhc@gmail.com
or
chhcbod@gmail.com
Thank you.

Find full job description hereDownload

Have Your Say! Coal Harbour School & Social Housing Development

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Co-op members: this development would be very beneficial to us, as our kids would now be able to go to school just one block away (this has been on the books since 1990, FYI). As members of a co-op, I can’t imagine that we would not be in favor of more social housing (badly needed in this city). There has been a lot of negative backlash from some of our more wealthy neighbours, so please make your voice heard.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The City of Vancouver has filed an application to build an 11 storey tower next to the Coal Harbour Community Centre that will have a new elementary school for 340 children; a 65 child daycare facility; and 60 social housing units. 

To see a video about the proposal – please click the link below:
https://vimeo.com/491270784
 
The City is hosting a ‘virtual open house’ from January 4th to the 10th online at https://shapeyourcity.ca/480-broughton-st and has also provided supporting project material there too.
 
An Urban Design Panel is slated for January 20th by Webex.
 
The Development Board will hear and is expected to make their decision on March 22nd. 
 
So, it’s important that you visit and share your thoughts immediately as the deadline to submit online comments to the City is January 15th.  If you want to email the city directly, you can contact Chris.Miller@vancouver.ca.  She is the project facilitator and her number is 604-829-9783. 
 
If you want to register to speak for 5 minutes at the Development hearing on March 22nd, you may contact Kathy.Cermeno@vancouver.ca.
 
The school has always been contemplated in the official community development plan dating back to 1990, which was updated in 2002.  Our board has already communicated with the City to express our initial thoughts with respect to: The limited time to view the open house and submit comments;What the exact social housing mix will be;Are there going to be any ‘hard to house’ persons in the proposed accommodations;Who will manage the social housing;How the school enrollment be determined (ie. Are community residents guaranteed);Is there a commitment for additional policing in the area;Is there a security and traffic plan; and,Is the City better off to create more units at a more economical site (the costs once you factor in the land value puts each social housing unit at over $1 million). As of now, the city has responded to our initial inquiries as follows: “As Social Housing, at least 30% of the units will be occupied by households with incomes below the BC Housing housing income limits (HILs). The remaining units are anticipated to be at Low End of Market (LEM) rents. The affordability target will be finalized subject to the amount of senior government grants that can be secured. The HILs rents correspond to a household income range of a maximum of $55,500 to $78,000 as set by BC Housing for 2021 (applies as of December 1, 2020). These rates are at rent geared to income and are set at no more than 30% of income. The LEM rents correspond to the average rent for new construction (2005+) as published by CMHC. The income maximums of $74,150 for a studio and 1-bedroom LEM unit and $113,040 for a family sized LEM unit are based on the BC Housing Low and Moderate Income Limits for 2020.  The proposal for 60 units of social housing, includes 7 studio, 18 1-bedroom, 23 2-bedroom, and 12 3-bedroom units.”
 
“We have social and supportive housing along with childcares and schools in every neighbourhood in Vancouver and we do not provide a policing centre every time we open a new building. We rely on an experienced non-profit housing operator to operate and manage the social housing building. The housing operator is committed to managing the building safely and responsibly.
 
This housing is designed to be primarily for families with children and social housing is typically provided to people who cannot afford an equivalent unit in the market without paying too much of their income on rent.”
 
“The City has owned this site for a long period of time and the construction of the school, childcare and social housing fulfills the requirements of the Official Development Plan. By co-locating the social housing with childcare and an elementary school, the proposal allows for a social housing building opportunity that would otherwise be lost. The full construction cost of the project is $80,812,000, with $36,505,000 for the social housing and the remaining $44,307,000 for the childcare and the school. There is a need for social housing throughout Vancouver, including downtown. We know that land costs are higher in the downtown area and it would cost us a significant amount to purchase the land elsewhere in the area, when we have the opportunity to co-locate here.”
 
“There is a cost to building social housing and there is current senior government funding to assist in the cost of construction. Market rentals would still have a cost for construction for a private developer.  
 
The City does not typically sell its land if the zoning has requirements for social infrastructure.
 
This proposal contributes to meeting the requirements of the 1990 Coal Harbour Official Development Plan (updated in November 2002) for affordable housing with a priority on housing for core-need households (now referred to as the Housing Income Limit or HILs rate units) and with fifty percent of the affordable units to be suitable for families with children. The zoning bylaw CD-1 (365) for 301 Jervis Street approved by Council on November 26, 1996 (amended December 9, 2003), provided for the development of a co-located community centre (Phase 1) and school, childcare centre and non-market housing project on the Property (Phase 2).”

Masks Required In All Public Areas of Co-Op

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Please take note and follow the most recent guidelines handed down from our Provincial Government on Thursday, November 19:

Masks are now required for everyone in all public indoor settings and workplaces. 

This means that masks must be worn while in co-op:

  • in the hallways
  • in the elevator
  • in the laundry rooms
  • in the parking and garbage/recycling rooms

In addition, social gatherings are limited to those within your bubble only.

No social gatherings of any size at your residence with anyone other than your household or core bubble. For example:

  • Do not invite friends or extended family to your household 
  • Do not host gathering outdoors
  • Do not gather in your backyard
  • Do not have playdates for children

For most people, their core bubble is their immediate household. An immediate household is a group of people who live in the same dwelling.

For others, including people who live alone, their core bubble may also contain a partner, relative, friend or co-parent who lives in a different household. This should be a maximum of two people outside of those living in your immediate household.

For people who live alone, a core bubble is a maximum of two people you see regularly. They cannot host gatherings. 

Welcoming your child home from university is okay. This is not a social gathering. 

For more, please visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

Voting in the Upcoming Provincial Election

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If you are choosing to vote in person in the upcoming Provincial Election, here are your options:

  • Advance voting, Thursday, October 15 to Wednesday October 21 from 8 am to 8 pm at the following locations:
    • Best Western Sands Hotel 1755 Davie
    • Coal Harbour Community Centre, 480 Broughton
    • Vancouver Aquatic Centre, 1050 Beach Ave
    • West End Community Centre, 870 Denman St
  • General Voting Day, Saturday, October 24 from 8 am to 8pm at the Coal Harbour Community Centre

To vote, please bring with you your ID and please wear a mask, and practice social distancing while waiting.

Halloween & Holiday Gatherings

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Please note the following important notice from the Board of Directors regarding Halloween and other upcoming Holiday gatherings:

The Health and Safety of our members is our first priority and so, keeping with the guidelines of the BC Centre for Disease Control, we ask:

  • absolutely no door to door trick or treating
  • do not leave bowls of candy out for kids to rummage through
  • have a small home or outdoor meetup with your family/friends, but no big parties

Please continue to “stay in your bubble,” practice social distancing and wear a mask to protect yourself and others. The BOD thanks everyone for doing a great job keeping our community safe from COVID 19 infection!

Thank you very much for your cooperation!
chhcbod@gmail.com

A Very COVID Halloween

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Needless to say, Halloween is going to look very different this year. Members of the social committee are working on putting together a plan for safe trick-or-treating, but in the mean time, this article has some great ideas for having a fun and safe halloween during a global pandemic.

BC Provincial Election: Oct 24

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Perhaps not the greatest timing to call an election during a global pandemic, but an election has been called for October 24.

Here are the options to vote safely:

  1. Do a mail-in ballot. Click here to request your mail-in voters package. Please note that earlier versions of the mail-in ballot will not have candidate’s names on them (nominations don’t close until Oct 2). You have to write in the name of the candidate you are voting for OR the name of the party you’re voting for. Don’t write the name of the leader of the party unless you are in his or her riding (we’re not). Then just put the ballot in the mail, or drop it off to the Elections Canada office on the corner of Alberni and Cardero.
  2. You can vote in an advance poll. October 5-October 21 from 8 am to 8 pm you will be able to do an advance poll. This will likely be less crowded than on actual voting day. Advance polling will take place at 747 Cardero.
  3. October 24 8 am to 8 pm, locations TBA.

If you’re voting in person (advance or on Oct 24) you need to bring:

  • Valid ID that shows your name and home address.
  • Your Where to Vote card. Look for it in the mail from Elections BC before advance voting starts. Bringing it with you to the voting place will make voting faster and easier.
  • Your own pen or pencil to mark your ballot, if you wish.
  • A mask to wear in the voting place, if you wish. We encourage voters to wear a mask when they vote to protect others. You will not be asked to remove your mask to vote. Learn more about voting safely and COVID-19.

Currently the only candidate nominated and running is the incumbent, Spencer Chandra Herbert. Check the Elections Canada website to see updates of nominees. We are in the Vancouver West End riding.

UPDATE: here’s a great article about the 4 candidates in the neighbourhood. Scroll down a bit to the second article.